Hello and welcome to H4Help.org - a site dedicated to dependent visa holders in the US. With the various restrictive laws of dependent visas, it is but natural for the visa holders to feel constrained and left out. Moreover, what makes it even harder for the dependents is the fact that there is no existing support system put in place to help these individuals cope with their new restrictive life-style. Seeing too many dependent visa holders, including myself, helplessly letting their career and confidence slip away, I thought it was time that we do whatever little possible to make it just a bit better or a whole lot better (it is really up to us to a large extent)... Yes, there is no magic wand to make it all perfect but there are certainly a lot we could do within the boundaries of law. First and foremost, lets build our own online community, help each other figure out what all could be done. I have already put down few things on this site that I believe could help better the situation. I was too eager to start a community of educated, spirited, talented people like we all are, that I could not wait long and moreover didn't have a budget to make a fancy website, so with the help of few well wishers (thanks, End of the Night Creations!!!), the site is up and running in no time. We will add more content as time goes by. But it will take much hard work, dedication and patience from all of us to get anywhere from here. I have only laid down few bricks, I urge you to help me build a home. What can you do? Just about anything... Participate in discussions, survey, write letter to congressman, help each other find jobs (i.e. employers willing to do H1Bs), have fun etc etc...(See below) Give me ideas, get involved. This site is as much yours as it is mine... So make it happen folks!! What we aspire to achieve... It's well known that most of the dependent visa holders are highly qualified, hard-working, aspiring people, who, given the opportunity would like to enrich their lives in every way possible. But, the limiting laws and lack of support system for the dependent visa holders in US have led a lot of us into desperate situations. What can we do to better the situation? First of all, as a dependent visa holder, * First and foremost, we can build a community where we can share our stories, experiences, jokes recipes etc. We have all uprooted ourselves from the environment where we were most comfortable in and have come to a new world to seek better opportunity. Lets not get discouraged by the restrictive visa but use this time we have in hand to learn news ways of the new world. Also lets better use our free time to learn new skills or to strengthne the old ones. Let us support each other through advices and guidance... We can make this site our own virtual hangout, a place to learn and have fun! * We can also fight to change the policy by letting our situation known by participating in the survey above to help the advocates who are already working towards increasing our rights. * We can write letters to the house of representatives shedding some light on the matter and requesting them to change the laws/policies. * We can network with the fellow dependents using the tools on this site to help each other find jobs by finding employers who is willing to sponsor H1B etc. * We can seek guidance from advisors listed on this site on issues ranging from marriage problems, depression to legal matters etc... We are still in the process of finding qualified advisors. Please let us know if you know anyone who would be intersted in being part of this community. * We can participate in volunteer programs and gain some experience until we can find a real job. H4Help.org aims to help Advocates across the US, working towards increased rights for dependent spouses of temporary visa holders, mainly H-4 visa holders. We aspire to achieve this by providing real data through participation in surveys and writing letters to our congressmen or senators. H4Help.org also hopes to provide support to the dependent visa holders through the tools on this site. Please help yourself by helping us help you through your participation in the survey or by writing letter to congressmen. Please do something while the issue is hot and there is a chance for us to bring some positive changes. Pooja Luitel Founder (H4Help.org) Community of H4 visa holders, H4 wives, F2 dependents, etc etc About H4B visa Spouse and unmarried children under 21 of an 'H' (H-1A / H-1B / H-2A / H-2B / H-3) visa holder are eligible to get H-4B visas to live in the US. 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. H4 visa holders are not allowed employment in US and are not eligible to get a Social Security Number. But, you can get drivers license and open bank account(s) and get ITIN for IRS Tax purpose. Family members may alternatively be admitted in other nonimmigrant categories for which they qualify, such as the F-1 category for children or spouses who will be students or the H-1B category for a spouse whose employer has also obtained approval of an H-1B petition to employ the spouse. An H-4 visa holder is admitted to the U.S. for the duration of the primary H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, or H-3 visa is valid. DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR H-4B VISA 1) I-797 form (your H 1B 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] 8) 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.) Unless required, it is better not to provide original documents since they will likely never be returned, though the applicant should have the originals at the interview if the Consular official requests to review them. Other websites you might find useful: H4Help.org[An online community of dependent (H4/F2 etc) visa holders].