H-4 Visa Holders Find Freedom in Canada

Shrutinder Kaur moved to the US in 2015 at age 23 for her husband's job, but felt like she had chosen love over her identity. She held an H-4 visa, which doesn't automatically come with work authorization, and discovered that many women on similar visas lost their identities to sustain their marriages.

Kaur was ambitious and wanted to be financially independent, so she studied for a Master's degree at Hofstra University in New York, where she moved away from her husband. She applied for a loan worth close to $100,000 with interest to fund her education, but ultimately had her husband help her repay it.

After graduating in 2018, Kaur got an accounting job with a two-hour commute each way, which she described as 'taxing.' During this time, she and her husband decided the US wasn't for them due to visa uncertainty and potential deportation issues. They applied for permanent residency in Canada and moved there in February 2019.

In Canada, Kaur felt a sense of freedom without work restrictions and was able to get a job at the Bank of Montreal within months of arriving. She has since been working at a Canadian-headquartered insurance company and has become a permanent resident.