Sunayana faces US visa problem

K. Sunayana, whose husband Kuchibhotla Srinivas from Hyderabad was gunned down in the US last week, has returned to India for the funeral rites of her husband.

She is now facing a peculiar problem: whether she will be allowed into the United States again as she was on an H4 dependent visa. Her husband was on an H1B visa.

Telugu associations and Garmin, the company her husband worked for, are trying to help her if she has to enter a legal fight to ensure that she returns to the US and stays there legally.

The Telugu Association of North America’s emergency assistance management team headed by Mohan Nannapaneni has said that they will work with immigration lawyers to facilitate Ms Sunayana’s return and continued stay in the US if she so wishes. “We are going to appeal to the US immigration and government on this,” said Mr Nannapaneni. Srinivas Kuchibhotla’s green card application was still under process.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services will have to approve a change of status of Ms Sunayana’s visa to B2 and it may use its discretion to do so if it is satisfied that the circumstances are beyond the control of the applicant.

K. Sunayana, whose husband Kuchibotla Srinivas from Hyderabad was gunned down in the US last week, has returned to India for the funeral rites of her husband.

Experts said H4 status terminates once the spouse dies because it is dependent on the husband’s H-1B status.

Till the date on which I-94 expires, the H4 visa holder can stay back in the US. However, in this case, Sunayana had to return to India.

Krishna Mohan, Sunayana’s uncle said her husband “wanted her to work in the US. But now Sunayana is not able to speak on it. Both families have to sit together and decide on it. ”

Srinivas’ father is still in shock.

“All Americans should know they all migrated to America at some point or the other. Both the governments should now take up measures to keep Indians safe in the country,” he said.