The proposal by Donald Trump government to ban spouses of H-1B visa holders from working in the US may not be implemented until next year, reported The Economic Times. The development is likely to bring relief to thousands of Indians nationals settled in the US.

Earlier this week, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) told a court that it has set a time frame of Spring 2020 to bring in rules to revoke the H-4 employment authorisation document (EAD). The EAD is an Obama era rule that allowed job opportunities to qualified spouses of H-1B visa holders, the report said.

“As previously indicated, DHS’ (Department of Homeland Security’s) intention to proceed with publication of the H-4 EAD proposed rule remains unchanged… proposed rule is currently undergoing the inter-agency process,” the DoJ told the District of Columbia Circuit, in Washington DC, the report said.

The statement was a reaction to a lawsuit filed against the department by a group of IT workers who claim they were replaced at Southern California Edison, a power utility firm, by engineers who immigrated to the US on short-term H-1B visas.