This is a real-story of a well educated Indian girl who married an Indian guy in US working on H1B visa and migrated to US on a H4-Visa. Here goes her story in her own words:
For those who’ve watched the award winning Tom Hanks’ movie The Terminal, life in the US on a H4 visa initially felt the same: arrested. Though America did not encage me to the airport, it did not give any wings to fly either.
From Wikipedia: An H-4 visa is a visa issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediate family members (spouse and children under 21 years of age) of the H-1B visa holders.
USCIS allows immediate family members of H visa holders (H-1A, H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, or H-3) to get H-4 visas to lawfully come and stay in the US. These visas are usually issued at the local US consulate office abroad. However, if the person is already in US, he or she can obtain H-4 visa by filing Form I-539 for change of status.
H-4 visa holders are not eligible to get a Social Security Number and cannot be employed, but can hold a driver’s license, open bank account(s) and get ITIN for IRS Tax purpose.
I was stripped of the very rights that defined my existence: a) right to work and earn my living, b) right to vote and make a difference to the life around me. With no social security number (the governmental definition of existence in America) I could not officially have a bank account, buy, sell or rent anything on my own name. My wings were officially clipped.
Yep what was supposed to be a honeymoon seemed pretty much like a nightmare initially.
But the first rule of survival as they say is adaptation. And that is where my life began.
Since I could not officially work, I took up voluntary work. I started with helping an immigration lawyer for some non-profit work. I met new people, networked. Not exactly the plan I had for my career but it was a start. At least I was learning the norms and rules of this new country. I now have enough experience and exposure here to go look out for a job in the globally competitive American market. And the contacts in the immigration law firm should now come in handy!!
Also within 4 months in the US I got my driver’s license (yep you can get a driver’s license on an H4). Getting my own car and being able to go from one place to another on my own was really like being born again. (Of course the insurance is in my husband’s name and I don’t at all mind him paying the bills).
In India I had everything: a caring family, an eclectic group of friends and rightful citizenship. But I lacked the ability to value what I had. And value for my homeland is the biggest gift America has given me.
Also I learned to cook, do my own laundry, and do the grocery. Funnily being able to do these inane chores on my own makes me feel more independent and in control of my life.
So when I do the math of what I have lost and what I have gained it pretty much balances out.
Update: I just saw a good article on H1B in TechCrunch.
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