Digvijay and Ridhima’s blog

The H-4 Visa : Paperwork and facing the Interview.

May 2nd, 2007 | by Ridhima Suri |

What is an H4 Visa?

According to Wikipedia, this is the visa status that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) grants to immediate family members (spouse and children under 21) of the H-1B visa holders. The H-4 visa is common referred as Involuntary Housewife Status because the adult spouse are not allowed to work making her/him 100% economically dependent.

These visas are usually issued at the local US consulate office of your home country. However, if you are already in US, you can obtain H-4B visa by filing Form I-539 for change of status.

What are H4 visa holders allowed to do?

First the Don’ts

1. They cannot work in the U.S.
2. They are not eligible for a Social Security number. The Social Security number is a unique 9-digit number, used to track the residents for taxation purposes.

However, these are the DOs

they can learn to drive, and then drive!! Obtain a Driver’s License after passing certain tests, and
can obtain an ITIN number (Individual Taxpayer’s Identification Number) for taxation formalities.

Funny quip———-> you are not allowed to work, which makes you 100% dependent, and you are allowed to obtain a Tax Identification number!!! well, well..:)

DOCUMENTS NEEDED FOR THE H 4 VISA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H4_Visa

1) I-797 form (your H-1B visa approval notice)
2) A dated (recently written) letter of employment from the company you work for with your current salary.
3) A Letter addressing Consulate in favor of your dependent’s visa.
4) Copy of relevant pages of passport : Notarized (Make sure that you have the copy of the page with current valid visa.)
5) Copy of the Marriage certificate : Notarized, If marriage certificate is not in English get it translated to English and get it Notarized.
6) A couple of your recent paychecks.
7) Bank statement [proof of money for supporting your spouse]
Original passport of the person applying for H-4B visa.
9) Few marriage photographs and a marriage invitation card.
10) Few Company photographs (1 photo of the building from outside and others inside the building preferably office rooms and/or cubicles with computers etc.)

You can divide the list into your own work, your husband’s work and then your combined effort.

Your husband should ideally make a folder containing the items stated in 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,10.

You must ideally have a folder containing
a) Your degree certificates
b) Your 10th class certificate/a copy of your father’s ration card (or any other document which may have your date of birth for verification, if needed. Your passport will also have the same)
c) Your passport

Once the two of you get married,
a) You should get a copy of the Marriage Certificate notarized. Be careful to avoid public holidays and weekends in India. I suggest that you should get this work out of the way as soon as possible.
b) Compile a working collection of Marriage photographs, including as many ceremonies as possible, with most of the family members and the priest/guru performing the main ceremony.
c) Be sure to keep the original Marriage invitation cards.

In the crux,

Just be confident and prompt in giving all the documents and answers.

It is better not to provide original documents since they will likely not be returned though the applicant should have the originals available at the interview if the Consular official requests to review them.

The H-4 Visa Interview : My experience and some tips!

When I walked into the U.S. Embassy office on the date of my interview, I knew I was in for an interesting experience.
My look: Palms red with henna, wearing a heavy suit, jewellery in all the suitable places, and sindoor . And yes! ‘Choora’ is an important symbol of marriage in our culture, so lots of the red and white bangles! A typical newly–wed bride!
What I carried in my bag:
a) All the documents listed above.
b) The originals of all the documents in a. above
c) Some other documents like my work history, salary slips, etc.
d) A marriage album….phew!!!
Okieee…so I did think I was in for a weight lifting hour-long wait. You have to be alone in the queue, whilst all those who accompany you have to wait outside the premises. In my case, my husband was waiting outside in the scorching sun (Well, I got married on April 15th and the Visa interview date was May 7th) Our families were waiting for the result of the interview near all the phones and cell phones available to them.

My goal: To get through the interview round and get my Passport stamped with the H-4 visa. I desperately wanted to travel with my husband (and so did our families!!) so I did not want anything to go wrong.

What are the possible questions you may face?

As far as the H-4 Visa is concerned the counselor will only have one objective: to find out if you have any intention of working in the U.S. I was asked the following questions. :

a) What is your name ?
b) When did you get married ?
c) Is your marriage registered ? Can you show me the Marriage Certificate ?
d) When did you meet your spouse for the first time ?
e) How did you get married to this guy? When did you get engaged?
f) Can I look at your Passport?
g) Where is your husband working in the U.S. ?
h) A letter of continuing employment from your husbands employer
i) Can I take a look at your husband’s passport ?
j) Can you please show me the I-797 ?
k) What are his qualifications ?
l) Can I take a look at his salary slips ?
m) What are your qualifications ?
n) Could I see a copy of your Degree ?
o) Do you have any intention to work in the U.S. ?
p) Please show me some marriage photographs, if you have any.

My husband prepared me for facing the interview and explained everything to me. My father gave me the important tips. Everyone waited for me to come out of the Embassy and tell the result! I went in. I came out. My eyes darted around in all directions to get a glimpse of my husband. There he was standing in the heat! I told him. We were happy! We told our families. Everyone was happy!!

I was flying to the U.S. with my husband!!!

p.s. sounds like I just gave an exam, but I saw so many visa disapprovals, that I was fingers – crossed!

• During your courtship..:)
• The Immigration Bill
• Bridal Confusions on an H4 Visa: My Take
• Are you coming on the H-4 visa ?
• Tips to travel to USA
• Some more on an H4 visa
• H4 visa: Questions asked at the port of entry

Tags: H4, Immigration, Moving to US, Visa