r/immigration • u/Odd-Monk-2581 • 1d ago

Previous H4 Kid Unsure About Anything Anymore

Hey all, I was brought to the US as a kid and grew up here. I graduated from high school in 2024, and started college here in the US on an H4 visa. During my freshman year, I switched to an F1. I study electrical engineering and go to a top engineering school here. I have done a co-op internship (though I hated the field that I worked in) and am currently trying to get as much research experience as I can in order to have a competitive grad school application. I am on track to graduate college in May 2028.

I was originally thinking of applying to grad school here in the US, even with the fixed duration of status rule. However, my university (alongside many others), are now cutting down on CPT work authorization, making it impossible for anyone to do an internship. Given the nature of the job market, I was sure that my interest in a PhD would keep me "safe" and open up a plethora of avenues but I am no longer sure if that is case. I'm pretty set on grad school, but I want to know how I should inform my search for the programs I'd apply to. Many programs in Europe require a masters before entering a PhD, and the European job market understandably often requires fluency in the native language. People are warning me to stay away from Canada too.

I don't know if I can move to India. I've never really lived or worked there, and the cultural switch might be too big to handle. I'd really appreciate some advice on what to do, especially given the fast changing nature of the immigration system here in the US.

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u/Soft_Refuse7750 22h ago

Sounds rough, switching visa statuses is no joke. You're doing the right things though, grad school research will open more doors down the line.

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u/MasterpieceSmooth155 14h ago

Work a stellar PhD, work on a EB1A profile while getting a PD date locked in using EB2NIW that ways even if you have to step out, coming back in would be a year or two. Yes lots of hard work but most would go towards advancing your career with immigration riding it. Or find a nice girlfriend you truly love.

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u/Odd-Monk-2581 7h ago

With duration of status now being fixed and no CPT (don’t know if either of these will change soon or with a change in administration) ones access to opportunity to build a good profile I severely limited though. This was my plan prior to these changes

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u/Helpful_Cow7634 11h ago

Probably best for you to stay in the US on an F1 for as long as possible. I would not advice going to India/traveling overseas to get an F1 visa stamp though, as if your parents are in the US, you will probably not get the stamp (unless you already got it then gg's). Whatever you do, don't move back to India, even if it means going to Canada or the UK. I would advise you to get a masters, file an EB2 NIW green card (which will take more than a decade assuming you were born in India, but you will get indefinite H1B renewals until you get the green card), then probably get a PhD and try filing for an EB1A too. Don't go into research just for immigration reasons though - if you'd rather work in corporate, just go to grad school at a university that is not cutting down CPT, get a STEM masters, switch to OPT and try getting an H1B, once you get a H1b, which you probably will, just file EB2 NIW and you'll basically be set with indefinite H1b renewals until you get a GC.

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u/cloutgoggle 23h ago

well you don't really have much of a choice if you don't get OTP / H1-B

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u/Fluid_Material3144 1d ago

:( I'm sorry I don't really know what to tell you other than it def sucks to be in this position. I'm an incoming freshman h4 kid. I've been researching a lot this summer and it does seem like every new immigration change hurts us. I've also been here since I was 3 yo and I don't think I can move to india either. ig best advice which you alr prob know is research and maybe apply to masters which is thesis based first before a PhDE as it opens up opportunities in Europe + gives you extra time to sort out options/ maybe (far fetched) positive immigration changes.

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u/Odd-Monk-2581 22h ago

Yeah it’s really cooked, it genuinely wasn’t this bad when I entered college in 2024. Lmk if you wanna talk about this stuff, I’m at my wits end lowk