This is a really cruel move. It honestly only affects a small population of spouses from Indian and Chinese immigrants who have to wait a long time for their green card application to go through (due to per country quotas). The reason why spouses of H1-B immigrants can't find jobs on their own, even when qualified, is because of H1 quotas which fill on the first day of application - and, if they aren't lucky to get it, they are just stuck. Also very few companies want to wait for 6+ months from the time the job has been accepted to when the candidate starts given H1 application needs to be filed on April 1st while the person can only start working on October 1st (if they are lucky to make through the quota). H4 EAD provided a way for them to be employed and do something with their life. With this repeal, that option will be taken away.<p>On the other hand, Trump is doing a few things to alleviate the situation:<p>1. He will likely strike down hard against Indian IT companies which take more than half of H1 visa quotas. That should help spouses, who are qualified, to have a better shot at getting an H1.<p>2. He is proposing a merit based GC going forward vs. the current system where there are country quotas and where family applications take priority.<p>Both these will help. However, I would have liked to see these happening first vs. H4-EAD taken away.