An Indian girl living in America on an H4 visa is presented with a heavy but unspoken predicament. Her father has an H1B, and she, as most dependents are, technically is an “international student” – despite spending years in the U.S. growing up, attending school, and making a life there.
Now, summer is coming and she wishes to go to India. But a fear is brewing in her mind – what if she is not allowed to return? Her friends and others within the community have been cautioning her that traveling to India this year may be risky, and re-entry would not be as easy as in the past.
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She hasn’t had a word to say about U.S. politics, protests, or immigration controversy. In her own words, she never even posted a story online about any of it. Nevertheless, that quiet fear remains with her – the sense of being unwanted or unsafe in a nation she considers home but does not legally belong to.
It is not simply one journey. It’s about feeling invisible in a system that only sees her as a guest, even though roots now go deep into American ground. She’s stuck between two nations – one she has citizenship in, and one she came of age emotionally in, but can’t call home.
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The fear isn’t dramatic – it’s subtle, rational, and authentic. Although rules technically permit re-entry on a valid visa, tales of delay, capricious checks, and abrupt policy shifts have rendered many like her cautious.
The choice to call off the trip is not currently about travel arrangements – it’s about remaining in a location where she’s not certain she belongs, but worries she may not be readmitted.
