There was a thought-provoking article in the SF Chronicle Sunday on the current quandaries faced by high-skilled foreign workers on H-1B Visas in the U.S. A very large proportion of these are Indian (49%), and in high-tech and computer fields (45%).
Currently, the system has problems on every side: first, representatives of software companies (chief among them Microsoft’s Bill Gates) have loudly asserted that they need for the number of available H-1B visas to be increased, as there are currently significant numbers of unfilled positions in many computer related fields (and this is even despite the explosion of outsourcing in the past five years). Secondly, there is confusion about whether H-1B should be understood as a temporary visa, or the first stage on the path to a green card; most Indians I know presume it’s the latter, while the government still seems to think it’s the former. And finally, the system clearly hasn’t been working very well for the immigrants themselves: it currently takes between 6 and 12 years for an Indian on an H1-B to be given a green card, even with employers willing to sponsor them. Confusingly, it takes much less time for H-1B workers from other national backgrounds to be given a green card once they find sponsorship. One of the surprises to me in the SF Chronicle article is the fact that the USCIS doesn’t even really know how many H-1B workers with Green Card sponsors there are:
Stuck in the middle is a federal government that has problems tracking the visas. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency that oversees this guest-worker program, can’t answer basic questions including:
— How many foreign-born professionals are working in the United States on H-1B visas now?
— What percentage of H-1B visa holders seek green cards instead of returning home?
— How many H-1B visa holders and family members are awaiting green cards?
“The cumulative numbers you are looking for simply aren’t available,” said Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Chris Bentley. “These are not issues we track.”
This admission of ignorance is really depressing: it suggests how low on the government’s priority list the H-1B workers really are. “It’s not something we track” is a way of saying, “no one really seems to care about this.”
Fortunately, a new organization has cropped up to advocate for H1-B workers: Immigration Voice. They’ve hired a PR firm to help them make their case in public, and they’re trying to influence the push to reform the H1-B system that is currently starting to work its way through Congress.
On a personal note, I should say that my wife started working in the U.S. (in the Bay Area) on an H-1B visa, and I’ve seen the ins and outs of this deeply flawed system at work. I feel strongly that the H1-B system is essential to the U.S. economy, and that H1-B workers, who come to the U.S. with advanced university degrees and unique skills, ought to be fast-tracked to permanent resident (Green Card) status. As it is, 1.1 million people (according to Immigration Voice’s number) are currently waiting in limbo, unsure whether to plan on staying in the U.S. permanently — and everything that might come with that — or whether they should continue to presume they’ll be heading back to the countries they started from.
Finally, I also think second-gen desis in the U.S. — particularly all the desi lawyers out there — ought to be advocating for better treatment for the Indians who are here on H-1B visas. As of now I haven’t seen much of this.
I agree we ABD lawyers should be advocating for better treatment ~ I know so many desis who were waiting for the yearly H-1B lottery…it does take it’s toll on future planning and leaves them in limbo. Do you have some ideas of where we lawyers should start? 🙂
Also, I didn’t realize it was 6 to 10 years to wait for a greencard! It must have increased, because my fiancee’ got his gc in 3 years.
Quite frankly, as a second-gen desi, I don’t have much sympathy for H-1 b holders. You see, I got laid off and was replaced by an Indian H-1b. Was there special skills involved? Nah. The guy’s education was no better than Heald Technical Institute. He just came cheaper through a body shop. The Wall Street Journal did a better job of examining this situation than the Chronicle It’s a terrible irony. Does he have loyalty to the U.S.? Nah, like most H-1b’s, he just wants “dual” citizenship so that 1) he can leave his kids here to attend college in the future. 2) So that he can sponsor his aging parents and get them on the SSI government benefits dole. It’s the best of both worlds. Have your cake and eat it too! The solution is to shut down the H-1b visa program and restructure the American educational system. Of course, you can’t do that by wasting money in Iraq.
Amardeep’s post: “I feel strongly that the H1-B system is essential to the U.S. economy, and that H1-B workers, who come to the U.S. with advanced university degrees and unique skills, ought to be fast-tracked to permanent resident (Green Card) status.”
At the core of the U.S. Immigration policy has been the the benevolent concept of unification of families, with economic interests given a much lower priority. Fast-tracking highly skilled contributors to our economy makes perfect economic sense, but unfortunately, the current laws do not support that goal. Highly skilled workers with firm job sponsorships from US employers are still categorized as Sixth Preference, which obviously means that there are no less than five categories of potential immigrants that the US considers far more important than, for example, an IIT graduate who can come in and solve a major glitch in the IRS’s revenue collection software.
An American citizen’s old parents residing in India have a much better chance of getting green cards than the IIT graduate with nothing but a job sponsorship from the US. The economic value – or in the case of old parents, the economic liability – of these two classes of people has not been central to the US immigration laws. However, the recent immigration reform bill seems to give a higher priority to our economic interests at the expense of family reunification. Since there is never a free lunch, adding immigration quotas to the economic need column will have some effect on the other immigration categories. I have read that family reunification is being questioned by many politicians. Don’t be surprised if the old parent category, which Asian immigrants are so fond of, is severely curtailed to include only those parents who can prove medical or economic need before they are allowed to spend their twilight years with their programmer children here in the US.
Now, wouldn’t it be nice if we could have both? But if we can’t, I would still favor the family related “preferences” in the immigration laws. This country gets enough highly skilled people despite the restrictive laws. I don’t know of a single Indian who, after receiving a good college education and a job offer that followed the due process of interviewing American citizens, did not ultimately get the green card. It would be sad if the same person, after contributing for decades to the American economy, is unable to care for his old parents because the US immigration laws refuse residency to people of little or no economic value.
Signed: An ex-Sixth Preference Immigrant, a current US citizen, a successful green card sponsor of old parents
Amandeep, Its very naive to expect 2nd gens to have any empathy with H1-Bs.
I am sure you have seen the other thread where we cannot even agreement on not using the offensive ‘FOB’ to describe those of us who were not ‘fortunate’ enough to be born here.
Commenter # 2 , for example,seems to deem it fit to question the loyalties of all recent immigrants.
From this and other similar comments on other posts ,I have realized that I will never stop hearing “You are not as American as I am because you were not born here”
The archetypical h1-b is more compliant, conforming and in awe of his/her work environment than the “entitlement” generation bred locally. The soft skills that are lacking are easily rectified over a few years of assimilation. The only issue I see is the slow creeping in of the rust of lethargy that sets in on the path to green card. By the time the green card arrives our lean hungry casca’s become slob joe sixpacks.
If you are a local, try offering something that the commoditized h1-b can not.
Chikki, I’m not 100% sure what the best strategy could be or should be — I’m hoping to get some suggestions from readers who have experience with this. There are these big organizations like NASABA who could be making statements and exerting pressure, but I’m not sure how influential they really are as political agents.
It might be helpful to have immigration lawyers (desi and non desi) pool their knowledge and experience about what is really happening with the H-1B system, especially since the USCIS is more or less saying they don’t have any way of even counting the number of people waiting for green cards currently. (You would think they would be using database software by now!) My sense is, there is effectively zero political pressure on them to improve the system or provide any real accountability or transparency: the national debate is exclusively focused on illegal immigrants.
In the short run, I’m considering sending my $25 in to this new organization I mentioned in the post, Immigration Voice.
Great post, Amardeep!
Never mind 2nd-gen desis – even most 1st-gen desis who came here in 70’s and 80’s favor “shutting the door” on immigration from India. How can we expect their children to do the right thing?
I think this is a positive step. Immigration should be strongly linked to economic interest.
Here’s my take on immigration and nation-state…
M. Nam
second-gen desi: I disagree with your opinion that H1-B get the best of both worlds. On contrary they get the worst of both worlds. 1. Medicare and SS Taxes are paid by all H1-B and only those lucky to get a green card may avail the benefits. 2. Taxation without representation: America was build on an exactly opposite principle. 3. Less pays than regular employees, not because they are not smart, but because they are immigrants. 4. Parents of H1-B don’t want to uproot themselves for government benefits. The smart H1-B can send more than enough money back home. Parents need compassion and love from children. 5. H1-B’s pay Fed Taxes, State Taxes, Sales Taxes, Real Estate Taxes, Medicare, SS. They even contribute to the Health insurance network. Its time they ask for schools for their children and good colleges in future.
From Wikipedia, under H-1B: “The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa category in the United States under the Immigration & Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H). It allows American companies and universities to seek temporary help from skilled foreigners who have the equivalent US Bachelor’s Degree education. H-1B employees are employed temporarily in a job category that is considered by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services to be a “specialty occupation”.
Note the emphasis on temporary.
Runa,
Its very naive to expect 2nd gens to have any empathy with H1-Bs. I am sure you have seen the other thread where we cannot even agreement on not using the offensive ‘FOB’ to describe those of us who were not ‘fortunate’ enough to be born here.
Yes, I know that’s true — I personally think the way second-gens/ABCDs use the word “FOB” reflects deep insecurity: people are trying to be as “American” (or perhaps “white”?) as possible, and don’t want to be embarrassed by other Indians with funny accents or poor taste in clothing. In the long run the divide is suicidal: the hundreds of thousands of current H1Bs are potential future voting citizens. Given how much earning potential and economic clout they’ll have as permanent residents and citizens, second gens should be rooting for them and supporting them, not mocking them.
But in the end, terminology like ABCD and FOB is just about names; it’s really less important than the political framework and legal infrastructure that supports the continued immigration of high-skilled workers.
Hi Amit,
Medical and SS taxes can be availed only once you get the citizenship not “Greencard”. And once you get the GC wait another 5 years to apply for citizenship.
Thanks
second-gen desi, are you speaking from the experience of what your parents did? The effects of globalization go both ways, buddy.
i never liked the idea of dual citizenship. you cant really pledge allegance to 2 countries if they go to war with each other. i do like the idea of vastly increassing the population of the US through immigration though. take the sharpest people from everywhere, as well as the hardest working laborers. spend less $ on wars in vauge places. if we are going to unjustly annex some poor country, might as well make it mexico so we can at least expand the US. although im generally a fan of not going into vague countries to begin with.
Right, no sympathy for the h1-b holders. But I am sure you are very loyal to the shareholders and the board of directors who cut your job so they can save money. Point your “anger” towards who is responsible, not some h1-b holder. You sound like a loser. You can’t deal with the fact you were replaced by a guy with an accent. On the other hand if “you” had some “special skills”, you wouldn’t have been replaced.
The H-1B system sucks on various counts – as someone who worked that way and paid FICA taxes she’s never going to benefit from (because didn’t settle in the US) and was unable to move on to another job when the original job turned out to be not so great because of the visa restrictions, I sympathize with those on the H1B visa. Having heard about how H-1 desi software employees basically get paid half the wage an American would be (often by desi bosses who act like they’re doing Srini a big favour bringing him over to America), I think it can be unfair to American workers too. But the catch 22 is that there are, and will be for the foreseeable future, enough desis willing to take the disadvantages of the system in order to get their foot in the door, and employers who benefit from this eagerness and willingness to work for less, so the system is going to continue.
The silly thing about the H-1 system is that it’s really quite easy to get the H-1 but then really quite slow and difficult to move on to citizenship, and yet there are incentives for moving on to citizenship the longer you stay in the US – you pay social security and you put down roots, maybe start sending your kids to school, buy a house, have to repay school loans, etc. It seems like the govt just drags the process along even though it acknowledges the inevitable, and thereby leaves people in a bind, waiting forever for that green card.
As for the second-gens and their occasional lack of sympathy, that’s no surprise. At least some people from every immigrant background I’ve met in the US turn around and become rabid right-wing anti-immigration types in a few generations. A little solidarity would be nice, of course (not to mention…un-hypocritical?) but I don’t expect desis to be automatically more virtuous than others in this regard.
the US needs more people i think. india and china will both become much larget than the US over the next century. i think increasing our numbers is one thing we need to do to stay where we are. might as well make them disproporitonaltely diesel hard working types.
Before law school, I worked as an immigration paralegal, specifically in the H1-B department. I can personally attest that your assumptions are wholly correct, and that government view versus the applicant view of what an H1-B visa really is lies at the crux of the problem, indeed. As an H1-B paralegal, I was always told that H1-Bs were “temporary work visas,” and was always confused as to why my clients always believed the H1-B visa was the first step in the green card process. But honestly, who wouldn’t think so? It’s a progression forward in the naturalization process; why spend three years in a country establishing yourself on a temporary basis? That’s confusing, and most people don’t uproot their families for that. I want to get back into immigration so badly, especially when I hear things like this still going on!
I don’t know about this. Most Indian immigrants I’ve met seem to be loyal (but usually cynical) to the US. The problem is the few very vocal people we meet who have anti-American sentiments. I also disagree that H-1B holders should be put on a fast track to attaining a green card. In every society or club there’s a rite of passage to show your loyalty, which works more often than not. Even if someone is truly “loyal,” there should be such a test. After all, how many other countries allow you to become a citizen (etc.) so quickly? I realize this is a poor argument, but then we’re all allowed such things once in a while…
On another note: What benefits (besides voting and permanent residence) do citizens/green card holders get that H-1B holders do not?
In today’s world, citizens have a better prayer of due process in a court of law. All others are chopped liver.
A lot of indian immigrants i meet talk a lot about how much they hate america. how america has no culture. how great india is. how they are going back in a year. then 30 years later im still hearing the same thing.
Indian S/W companies apply for H1-B as if they are raw material. Infosys submitted applications for 22K of its employees, that’s 25% of their work force.
Wipro for applied for H1B visas for every one on a particular project while the required strength onsite was for 2 people who were sent on L1 visas.
Hey, at least, they’re consistent! 🙂
18 mizuho,
‘Green card’ holders cannot vote. They are permanent residents and ,unlike H1/L1 visa holders , are not bound to a single employer but can change jobs, start a business or choose not to work ( I think green card holders are eligible for unemployment/disability BUT are unlikely to avail of this as future prospects for citizenship would be harmed!). Green card holders have to spend a minimum amnount of time in the country each year in order to hold on to their Green card status.
Citizens of course get all the benefits of citizenship ( voting etc) along with its responsibilities( jury duty etc). Citizens also get to avail of the benefits of Social security and Medicare.
Everyone pays taxes !!
Green card holders (= ‘permanent residents’) cannot vote. they have to wait for around 5 years before even applying for citizenship.
Yep, this wastefulness is true for most of the Indian software giants. Also, indian sofware consultanting companies and body shoppers are famous for keeping employees ‘on the bench’ and not paying them if there is no project at hand, while they are still on H1-b. This is actually illegal but enforcement sucks on this front.
Puliogre, I’d be careful about “they hate america”. This has a whole different meaning today in the context of South Asians. I’m sure you meant something quite different. It would be nice to clarify. MSNBC will come running, otherwise.
As an H1B visa holder who has been waiting for Green Card for the last 4 years and has no hope of getting it in the next few years I don’t fault USICS that much as they clearly state that H1B is a temp visa and not a path to Green Card. But US Gov does have misguided priorities and with the current ‘Comprehensive Immigration Reform’ bill it would be more difficult for me to get Green Card.
Having said that, Indian software firms (big and small) abuse H1B visa and Green Card system thus screwing the non-abusing Indians. I have known instances where a Green Card could be obtained for 20K by jumping to the front of the queue through exploiting a loop hole. Since there are only a fixed number of visas the people behind them in the queue get shafted.
Misconceptions on comments section:
First, H-1B is a non-immigrant temporary visa. However, it allows “dual intent“, that means that you can apply for green card while on H-1B through yourself or through other routes – employer, marriage, business, etc. There are other visas that have dual intent too. A large percentage of green card holders and naturalized citizens go that route – F, H, and then permanent residence.
Second, H-1B is not a lottery. It is a petition-based limited by yearly cap.
Third, each country has 9% cap for adjustment of status (last stage of green card process). Heavy applicants from India and China slows that process for people from that nation, but someone from Iceland not.
Last, some cities allow green card holders, and even H-1B to vote for local elections but not state and federal.
Legal green card is painfully slow unless you are on EB1, NIW route even then……….
I am on a H1-B Visa and it sucks in some respects. I pay Social security and Medicare when I don’t even plan to be in the US for more than a few years. It’s basically money down the toilet as far as I am concerned. And I know a lot of people on H1-B who do want to settle here and cant change jobs despite not being given the same promotions and wages as their non immigrant brethren just because they are waiting for a Green Card (which takes about 6 years) and they have to stick to their current employer till they get one. And while my own choice to move back is very very marginally influenced by this irritation of waiting forever (I personally don’t see any convincing reasons why living here long term, away from where I grew up is any better for me – there are trade offs in both cases), I know at least some friends who wanted to get a GC but just got sick of waiting for the GC and moved back.
So, Second Gen in #2, it’s not the fault of the H1-B holder, it’s the fault of the darn system. Maybe you want to consider that the next time you blame it on the H1-B holder and maybe you want to go out and protest against the system especially at a time when a new immigration policy is being so hotly debated. Immigrants don’t exactly relish the idea of being paid less and being exploited FYI.
Also,
Green card holders can avail all the social benefits, can enroll in the army, used to be part of draft in past, can vote in some places……..but not on state and federal level.
BTW, H-1B can change emploers too.
getting/meeting gc corporate sponsorship requirements are a lot harder than for h-1b. so maybe not after 3 years, but after h-1b has gotten a second stint (totaling 6yrs), and at the end of which has diligently paid up taxes which they will NEVER enjoy otherwise, why not give them and their employer the option to go “upgrade” to a gc. not everyone will, but i knew tons of people who spent 4yrs college, 2 yrs grad school and then between practical training and 2x h-1b’s, total legal stay in the US 12+ yrs. these folks basically get penalised for going by the book. whereas several corporate sponsored gc holders i knew waited until they got their citizenship and then returned home. this logic bewilders me on the part of the gov.
Kush I am not sure at which stage you can change jobs without being affected but I think unless you get your EAD if you change jobs and have 485 and/or Labor Cert and are just waiting for your priority date or even before, if you change jobs you have to restart the same i.e. reapply for Labor Cert and go back to the start of the queue. So technically you can change jobs, but if you keep doing that you restart again and would never get a GC.
The maltreatment towards H1B is minor when compared to other workers. Just look at indian workers in middle east. I suspects frauds may be one reason. I know of a couple of fraudulent cases where h1b visa was obtained for gas station attendent. But still it cant be the only reason for the delay.
Samir where is the 22k number coming from? My guess is thats an error based on the total number of visa\’s applied for so far.
Also there is a body shop argument that gets thrown ad hominem. There is that aspect however there are other aspects too At UCSD four years ago 80% of PHDs in signal processing were non citizens and plenty those who would chose to stay in us afterwards would have to go thru H1 route
Kush,
That was an interesting comment – I was not aware that green card holders could vote in local elections.
In fact, recently there was a case where a non-citizen was deported ( somewhere in Florida) back to Pakistan after living here for 17 odd years for election fraud just because he registered to vote( He claimed that this was inadvertent)
Lottery to decide H1B visa dream http://in.news.yahoo.com/070405/211/6e6ev.html
Ardy, you have to restart but your dates will be fixed, if your labor and I-140 has been approved. Just make sure your old employer does not cancel the approved I-140. This way you are not pushed out of the queue.
Ardy,
As an academic, I moved quite a bit during my H-1B phase. Different H-1Bs everytime.
However, I did my own green card as a researcher, and was not tied to an employer.
If tied to an employer, then your comment is correct about EAD, etc.
I mean they hate living here. THey think Americans are dumb iand inferior. they think indians are all smart. They think America “has no culture”. they think india is a shining beacon of perfection. they say they are about to go back, because they “hate it hear”. they never do…
http://www.shubhhub.com/?p=244
Theres a table from Dept of Labour. Even if 22k is all total visas they applied so far. Its about a quarter of their work force.
Kush,
This is very helpful, do you by any chance have a link to how the self application process works?
Thanks
:I feel strongly that the H1-B system is essential
If you’ve been following the SAJA channels especially Vivek Wadhwa’s painstaking research on this topic – the proposal is to do away with H1B entirely & simply give green cards to F1s. Forget about the H1Bs. Just forget about bringing in anybody from India especially in saturated fields like software/IT. Instead, give greencards to all F1s regardless of the degree. A typical F1 takes 2+ years for the MS ( most popular post-GRE option ), anywhere from 5-6 years for the PhD, or 4 years for a BS ( for the lucky ones who do come to the US from India after SATs ). Therefore, all of these F1s without exception have already spent 2 years in an American University, with American students, earning an American degree. In fact I know F1s who have spent 10+ years on F1. That means you have a chap getting multiple degrees BS MS PhD from multiple American Univs. Even such a chap has to go through this H1B charade. Why ?
btw this is exactly what you do with a physician. Say you are a doctor in India. You already have your MD albeit from an Indian Univ. It is worth dogshit to the US. You take your Step1/2/3, get your F1, come to the US, RE-DO the whole thing!!! Yes, as of today, you re-do your MD in the US, because you are now going to be an American doctor treating American patients, not an Indian doctor with an Indian MD degree treating American patients. In the process, you spend 3-5 years in the US on an F1. Now even these poor fuckers don’t get an auto GC. They have to go through the H1B charade as well. Why ?
Scrap H1s. Ban import of any H1 labor. Insist on everybody spending American dollars and a few years in an American University to get an American degree via F1. Then give every F1 a GC upon graduation. Its really that simple.
If you think this is anti-India rightwing BS, note that India has third highest number of F1s ( right behind South Korea & China). The USA hands out quarter million F1s every year.
Its just that we make the F1s ie. those with a superior American degree from an American Univ, go through the H1 before giving them a GC. In the process the F1s compete with the Direct-from-India-bodyshop-variety H1s, whose numbers are staggering, loyalty questionable and quality abysmal. The F1s have superior skills and have spent 2+ years already in the US and considerable $$ acquiring an American education. Why then are they not automatically given a GC ?
Another (lame) option – Insist that every H1 go thru an F1 before getting a GC. Again, lots of software guys already do this – come on an Infosys H1B contract, secretly apply to am American Uni, get the I-20, break the Infy contract, pay the Infy fine, get on the F1 and get the MS PhD MBA whatever. But again these dudes got to go back on the H1 once their degree is done! Ass backwards system.
32
Samir where is the 22k number coming from?
Its from the NY Times click on Multimedia, looking to India
Parsing the Truths About Visas for Tech Workers
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/business/yourmoney/15view.html?ex=1334289600&en=9fe90a4e1f445ff3&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
I wouldn’t be surprised if in the coming years, the US military offers H1-B applicants a fast track to a GC by serving in the military. Right now serving in the military offers a fast track to citizenship for GC holders. And that would also offer the H1-B applicants a chance to “prove” their loyalty to the US…and get in shape all at the time (nothing like running 3 miles in 20 minutes every morning !)
Both Infosys & Wipro aplied for ~20K H1B visas but only 50 & 160 green cards respectively. They are mistreated by their Indian employers more than any American system
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/us-plans-to-end-green-card-route/41152-2.html
Samir That is not a quarter of their workforce. It only the number for which they applied.
Employees change employers and for indian firms employer retention is a bigger challenge
Samir alludes to an interesting point. The top employer sponsors for H1B visas are NOT Microsoft, Intel, IBM, Google, etc. Rather, the top two spots on that list go to the US offices of Infosys and Tata Consulting. Their strategy is simple, bring over massive amounts of H1B visa holders and farm them out to high-tech clients for training for a couple of years, then those people go back to India along with the very jobs they were being trained to do. So, in reality, some significant portion of H1B’s are not at all used as even potential means to settle in the US and enhance the US economy. Rather, they are used as a means to have American workers essentially train the people who their jobs will eventually be outsourced to. Is it any wonder there is not more support for H1B holders? Obviously this doesn’t apply to all H1B holders but it does apply to a significant portion.
Another interesting point some commentators have been making in light of the recent introduction of the comprehensive immigration reform bill is that, with the passage of that bill, it will become easier for an illegal immigrant to start on and complete the path to citizenship than it will for a legal H1B visa holder to apply for and receive citizenship. A strange result, no?
Post #20 Alot of Indians immigrants i meet, talk a lot about how much they hate America. that America has no culture.
When I have been in the States, I have never have really seen that much, other then a few old uneducated auntie’s. However here in Canada, I always hear how Canada is nothing compare to there precious [Northern] India.
“hate it hear”
i meant here. now dont nitpick on spelling. i dont pay attn to that on blog posts
This is a very recent phenomenon. Maybe last two years. I am sure they will change some rules to prevent this. Making infosys/wipro pay more taxes in US will reduce this in one day.
Alot of Indians immigrants i meet, talk a lot about how much they hate America. that America has no culture.
I see this more all the time, particularly among more recent immigrants. To me, it seems more than a little unfair to seek the advantages of living in the United States, while seeing no value in any non-monetary things the US may have to offer.
Secondly, there is confusion about whether H-1B should be understood as a temporary visa, or the first stage on the path to a green card; most Indians I know presume it’s the latter, while the government still seems to think it’s the former
Although the H-1B visa may not be de jure a stage on the path to permanent residency, it certainly has worked out that way for most immigrants as a matter of fact…to the extent that I think the system has created a sort of expectancy on the part of H-1B workers that they will be transitioned into permanent residency as a matter of course.
The problem with the system really isn’t the H-1B itself, but the enormous backlog of permanent residency petitions at the various BCIS service centers. Even with employer sponsorship, becoming a permanent resident currently takes almost 5 years, by which time the petitioner’s H-1B status has almost run out.
I’m curious to see what effect the planned changes to the work visa procedures will have on the permanent residency process.
in regards to “taxation without representation” for H1-B and green card holders, this is not unique to the US. in my experiences, expats, or work/permanent visa holders generally have to pay both the taxes for the country they’re living in and the country of their citizenship. if they’ve been sent over by their company, then the company pays some of the taxes, and if their home country and their country of residence have an agreement (like the US and UK) then their home taxes will be waived. but either way, someone has to pay the taxes of the country of residence, whether or not they get all the benefits of citizens, that’s just the nature of the taxation system.
my problem with the H1-B visa program is the lack of recourse those visa holders have if their company screws up their visa. my father almost got deported because his company forgot to get him a new H1-B visa when he was hired.if his green card hadn’t come through, he would have been sent back to india, after 10 years in this country.