With a quest to build a decent life in the United States, one of the most sudden and heart-wrenching moments in an Indian family’s life occurs the moment their children turn 21 years old.
These “H4 dependents,” who have spent most of their lives in the United States, are cut off from their legal status as soon as they cross this threshold age. This legal limbo, known as “aging out,” has generated an undercurrent of anxiety and frustration for thousands of immigrant families, trying to secure their children’s futures in the country that has become their own.
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A recent Indian family’s experience reflects the sad reality that many Indian families are currently facing. This family had applied for an extension of their H4 visa, and they received a Request for Evidence (RFE) from USCIS. The RFE stated that since the son will be 21 years old at the time of his father’s H1B extension coming up in November, he is no longer considered a dependent.
He would soon lose his legal right to stay in the U.S.
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“USCIS is telling me that the extension is tied up with my three years of H1B extension, and they will not reduce the extension limit for my son,” the father explains. This points to the rigidity of the system and clearly echoes the plight of hundreds and thousands of Indian immigrants who feel trapped in a bureaucratic maze.
It is a very critical stage in their lives when they find themselves at the mercy of deportation orders—despite their attachment to American culture, education, and society.
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A long-forgotten generation of children, who legally came to the United States, find themselves in a system that is so inelastic, at least for H1B holders. The growing outcry from affected families has mounted pressure on lawmakers to act.
Until such reforms are made, people like this young man, who became an overnight sensation, are invisible immigrants, caught in a legal limbo, and may turn into strangers to the place they know to be home.
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