Save Jobs USA, a group of former Southern California Edison employees who lost their jobs to H-1B visa holders, has filed a case against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding the recent immigration reform that will permit H4 visa holders to work legally in the USA by granting them an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

Southern California Edison fired many of its employees and replaced them with workers from India on H-1B visa status, to which the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) filed a lawsuit on the behalf of Save Jobs USA. In their lawsuit, IRLI claimed that Obama’s reform to grant H-4 visa holders employment authorization increases the labor pool in USA, as a result increasing competition for US jobs. According to IRLI, this competition growth hurts former Edison workers’ chances to obtain new job opportunities as well as increases the likelihood that H-1B workers will stay in the US longer.

The U.S. Labor Department has received no complaints from anyone who has been negatively impacted by the use of H-1B visas and therefore will not be investigating claims stating that Southern California Edison has abused the H-1B program.

Unless the court grants the plaintiff a preliminary injunction, it is unlikely that Save Jobs USA lawsuit will win, and the H4 EAD Visa rule will take effect as planned on May 26, 2015. Learn more about the new rule for Employment Authorization for H4 Visa Holders.