Stepping on the land of hope and liberty is a dream for all who are born with a human heart and mind. The excitement encroaches all spheres of ones mind the day he/she starts preparing for it. There are hindrances, road-blocks and cumbersome paper works to be done to get the visa (no matter what type) to enter into this country. The hopeful he or she gets relaxed and relieved when the visa is through. But NO! Thats not the end of it. The struggle and responsibilities increase exponentially starting from that day onwards.

Dreams come true is always valid for guys with guts. The land of hope and opportunity gives you all that you want if you deserve it. You need to be brave, adventurous, willing to accept challenges and posses high energy to fight back. The career path is very bright here, but always exposed to intruders. The socio-cultural differences make one feel suffocated in the beginning. The extra liberty does attract newbies towards the wrong destination. Most important thing that an alien faces here is that he/she is all alone that means a lot.

The non-immigrant visa lets one into the country for a certain period of time. The person must go back to his/her originating country (country of citizenship) on or before the visa expires. At the time of entry for a non-immigrant alien, INS officers provide the I-94 form that is the proof of validity of the aliens existence in this country. The I-94 form indicates how long the person can stay in this country legally.

The INS officers always posses the right to refuge entry of an alien into this country. So the person should be very clear about what he/she is going to do in this country. Upon asked he/she should be able to explain properly about his/her intentions. There are cases where people have been refused and sent back to their countries (rare though). If the INS officer needs more clarification, then they may detain the alien for some more hours until they get the proper supporting evidence.

It is really a hardship to go through all this after a continuous flying for hours. In some states they have more custom rules and don't allow some items like plants, seeds and some food items. So be careful about your pack, both hand luggage and checked luggage. You may be asked to open the baggage before the custom officers. Once you pass through all these you are allowed to enter the country. Now you must know where you are going to and who is there to pick you up from the airport.

Hell lot of a job. Alas, you are relaxed to be in the land where you wanted to be. The struggle starts now. If you already have a project, you are going to join work the next day. The new country, where the culture is totally different, people walk on the right side, the day starts when it is evening in some of our home countries. The very first day you join your work place, you wanted to prove yourself to impress your boss, but this damn jet-lag made you drowsy. Dont worry, every one understands this.

If you are here through the Big Brothers companies like Satyam, Infy, TCS or their cousins like Birlasoft, Wipro etc then you have fewer headaches. If you are through a Desi consultant, then depending upon your MOU, you have to complete certain formalities on your own.