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The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for review in Save Jobs USA v. Department of Homeland Security, No. 24-923, on Oct. 14, 2025, effectively ending a long-running legal challenge to employment authorization for certain H-4 visa holders — spouses of H-1B visa holders. The outcome maintains the status quo for many H-4 visa holders currently authorized to work in the United States.
Save Jobs USA, an organization of American tech workers, filed suit challenging a 2015 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule that allows certain H-4 visa holders whose H-1B spouses are on the path to permanent residency to apply for employment authorization. H-4 visas are granted to dependent family members of H-1B specialty occupation workers, a category widely used in the technology, healthcare, and other sectors.
Save Jobs USA argued that DHS exceeded its statutory authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act by extending employment authorization for a visa class not explicitly authorized by Congress and that the rule harmed American workers by increasing labor market competition. The group also claimed that a circuit split existed regarding the scope of DHS's regulatory authority, which warranted Supreme Court review.
The federal government responded that Save Jobs USA lacked standing to challenge the rule and disputed the existence of a circuit split.
The denial of certiorari leaves in place the lower court rulings that the DHS acted within its statutory authority when it promulgated the 2015 rule.
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