Restarting or Reinventing Your Career in the U.S. as a Dependent Visa Holder

Moving to the United States on a dependent visa often comes with a unique set of challenges—especially when it comes to building or rebuilding a career. For many, it can feel like starting from scratch in an unfamiliar system, without the professional network or work authorization that once made career growth possible.

But starting over doesn’t have to mean giving up.

Meet Ainura, who faced these challenges head-on and found a new path forward. Her journey shows that with the right mindset, support, and persistence, it’s possible to turn a fresh start into a powerful opportunity.

Ainura, our volunteer, moved to the United States from Switzerland two and a half years ago with her family because of her husband's job at Stanford. Ainura came as a dependent on a J2 visa and has a bachelor's degree in Psychology. After graduating, she worked with children who have autism.

While in Switzerland, she studied at the local university to learn French because she needed to speak the local language. Upon moving to Silicon Valley, Ainura decided to transition into the tech industry and started her apprenticeship in data analytics. She faced challenges and adaptations. As a dependent visa holder, it was hard to get a job immediately. All immigrants have to obtain work authorization and build a community or network from scratch.

Ainura found the Career Pathway Institute community and became a volunteer. At the same time, she pursued her apprenticeship. The CPI community helped her acquire technical and soft skills.

By volunteering at CPI, Ainura felt she had an amazing team of professionals with whom she worked on various projects. She collaborated with her team on social media metrics, ran Google ads, and engaged in email marketing. Another factor that helped Ainura develop her skills was the trust and confidence of her manager at CPI, who noticed her mentoring and management skills and began highlighting them. Ainura also mentioned that CPI's internal events, such as Mastermind career coaching and Personal Brand, really helped her build self-confidence.

Learn more about Ainura's story on our YouTube channel