7 ms·

I built a company and sold it to Dropbox. Building another company to cure Cancer using AI. Leadership positions at various big companies. Wrote a book about En

I built a company and sold it to Dropbox. Building another company to cure Cancer using AI. Leadership positions at various big companies. Wrote a book about Entrepreneurship which is part of an Executive MBA program. Built the biggest social network to come out of India. Because I am from India, I would never get a Green Card through EB-2 (though I have two approved EB-2 petitions). Yesterday, USCIS denied my EB-1 petition using argument which are against the law. Now I have to leave US :( I have an approved O-1 (extraordinary ability), but apparently, once you have filed for a Green Card Adjustment of Status, you can't get a visa stamp for anything other than H-1. Not sure if I can come back!

oblio 8y ago
Sorry for your misfortune. But at this point, wouldn't it just make sense for you to just go to a country which is more welcoming?
- timewarrior 8y ago
  Yes. Couldn't agree more!
- Karishma1234 8y ago
  Yes, this is a good strategy. Move the capital and jobs to some other country. Singapore or Canada are a good options that have been used by my other Indian friends.
galieos_ghost 8y ago
US was built on taking the best and brightest from other countries and giving them an environment to thrive, it benefited the individual and the country as well. I would love for you to become a citizen but for some reason Democrats have chosen to punish talented people who follow the law in favor of uneducated criminals. The US will continue losing ground if we continue with current immigration policies The biggest irony is that Silicon Valley companies support this. Imagine Google simply hiring anyone who walked onto Googleplex and removed all hiring standards for engineering positions, it would be suicidal. That's the equivalent to our current immigration strategy.
- timewarrior 8y ago
  I agree with this. While most people blame Republicans, it's Democrats who have been the biggest enemies of High Skilled Immigrants. There were many situations in the past 8 years, where laws could be passed to benefit High skilled immigrants. However Democrats always said that either you have Comprehensive Immigration Reform or nothing. I worked with someone senior from FWD.us. Apparently it was created to make sure that there is unlimited H1 but no Green Cards (especially for Indians who are most impacted by this and are a decent part of workforce at FB, Google, MS etc). Apparently Democrats promised that they if they move their cause to support illegal immigration, Democrats would never let the Green Card situation get fixed for high skilled immigration. Due to this FWD.us completely shifted focus from high skilled immigration to illegals.
  - galieos_ghost 8y ago
    Tech companies don't want H1B to become citizens because then they would have no leverage to drive down wages for software engineers. They want indentured servants, not citizens.
    - timewarrior 8y ago
      Agreed! People who think Companies wont go this far, need to look no further than the wage suppression agreement between Adobe, Apple Inc., Google, Intel, Intuit, Pixar, Lucasfilm and eBay. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Tech_Employee_Antitrust_Litigation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Tech_Employee_Antitrust_L...
  - sangnoir 8y ago
    > There were many situations in the past 8 years, where laws could be passed to benefit High skilled immigrants. However Democrats always said that either you have Comprehensive Immigration Reform or nothing. Am I right to say your argument boils down to the Democrats tent being too big for your liking, and you would prefer them to have catered to High Skilled Immigrants? Unfortunately for you, the Democratic party has been a "big tent" party since FDR - that's their political schtik. I think you should have expected more from the party that supports "job creators" like you (or maybe not quite like you).
nopinsight 8y ago
Have you considered applying for EB-5 investor visa as an option (apparently the date is current for India)? Are there further restrictions other than the chance of losing the investment?
- timewarrior 8y ago
  It will take 2 years to get a temporary Green Card. Even after that it take 2+ years to get Permanent Green Card, and it depends on a third party creating and maintaining jobs. So starting now doesn't help in the immediate term :( And too much uncertainty for longer term.
simonebrunozzi 8y ago
You are the quintessential example of how flawed the US immigration system is. p.s. If you are looking for work, I would love to chat with you (simone at fabrica.city), and help you eventually come back to the US (L-1?).
satanic_pope 8y ago
Pardon my ignorance but why do you need to leave the US again? Based on my limited understanding - if you already have a EB-2 petition approved, you should be able to continue working on H1 as long as your employer is sponsoring you unless you're moving out of frustration due to long wait times.
- timewarrior 8y ago
  To do that I would need to take up a job at some big tech firm. If someone in my situation is forced to do shut down his startup and work for a big firm to stay in US, imagine how difficult it would be for someone else to decide to quit their job to do a startup! I think big companies have played this well!
groupthinking 8y ago
Appeal. Courts are the best way to challenge USCIS.

oblio 8y ago

Sorry for your misfortune. But at this point, wouldn't it just make sense for you to just go to a country which is more welcoming?

timewarrior 8y ago
Yes. Couldn't agree more!
Karishma1234 8y ago
Yes, this is a good strategy. Move the capital and jobs to some other country. Singapore or Canada are a good options that have been used by my other Indian friends.

galieos_ghost 8y ago

US was built on taking the best and brightest from other countries and giving them an environment to thrive, it benefited the individual and the country as well. I would love for you to become a citizen but for some reason Democrats have chosen to punish talented people who follow the law in favor of uneducated criminals. The US will continue losing ground if we continue with current immigration policies The biggest irony is that Silicon Valley companies support this. Imagine Google simply hiring anyone who walked onto Googleplex and removed all hiring standards for engineering positions, it would be suicidal. That's the equivalent to our current immigration strategy.

timewarrior 8y ago
I agree with this. While most people blame Republicans, it's Democrats who have been the biggest enemies of High Skilled Immigrants. There were many situations in the past 8 years, where laws could be passed to benefit High skilled immigrants. However Democrats always said that either you have Comprehensive Immigration Reform or nothing. I worked with someone senior from FWD.us. Apparently it was created to make sure that there is unlimited H1 but no Green Cards (especially for Indians who are most impacted by this and are a decent part of workforce at FB, Google, MS etc). Apparently Democrats promised that they if they move their cause to support illegal immigration, Democrats would never let the Green Card situation get fixed for high skilled immigration. Due to this FWD.us completely shifted focus from high skilled immigration to illegals.
- galieos_ghost 8y ago
  Tech companies don't want H1B to become citizens because then they would have no leverage to drive down wages for software engineers. They want indentured servants, not citizens.
  - timewarrior 8y ago
    Agreed! People who think Companies wont go this far, need to look no further than the wage suppression agreement between Adobe, Apple Inc., Google, Intel, Intuit, Pixar, Lucasfilm and eBay. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Tech_Employee_Antitrust_Litigation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Tech_Employee_Antitrust_L...
- sangnoir 8y ago
  > There were many situations in the past 8 years, where laws could be passed to benefit High skilled immigrants. However Democrats always said that either you have Comprehensive Immigration Reform or nothing. Am I right to say your argument boils down to the Democrats tent being too big for your liking, and you would prefer them to have catered to High Skilled Immigrants? Unfortunately for you, the Democratic party has been a "big tent" party since FDR - that's their political schtik. I think you should have expected more from the party that supports "job creators" like you (or maybe not quite like you).

nopinsight 8y ago

Have you considered applying for EB-5 investor visa as an option (apparently the date is current for India)? Are there further restrictions other than the chance of losing the investment?

timewarrior 8y ago
It will take 2 years to get a temporary Green Card. Even after that it take 2+ years to get Permanent Green Card, and it depends on a third party creating and maintaining jobs. So starting now doesn't help in the immediate term :( And too much uncertainty for longer term.

simonebrunozzi 8y ago

You are the quintessential example of how flawed the US immigration system is. p.s. If you are looking for work, I would love to chat with you (simone at fabrica.city), and help you eventually come back to the US (L-1?).

satanic_pope 8y ago

Pardon my ignorance but why do you need to leave the US again? Based on my limited understanding - if you already have a EB-2 petition approved, you should be able to continue working on H1 as long as your employer is sponsoring you unless you're moving out of frustration due to long wait times.

timewarrior 8y ago
To do that I would need to take up a job at some big tech firm. If someone in my situation is forced to do shut down his startup and work for a big firm to stay in US, imagine how difficult it would be for someone else to decide to quit their job to do a startup! I think big companies have played this well!

groupthinking 8y ago

Appeal. Courts are the best way to challenge USCIS.