Trailing Spouse

(Source)

Did you know that I'm a "trailing spouse"? I find it quite a funny phrase because I don't in any way see myself as "trailing" behind my husband. Anyway, that's what I am in Homeland Security terms. The topic of this blog entry is to outline some of my experiences of being on an H4 (non-working) visa.

Before leaving the UK, the plan was to come over to the US on a non-working visa. I would then apply for jobs where the employer could sponsor my upgrade to a working visa. Sounds good -- but easier said than done. I'm fairly convinced that my CV (resume) looks good because within a couple of hours of posting it on Monster I'd got a phone call from an interested company. Unfortunately, though, the US immigration only allows a certain number of working visas (H1B) a year and this company had already met their quota. I'm still going to keep applying for jobs in the hope of finding a company who has not met their quota.

The other thing I thought of was to do a college course in the interim. This would help me keep my skills up-to-date ready for when I can work (maybe in the next year's H1B allocations or if we get greencards). Unfortunately, college courses here seem to be considerably more expensive than they are in the UK. I think that my next fallback (plan C) is to try and find voluntary work, although voluntary positions in my field are few and far between.

I think that although I need to carve out my own niche, the motto "never say die" comes to mind, as does "hope springs eternal".

If you want to tell me your "trailing spouse" experiences, or offer much needed advice, my ears are open.

November 18, 2005

If you're a trailing spouse or going to be a trailing spouse, you might find this website interesting: TheTrailingSpouse.com.