Only around 66,000 out of the 179,000 expected H4 EAD applied

According to an article on Bloomberg BNA by Laura.D Francis, only 37% of those eligible to file for an H4 EAD, did file.
“The DHS estimated that as many as 179,600 H-4 spouses would be eligible to apply for work permits during the first year. To date, however, only 66,571 applications have been filed and 58,232 approved, according to figures provided to Bloomberg BNA Sept. 30 by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the DHS agency that handles the applications. That’s about 37 percent of the eligible population.”
Unfortunately, this is not surprising based on the climate of fear prevailing in this country. We thank Laura for this great article and here is our analysis.