Tuesday, October 20, 2009

How not to get bored on H4

H4, the dependant visa for spouses of H1B workers, is thought to be the most dreadful visa. True, but only if you're the career-oriented types. I've been in H4 status for 2 years and I do agree that I would have been standing with pride on a higher rung of my career ladder, had I not confined myself to home-making. But then, those have been the best years of my life, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have enjoyed that much with 40-hour work weeks coming in the way of family life. Career apart, the next common complaint I keep hearing from H4 spouses is "boredom". For me, the total number of days I really must have got bored can be counted on fingers, and may be toes taken together. :) That's because I saw the H4 period as a long vacation and kept myself busy with so many activities I never had time for all those years as a student and employee. And finally, people say they get depressed being on H4. When I came to the USA post marriage, I told myself I'm going there on an extended honeymoon. :) Yes, a typical honeymoon lasts anywhere from few days to may be few months. Mine took two years.. :) So have a positive attitude, you're not going to stay forever on H4 and then they'll be days when you so wish you stay back at home instead of slogging at work. Enjoy your vacation, you might never get so long a break again!

Now, this post summarizes what all things you can do while on H4. Following are all what I figured out over time, if you know more, leave me a comment..
If you want to make a "productive" use of your time, then:
  1. Regardless of what your plan A is, try to get yourself an admission into some Master's degree program in any which school. That should be your plan B. Looking back, my only regret is not joining the MS program, with an admission in hand. Pursuing higher studies is always a good fall-back option for three things: 1. if you don't already have a Master's degree, this is your chance to arm yourself with one. 2. after the course completion, you are entitled to a 19-month work-permit in the name of OPT. So, you can for sure, get back to work after 19 months. and 3. a good explanation for the gap in your career.
  2. If the H1B quota for the year didn't run out yet, find yourself a full-time job. Again don't spend too much time looking for full-time jobs, because the H1B numbers might become unavailable anytime. May be, try hard for about a month or two and then, only then, find a decent consulting company to apply your H1B. Finding a full-time job should be your first preference, since 1. that's the legal path to employment, and 2. you would anyways have to search jobs after the consultant's H1B gets approved. So why not do that initially itself? That'll save you money, and unnecessary tensions as to whether or not the consultant's H1B gets approved.
  3. If the H1B cap is filled, or for some other reason you can't get an approval, explore the option of working for non-profit organizations. By this, I don't mean volunteering. There are these NPOs like Universities and Hospitals that are H1B cap exempt. That is, they are not counted under the annual H-1B quota. You have separate job boards for jobs in universities, and NPOs. If you find an appropriate position, go ahead and apply to the job. If all goes well, the NPO would file a H1B petition for you and you can start working for them.
  4. Again, if you aren't lucky with H1, you could explore this other option of work-study programs called "co-op" programs. A few colleges in US offer Masters degree program with full-time CPT right from the first day of joining the program. With the full-time CPT you can work full-time and attend school during evenings/weekends. HTIR website contains the details. These schools are not-so-popular, but then you have the advantage of full-time CPT.
  5. If you're willing to invest some money, and don't want to spend two years earning a degree, Management in Information Systems (MIS) is the way to go. Do your research, and you'll find a bunch of schools offering this degree program. Not much of a value addition to your resume, but in one year, you'll get the OPT. Another caveat here. If you're interested in pursuing this option, try to find a school that is registered in the STEM category. Why? STEM guarantees 29month OPT. Happy life! you don't even need to pay Medicare and Social Security taxes while on OPT, that's a lot of $$$.
  6. and finally if nothing works out, make a "citizen" baby :) so that he/she would not have to face the same hassles as you do should you choose to send him/her here. I'm not joking, if you really like the idea of having babies, this is an option worth pursuing unless you have other reasons not to. The best prenatal care you can give yourself is leading a stress-free life, pampering yourself at home. Any expecting mom has to agree with me on this.
If, on the other hand, you want to enjoy your long holiday, here's just a small subset of what all you can do:
  1. Learn car driving. The best days of my H4 have been after me learning to drive. You will begin to feel independent again as you zoom. Plus, if you're into window shopping like I am, US is the place to be. Plenty of one-of-a-kind shops where you can spend hours casually browsing the aisles and unlike India, nobody here puts up awkward expressions if you leave without purchasing a thing or even bother you as you casually walk around the store.
  2. Now is the time to pick up all those hobbies you left to make time for your studies.
  3. If there's a community college near you, check out their course schedule. I don't mean the educational ones. Most of these colleges offer sports lessons, swimming and music classes, etc for as little as 20-30$ for the entire semester.
  4. Blogging. The best outlet for your several thoughts. Start writing a blog to post your random musings or some cooking or crafts blog or anything. Blogging is fun and you will slowly learn to become more expressive.
  5. Reading. If you enjoy reading books, you will never once get bored here. For the public libraries here are pretty amazing! Become a member and read as much as you can.
  6. If arts and crafts interest you, visit the store "Michaels" to get some ideas.
  7. Make vacation plans. There are plenty of places to visit in the US, while there are hardly 4,5 long weekends an year. Unless your spouse is into travel planning, you take up the task of planning your vacation. Most of the State Tourism Boards publish travel guides and mail them out for free. This info can be obtained on the Internet too. But, if you prefer lying back and reading all that a State has got to offer, order these travel guides and start planning.
  8. Every now and then, keep revising what you already studied and learn what's new in your field of expertise.
  9. Keep in touch with friends, professional contacts and with world, in general.
See, we came here on our choice. Nobody forced us into marrying an H1-B dude. So why crib? If not this year, you can apply for work permit the next year or the next. As long as you are hands-on with whatever your resume highlights, getting a job is not at all difficult. All it needs is confidence to crack an interview, assuming you already have the required skill-set. If you start getting depressed, it will only affect your relationship. Always remember, there's a contingency plan for everything. So relax at home and have fun!


Posted by Manjusha at 2:47 PM  

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18 comments:

Neetha posted on November 7, 2009 at 9:14 AM  

:) Thats a good post! I guess most of us sort of figure this one out in about a years time, so for people who are here on H4 newly it should be very useful. What you say about finding things to do is very very true. I think two years down the line, I might even think this was a good thing!

Unknown posted on December 6, 2009 at 12:31 PM  

I really liked your blog for its simplicity and honesty. I have been reading for an hour now, and will visit sometime later. All the best.

Manjusha posted on December 9, 2009 at 9:51 PM  

@ Kiran,

Glad that you liked my blog. Thank you for visiting.

Unknown posted on May 6, 2010 at 12:32 PM  

I loved your blog!!Thanks for posting this..Could u pls let me know any NPO in New Jersey..I desperately want to start working again..I would be very grateful!!

Manjusha posted on May 12, 2010 at 6:20 PM  

@srivalli,

About NPOs in NJ, I have no idea. But there are some websites like highered.com that list jobs at Universities. Likewise there are other job boards for health care etc. Lookup for "non profit jobs" on Google - that should give some leads.

Good luck!

Sweety posted on September 2, 2010 at 2:03 PM  

Thanks for such a wonderful blog. Thats really a great and useful information. Is there any colleges are offering masters through 100% online and i can transfer my H4 to F1 by that?? If u know any information, pls share with me.

Unknown posted on September 3, 2010 at 12:47 PM  

@nikky
Hi Nikky,
U can get admitted to University of Northern Virginia or Tri-Valley University,CA. Both the colleges provide online degree for Masters and also give you CPT immediately. U can start working on CPT :))

Manjusha posted on September 3, 2010 at 1:43 PM  

@ Nikky,

Sorry, I dont know the actual specifics of which online Masters program offer CPT

@ Srivalli,

Thank you for responding to Nikky's comment. BTW, any luck so far with you?

Unknown posted on September 3, 2010 at 7:11 PM  

@Manjusha
I did not get my H1B last year. And this no year nobody is sponsoring for H1B.. I have started working as a Technical recruiter in a consultancy here..Just to keep busy..

Unknown posted on September 9, 2010 at 11:27 AM  

Hi,

Nice witeup I am avle to relate myself to this.

Can you please provide more info abt point 3:working for non-profit organizations.

Thanks

Manjusha posted on September 9, 2010 at 1:59 PM  

@Pandu,

These "non-profit" jobs are more or less same as regular techie jobs. Building/maintaining software for Universities, Hospitals, etc.

highered.com is one good site I can think of.. Also, if there are any public Universities in the area where you live, you can apply for "staff jobs" over there too. Google: "non-profit organization" jobs should give you some leads.

But IMO, the NPO route was suggested *if* the H1B cap has already been filled. In the present market conditions, an NPO job could be as easy or as difficult as getting a regular job. Even an NPO job requires H1B sponsorship (without a limit). So, I wouldn't be looking for them right now. My advice, depending on your background, apply for fulltime positions in start-ups, and bigger companies. Also, don't confine yourself to your zipcode, apply aggressively across the United States. All that is important right now for you is to find a "real" job and a company willing to do your H1. Once you get the visa, and some work experience, finding jobs in your area of preference would not be hard.

Good luck!

SonalShah posted on October 8, 2010 at 3:30 PM  

Hi Manjusha, I really liked your blog . I have been in US for last 9 months and for last few months i am searching for Full/Part time jobs through job portals but due to h4 i hardly get interviews, so I was upset but your blog charged me up again :). Thanks..

Raj posted on December 30, 2010 at 12:43 PM  

Hi Manjusha,
As per your research how legitimate are the MS programs offered by Trivalley university or University of Northern Virgnina?
Getting CPT right from day 1 of MS course and then switching to H1 will cause any future immigration issues?
Please share your thoughts.

Manjusha posted on January 5, 2011 at 4:46 PM  

@ Raj,

Dunno anything abt the schools you mentioned. And regarding immigration issues, no, there shouldn't be any, unless you ditch the degree in the middle. Because, in the Masters program (whichever) itself, the School puts it in writing that this particular degree requires work besides study. So, you can work-study peacefully for the entire duration of the program.

Unknown posted on February 1, 2011 at 10:09 AM  

Hi Manjusha

your blog is very inspiring.I was about to consider the CPT option given by tri valley university and Herguan university.but in the meantime the huge scam took place. so i guess this is not the right time to go for that option. i just went through the HTIR website.that looks promising...Can you guide me with that. i mean can u give me more details on that.

Manjusha posted on February 1, 2011 at 1:03 PM  

@Puneetha,

I'm not an education consultant.. :)
I think you should look for reviews on these Universties, visit them if you live in the area so that you'll get an idea of the infrastructure, learn other students' experience, etc. But this whole TVU scam gives me jitters.. I considered it too, in the past and so did my other visitor, Raj.

Let me make one thing clear. These non-conventional colleges do not help you get a job.. All they do is provide a work authorization in the form of CPT. When I first wrote about joining one of these programs, there was a terrible deficit of H1B numbers. And the only way you could work is via student authorization. But now, you know times have changed. Unless you want to work right away, and can not wait until October (H1B for this year ran out 5 days ago, on 26th Jan), I would recommend pursuing this option. Otherwise, I would suggest you prepare for interviews, and try to get a job by April/May and have your employer file for your H1. That is the most straight-forward and guaranteed route to your employment. You'll anyways have to look for a job even if you join these Masters programs, so why not do it independent of that. This also saves you college fees..

That's an advice I can give. But dont want to let you down either. So, if you any questions, feel free to leave me a comment with your email and we talk via private messages :)

Unknown posted on May 16, 2011 at 2:48 PM  

Hi Manjusha,

your blog is truely inspiring..I used to work in India before marriage..n now after coming to US on H4 , It was so boring for me..but actually to say I can use this time to improve my skills,my qualifications..n Im gonna do it..All the Best

Manjusha posted on May 18, 2011 at 2:31 PM  

@ Rashmitha,

That's the attitude I like.. :) YOU ARE GONNA DO IT.. good luck!

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