TampaChinnodu Posted January 29, 2018 Report Posted January 29, 2018 "Without H4 EAD, I would not have come to the US...": First person accounts from behind the long shadows of the H1B visa Twee “No, I would not have come here if I could not work on an H4,” New Jersey resident Dhaval Doshy tells us, without a moment’s hesitation. It’s a cold day in January, damp and grey with an overcast sky which matches the current mood on the H4 beat. An Obama era regulation which opened the floodgates for H4 dependents of H1B workers to get work authorizations is on cliff edge now. All indications are that the Trump administration wants to do more than just signal its displeasure against these work permits. February is crucial for the H4 community - they are bracing for a proposed rule change that could possibly put their (re-launched) careers in jeopardy. Framed against the larger story of the H4 visa in the USA, what Doshy just said stands in stark contrast to the patterns of lives lived on this dependent visa. Doshy’s wife is on an H1B visa, he’s doing his bit as a stay-at-home dad after getting his work permit (technically called EAD) about six months ago. “But I can’t do this for long...." he trails off. “People like me are exceptions,” says Doshy. He’s absolutely right. What he's pointing to are the long shadows of the H1B edifice in the USA. Because of a variety of social factors, women have rarely questioned the fait accompli of an H4 visa or questioned it only post-facto, in the hope that somehow, something may work out once they cross the Atlantic. In the 27 years that the H4 visa has existed, it’s only in summer of 2015 that a certain subset of H4 visa holders ( whose H1B spouses had applied for green cards) were allowed permission to pursue paid work in the US. For everybody else on an H4 visa before 2015, paid work was out of question. Yet, waves upon waves of H1B workers came to the US since 1991 and their spouses and dependents on H4 visas stayed home, their work lives on hold 10,000 miles away from India. H4 EAD at the crossroads/ Reuters Standing around Doshy in the video conversation embedded above are the non-exceptions - Kalyani Kelkar, Neha Mahajan, Poonam Ghelani, some of who’ve followed their husbands on an H4 with no clarity on how many years they would stay outside the formal economy. These men and women we spoke to represent a random microcosm of the H1B-H4 community. At one level, all their stories can be lumped together and dismissed in one stroke - a community not allowed to work from the early 90s till 2015 has sampled life with the same freedoms that the H1B workers enjoy and is now fighting to retain that toehold in a foreign land that has become a second home. But to do (only) that is to miss the story of many generations of H4 holders who have clutched at straws, raised children, watched their financial independence and their closest relationships erode or sometimes slip away. “We didn’t know it was going to be like this” is a common thread that runs deep in the H4 community. That figures. Even H1B workers who know every downside of the H4 visa push back against the idea of the harassed H4 visa dependent. “All they have to do is get someone to sponsor their H1B…,” is a breezy response by some H1B folks to the lock step that the H4 finds itself in. The H1B workers know better than to believe this is true or possible. The last 12 months in the H1B’s history alone should be proof enough. As on date, 104,750 H4 visa holders have an EAD according to latest figures from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services for FY 2015-2017 updated till last June. Compare that with these numbers: In the 10 year period from 2007 to 2017, a total of 2,237,478 H1B petitions have been approved for Indians. Straightaway, the gap between the universe of approved H1B petitions and extensions minus the total number of H4 EADs is an entire generation of H4 visa holders which falls between the cracks. When the floodgates finally opened for H4 visa holders to work in the US, how many were able to find work? If one question can be answered by another, it is this: How many years outside the work loop does it take for your resumé to be considered dead on arrival? Chart the careers of H1B visa workers and their H4 visa dependents on a graph and the result you will see is how two mismatched categories of entry into a foreign land can cleave the modern nuclear family onto divergent paths - one going north or at least plateuing and the other with no option but downhill. Here below, we begin chroniciling the personal histories of H4 visa holders in America. If you’d like to share your story with your real name and picture, send us a line on Twitter | @byniknat "If the EAD gets revoked, I'll go back..." Jansi Kumar, California "When I got married in March 2016, I lived and worked in Mumbai with a prestigious MNC in their HR division. I have an MBA from Mumbai University. My husband has been on an H1B in the US and has done his Masters in the US too. Since I was in HR, I did know about the H4 issue but when you live in a different country, it's tough to know all the intricate details. For example, the H4 EAD rule had come into force by the time I got to the US but I had no clue about the legal case that Save Jobs USA had filed. These are things you get to know when you're local and in the thick of things. On the upside, I got a job within 2 days of getting my EAD in June 2017 after a 10 month wait for my husband's I-140 and my EAD. My husband filed for his green card in 2016. The queue is so impossibly backlogged that it's going to take forever for that GC to come through. If this EAD issue goes downhill and work options are closed for me, I'll probably up and go to Canada or just go back home. Thankfully, my husband is very supportive. But if we do end up moving out, there's this guilt on my mind that he did it for me. But I can't even fathom a life being dependent on my husband for my basic expenses. Our stats say that H4 EAD holders barely impact the job market in a negative way. Why are we being targeted then?" Without an SSN and earning capacity, what's an American life reduced to? Sharmistha Mohapatra | @sharmi.mohaps “I have a Master’s degree in Computer Applications. I came to the US in 2010 on an H4. From 2010 till 2015 when the H4 EAD rule came, I had no choice but to stay home and that drove me into depression. I have an autistic son who needs therapy and this comes at a high cost. On a single income, it is really tough. Before the EAD, I did not have an SSN. For everything - from opening a library account to applying for a driver’s license, I needed my husband’s approval. When my son was diagnosed with autism, I was not on an EAD and could not earn, so it was very tough to negotiate with my husband to enroll the child for therapy which is expensive here. All that changed after the EAD - I started saving for my kids, could enroll them in classes with the extra money and I could spend on myself without feeling guilty.” Bachelor's, Master's in Engineering, another Master's almost done and yet no job in the US Swati, California "I moved to US 5 years ago. I hold a Bachelors and Masters degree in Engineering. I had a well paying job in India, which I decided to leave to live with my husband because he came to the US on an H1B. I did not want to leave India but you can imagine the family pressures. I had a baby and I focussed on raising my daughter as I did not have any work permit. I enrolled for my second Masters and did a change of Status to F1. I found an internship and was finally relieved. I went to India last month and I had to go for stamping. Unfortunately, my F1 visa was denied. I am back to US on H4 and still studying. With the chances of H4 EAD getting revoked, I will not have any option to work in the future. My husband is willing to move back to India because we don't see any point in living like this anymore....With a Masters degree in Engineering and another Masters almost done, I have been out of a paid job for five years now. I don't want to look back at age 40 and realize that I spent 10 years just doing the dishes." "I have been having panic attacks" Mouneesha Chowdary, Salt Lake City, Utah “The only reason I agreed to come to the USA on an H4 is because I was assured I could get my EAD soon and I could work. I did my engineering in biotechnology and was also a software engineer back home in Hyderabad . After my EAD came through, I got signed on by a modeling agency and began work with local stores and designers. I have been planning to buy a house - that’s when I heard about the recent news on the H4 EAD and I have been having panic attacks. I am not able to digest the fact that our lives are going to change drastically if the EAD is revoked….” From H4 to F1 and back to H4 Kanupriya Dhiman | @kanudhiman "I came to United States after my MBA. I was hoping to find a sponsor who would file my H1B visa but I found that next to impossible if you do not have US working experience and you're from a non-STEM background. Without even the basic social security number, I ended up depending on my husband for a bank account, for getting around....it's a very alienating experience. After thinking a great deal about the financial implications, I took a loan and sank money into another Masters degree. I transferred my visa status from H4 to F1 and after several hoops, I was able to join the workforce again. After the H4EAD rule in 2015, I shifted to H4 which seemed a more flexible and stable choice. Here we are again now, with this policy under threat. I have invested tremendous amounts of time, money, physical and emotional energy to regain financial independence. I request the Trump administration not to revoke the H4 EAD rule. This is not just about economic independence, it is about our dignity." More stories will be updated below on this same thread. Quote
kiladi bullodu Posted January 29, 2018 Report Posted January 29, 2018 mouneesha chow details plz Quote
TampaChinnodu Posted January 29, 2018 Author Report Posted January 29, 2018 15 minutes ago, kiladi bullodu said: mouneesha chow details plz She is Mrs Utah Asia Quote
Idly Vishwanatham Posted January 29, 2018 Report Posted January 29, 2018 11 minutes ago, gudboy said: details pm please Panic attacks aa! Mamuluga levu ga sekalu okkokkariki. Quote
Android_Halwa Posted January 30, 2018 Report Posted January 30, 2018 26 minutes ago, kiladi bullodu said: mouneesha chow details plz manavalle na ? Quote
AryaD Posted January 30, 2018 Report Posted January 30, 2018 19 minutes ago, Android_Halwa said: manavalle na ? Ledhu original chowdry from Bengal.chowdary is a profession in bengal and manavallu lease ki teesukunnaru 99 years ki. Quote
boeing747 Posted January 30, 2018 Report Posted January 30, 2018 33 minutes ago, Android_Halwa said: manavalle na ? kadu baa, mee vallu anta Quote
Kumaravarma Posted January 30, 2018 Report Posted January 30, 2018 I don't want to look back at age 40 and realize that I spent 10 years just doing the dishes Quote
Kumaravarma Posted January 30, 2018 Report Posted January 30, 2018 Trump don't care desi aunties crying . He is going to revoke H4 EAD . Quote
Kumaravarma Posted January 30, 2018 Report Posted January 30, 2018 39 minutes ago, Android_Halwa said: manavalle na ? Yes manavalle nee Sunset reddy sutam ra Halwa Quote
Rushabhi Posted January 30, 2018 Report Posted January 30, 2018 Visa mills ayina NPU, Silicon Valley type universities ki kooda OPT option peekesthe poyidhi. Quote
Kumaravarma Posted January 30, 2018 Report Posted January 30, 2018 4 minutes ago, Rushabhi said: Visa mills ayina NPU, Silicon Valley type universities ki kooda OPT option peekesthe poyidhi. Vendullu hi . @Android_Halwa is waiting for you Quote
Rushabhi Posted January 30, 2018 Report Posted January 30, 2018 Unaccredited universities ki for profits ki masters category lo etlagu h1s raavu OPTs kooda peeki padesthe bavundu Quote
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