Sitting at home staring at the four walls wondering how to spend your time on a H4 or F2 visa? Just because you can’t work and make money doesn’t mean you have to sit idle, bored, listless and frustrated! Here are some ideas of things you can do to keep busy:
- Learn cooking
Blog- Find local clubs of your hobby or interest
- Figure out how to get a driver license
- Volunteer in your field of expertise
- Learn about finances and manage household finances.
- Americanize your resume/ CV and get it critiqued
- Go back to college
- Learn more about American culture.
- Become an apprentice
- Work on getting EAD based on your spouse’s immigration status
- Get a pet
- Start a family
- Learn about your local community
- Treat your home life like a job and plan your day as if it were your job.
- Explore your true interests and hobbies
- Self-improvement through life coaching
- Get a gym membership
- Learn a foreign language
- Americanize your English or increase confidence in talking to Americans
- Take the TOEFL
- Take GRE/GMAT
- Find out how to ‘Americanize’ your degree and update your qualifications to the U.S. standards
- Volunteer at your spiritual community (church, temple, mosque)
- Teach Americans about Indian culture or your Indian language
- Give Indian cooking classes
- Learn sewing or some arts and crafts
- Get involved in a community club
- Find out about international wives or newcomers clubs
- Network in your career field and find out how your career path is similar or different in USA.
- Join a book club
- Take free classes on line via MIT Open courses or search tutorials on YouTube
- Network in your career field
- Join Toastmasters
- Get involved in a charity
- Learn about other cultures by getting involved in other cultural organizations outside the Indian community
- Learn dance or music
So, you may now ask, “Jennifer you have given us so many ideas, how can I implement any of these ideas?”
Of course some ideas are easier said than done. One way to get these ideas implemented is by planning and talking with your spouse or other friends or family you already have in the U.S. However if your network in the U.S. is limited, that’s where a coach like me can fit in to help you fill in the gaps. I can help you in as little as two sessions brainstorm the aspects of your life that are most important to you and help you create goals to help you realize comfort before, during or after you shift to the U.S.
Note: Advice given in this article if unclear should be advised by your attorney. As each person's situation is different, and the laws change from time to time, it's best to advise with your immigration attorney on some matters; especially in relation to making money or the exact nature of volunteer work.
Thank you for reading.
End of Part 3, Series on Help for H4/F2 Visa Holders
Read Part 1: Do Not ‘Settle’ For Settling Abroad: Plan Ahead For the Best Cross-Cultural Adaptation
Related Posts:
5 Ideas to Try on H4 @ Bloggermoms
Author of this post, Jennifer Kumar, an American has experience planning moves abroad
having recently moved back to India for a second time. I understand the situations faced by dependent spouses and living in a new country trying to figure out how to fit in and find a place in a new community, country and culture. Feel free to follow her on Facebook by clicking here. Read Part 2: Questions Every To-Be America-Bound Desi Spouse Should Ponder
About TOEFL iBT
ReplyDeleteThe TOEFL® Internet-based test emphasizes integrated skills and measures all four language skills, including speaking. Each of the four language skills reported on a scale of 0 to 30. There will also be a total score.
The content on the test is authentic, and the language is consistent with that used in everyday, real academic settings. The Test Of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL® test) evaluates the proficiency and general understanding of the English Language for people whose first language is not English.
A Standardized Test, (TOEFL®) assesses the English Proficiency of people, whose native language does not happen to be English. It tests the ability to understand North American English. Institutes in other countries, where the mode and language of instruction is English, also use TOEFL®. Most people take the TOEFL® test as a prerequisite for admission into colleges and universities where English is used or required. In addition, many government, licensing, and certification agencies and exchange and scholarship programs use TOEFL® scores to evaluate the English proficiency of people for whom English is not their native language.
Every case is individualistic-just like a treatment for a disease- no use in prescribing whether living in India or US is better- nothing can be said about any individual case. If you have kids-and you have survival income-staying US is better. If you go back to India-kids have to learn many languages-very hard- they cant get other luxuries of life- housing with all conveniences-hot shower for 24 hours-is impossible.Getting admission to school and then university is equally difficult-again your kids will face the problem when they reach age 16-17 as to -whether to stay in India or get back-if they are US citizens.
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