Bigger India
Doctors, teachers and entrepreneurs on H-4 visas fear losing their businesses and jobs
H-4 visa holders could independently purse an H-1B visa so they may continue working, but that's a near impossible avenue to pursue since it would require getting sponsored by a US firm as well as getting selected in the H-1B visa lottery.
An Obama-era executive order that allows spouses of H-1B holders to work and open a business in the United States enabled Alpa Gajera to build her restaurant business.
But now the Trump administration has said it plans to propose to revoke that rule — a move that could threaten to shut her operation down.
Gajera, who is originally from India, is in the United States on an H-4 dependent visa, which is typically given to the spouses and dependent children of H-1B visa holders.