This and That ...

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:

How many of you have been fooled today? Feeling sad that you could be fooled so easily? Don't you worry. There's somebody out there who was fooled consistently by a huuuuge number of people for the last two years. Not by 10, not by 100, but atleast by 8,500 people who fooled it into believing that they have a job, when they actually don't! Who else do you think I'm talking about besides the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services, the USCIS, in short. Here's why...

Each year the USCIS accepts petitions for the much coveted ***H1B*** visa. This is perhaps the World's most sought after visa, as it gives a ticket to making $$$. :) For those IT professionals with Dollar dreams, there's one additional season besides Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter - & that is the "Filing" season. This season begins on the 1st of April every year. And for the last two years, this has been the shortest season of the year. Started on April 1st, and ended on the same day. Huh-oh!

A citizen of India, with a very good job back in Pune, I never dreamt of landing in the US. So, I didn't care about all these work visas. But after coming here, I was like Sheaaa!!! Is this the way the country, the World looks up to, issues work permits? To get a job here, you need a work authorization; and to get the work authorization, you need a job. Do you see the cyclic dependency? Sadly, our friend, the USCIS doesn't.

For the US-graduated students, they have the previlige of getting a short-term work permit that allows them to work for atleast 1year. So, it becomes easier for them to get a job, start working using the Student work authorization, and eventually get the employer file the H1B. But for the people on dependent visas, and for all those in India, there's a slim chance of finding an employer who is willing to file your H1B and is ready to wait till October 1st for you to join work. As a result, most of these people approach the DCCs (Desi Consulting Companies). Most of them are shady guys with a one room office, and with 100's of employees on the payroll. All they do is, take money from the candidate, offer him a "dummy" job and go ahead with the H1 application. Once the candidate gets the visa, and lands up a job, he becomes the hen that lays the golden eggs. The owner of the DCC can happily vacation in Hawaii, while his employees fill up his bank account. In the eyes of the USCIS, he is a legitimate employer. But hey, there was no real job offer while filing the H1 petition. How could the USCIS miss that?

Last year, I went the right way & got a "real" full-time job, and got my H1B filed without paying a penny. But since the USCIS is not smart enough to sift the "real" jobs from the total pool, I missed the lottery. This year, when I gave up (bad market-no one knows whether he'll be in business on Oct 1st) and started enquiring around for a DCC, there's this guy who offered to file my H1. Not too surprising, this is what he said: "I charge 4000$ for processing your app. I strongly recommend you to put atleast 5 other apps (What???). The more tickets you buy, the better the chances of winning the lottery. Right? Any amount you *invest* in H1B is priceless". My greatest regret is that his name somehow slipped off my mind. Had I remembered, I would have posted this in some legal forums.

Because of these DCCs, the applications out number the quota, thereby resulting in a lottery. All the while, I've been believing that your education, personality, experience, anything that is either a natural trait or one thats acquired with lots of hardwork, earns you a career. Funny thing is, in the US, its a lottery that decides whether or not you can work. Hows that??

Atleast 10% of the 85,000 visas are grabbed by the DCCs. If somebody fools you today, you realize it latest by the end of day. But it could take the USCIS anywhere up to an year to realize it was fooled by a DCC. It just rubs it off the shoulder, perhaps denies the visa at the Consullate, and gets ready to invite another set of applications. The System can't be more screwed up. Since its not possible to filter out the DCCs, some radical changes should be introduced in the way the work permits are issued.

That said, I'm asking again: Do you consider yourself the greatest fool? Think again!