Work Authorization for H-4 Spouses: A Step Forward, But...

"There is nothing in the INA that prevents an H-4 spouse from working. This prohibition is purely an act of regulation.   That being the case, what prevents the USCIS from taking a more generous view? We would do well to remember that the unavailability of an EAD outside the adjustment of status context forces people into the H-1B category who might not otherwise need or even want to be there.  Allowing all H-4 spouses to work would ease the pressure on the H-1B category and, by so doing, serve to diminish opposition to all employment-based immigration." - Gary Endelman & Cyrus Mehta, Feb. 5, 2012.