The truth about H-4.

My acquaintance with the H-4 visa dates back to February 2002, when I arrived in New Jersey as a married woman, with an H-4 visa and very little understanding about the US immigration system. I was naive at best, and ignorant to put it bluntly, when I assumed that my education, work experience with multinational companies and proficiency in English would soon fetch me a legal job in the US. It is the land of opportunities after all, where hard work and talent is recognized. It has been more than four years since then and I am still on an H-4 visa. I am not eligible for a social security number or benefits, although we pay social security tax; my visa status does not permit me to work, and universities in New Jersey do not consider me for in-state tuition. One more thing--I am not alone.

The current law allows 65000 aliens to come into the US with H-1B visas as temporary workers in a specialized occupation every year. Most of them bring their spouses on dependent H-4 visas. The H-4 visa has three extremely significant conditions attached to it: it is completely dependent on the marital relationship between the principal H-1B holder and the dependent spouse. Secondly, it is entirely dependent on the employment relationship between the principal H-1B worker and his/her employer. If the principal H-1B is cancelled, the corresponding H-4 is automatically voided. The third condition is that the H-4 visa does not allow its carrier to work legally in the US. All of the above create a situation that can be exploited by abusive partners with frightening ease. If trapped in an abusive marriage, women who are dependent spouses of H-1B workers have very few resources available to them. Without a social security number and with a visa that is entirely derivative of the status of the principal H-1B holder, the H-4 visa holders belong to an invisible population. For women in nurturing relationships it often translates to lack of career opportunities and an unequal relationship where they are financially dependent upon their husbands.

The notion harbored by many South Asians--even among educated and urban communities--that a woman suffering marital abuse will find refuge, justice and opportunity in the US is therefore not entirely true for H-4 visa holders. Under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), victims of domestic violence who are married to legal permanent residents or citizens of the US can submit a self-petition for their legal residency in the US. However, there is no such provision offered for victims of violence who have temporary dependent visas such as the H-4 visa, since their husbands are temporary workers and have no permanent residency in this country. In 2002 when President George Bush signed a bill, which would allow dependent spouses of L and E visa holders to get work authorization, no such provision was granted to H-4 visa holders.

The big question that comes to mind then is, what happens to such women? They usually have three choices: they may decide to end the abusive relationships and return to their home countries, where often no justice can be served against the abusive partners. Most women do not wish to return to their home countries because in the South Asian context there persists immense social pressure and prejudice against women who choose to end their marriages. The second choice is just as dismal--if they stay on in the US and decide to leave their abusive partners, they have no more legal status than that of an undocumented alien. The third option is even more deplorable: they may endure the abusive relationship despite needing and wanting relief, because the other two options do not offer them justice. I work with many such women, as an advocate, and it breaks my heart and enrages my conscience every day.

As an advocate, empowerment of women is an integral part of my work. I find it disturbing when the law of a free country stops a woman from working and attaining economic independence, even if she wants to. The law fails that woman every single hour and robs her of her self-reliance. Economic independence was a concept drummed into my veins since ...