6 ms·

I am an Indian, living in US for the last 8 years, my I-140 was approved 7 years ago and I am at least another 10 years away from my green card. I don't to be w

I am an Indian, living in US for the last 8 years, my I-140 was approved 7 years ago and I am at least another 10 years away from my green card. I don't to be working on H1B for the next 10 years worrying about my immigration status. I want to start my own company, I thought H4EAD would work out for me to do my startup. But for the last 2 years I could not risk move into H4EAD because the administration keeps saying they will cancel it "soon". I am looking to move to Canada in 2019 (scheduled my IELTS and getting educational credentials evaluated for applying for Canadian PR). I love living in the bay area, but unfortunately things are not working out for us. Thanks to the economic boom, the money I saved up over these years should help our family settle down in Canada when we move.

throwawaymjabba 8y ago
Another Indian with a similar mindset (not wanting to be on the h1b leash until I may or may not get the green card in another 10-20-30 years). Lived in US for 6 years. Had my i140 approved a few months ago and got H1B approved for 3 more years. Was finally in the middle of getting a promotion to an architect role after 6-7 years working for the team. Literally threw away all of it and came back to India 2 months ago. Haven't even started looking for a job. They gave me RFE for my H1B extension. I saw the RFE document and it was just a copy paste from some template. They didn't even have my employer name correct. And since I was in a state where they give driving license based on h1b, I couldn't drive for 3 months because of the RFE delay. I am finally at peace after spending the last 6 years on the h1b leash, always living in uncertainty. There is no way I would have lasted while I wait for the green card. On some days, I used to cry while driving to work. I used to feel really strong emotional pain on most of the days. I haven't experienced any of that since I came back. I think quality of life is not just a higher salary or a clean environment or better job opportunities. Part of my brain must have been seeing all this uncertainty as life threatening and pushed me away. I don't know how else to explain it. Sometimes I wonder if this is one way US is filtering out people because they want only the most mentally strong to be part of their society.
- fouc 8y ago
  I welcome both of you to Canada. The technology company I worked for in Toronto had an incredible number of immigrants that were well on their way to getting full citizenship (I think it takes just 5 years?). It was a great work environment with an eclectic mix of east asians, eastern europeans, etc.
  - newyankee 8y ago
    Do you know if there are good companies in Victoria BC as i am intrigued by that as a place to move to.
    - derekja 8y ago
      I'm in Victoria. There is a good, but small, tech scene here. Salaries are significantly lower than Vancouver in general, though.
      - newyankee 8y ago
        As long as the cost of living is lower it works for someone like me
- masonic 8y ago
  They gave me RFE for my H1B extension Who is "they"?
  - deanmoriarty 8y ago
    RFEs are usually issued by USCIS (government) after sending some request in. In this case, likely the parent poster employer filed for an H1B extension, and got the RFE as a reply instead of an extension approval.
  - throwawaymjabba 8y ago
    As deanmoriarty mentioned, this "request for evidence" is issued by USCIS when we (employer) apply for a visa or an extension. In the last 1 year, RFE was more or less certain if one is working for an Indian employer. I had never even heard of that term before 2017. https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/25/h-1b-visa-rfe-trump-administration-india/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/25/h-1b-visa-rfe-trump-admini...
masonic 8y ago
living in US for the last 8 years In other words, you came in on an H1B in 2010, right as the recession was peaking and there was lots of tech talent unemployed and underemployed (scrambling for contract role after contract role)... which exemplifies the problem. Even in the teeth of the recession, the entire quota of new H1B visas was consumed every year.
- danaur 8y ago
  Could you clarify what problem you are pointing out. I'm just not reading the conclusion you are trying to make.
  - InGodsName 8y ago
    I think he's saying that H1B visa program is bad because it hires immigrants at the expense of local workers. Even tho supply of local labor was high during recession, it should not have been possible for emmigrant to come to US during that time. There was no need to bring labor from outside, it demonstrates problem with this program.
    - jiveturkey 8y ago
      I agree, that's the point he was trying to make. I don't agree it's a correct conclusion. Have you read any of the almost-weekly tech interview threads here? Or been in a high growth startup where you are interviewing a lot? Just because there are lots of people in the internal labor pool, doesn't mean there are lots of qualified people. When you can reach out to the ROW for your highly skilled talent, why would you limit yourself to less qualified local talent? As an employer, it's [rhetorically] my job to hire the best talent I can find at the best price I can get. (Assuming that is maximally efficient; in some cases less good labor for better prices may be a better calculus. But let's ignore that.) It's the government's job to strike the balance between native employment and immigrant employment. If the H1B pool is consumed each year, I'd say they are doing a reasonably good job at it. If it's consumed, that means there are plenty of folks denied, for lack of quota. Those are jobs that end up filled by less qualified native talent.

throwawaymjabba 8y ago

Another Indian with a similar mindset (not wanting to be on the h1b leash until I may or may not get the green card in another 10-20-30 years). Lived in US for 6 years. Had my i140 approved a few months ago and got H1B approved for 3 more years. Was finally in the middle of getting a promotion to an architect role after 6-7 years working for the team. Literally threw away all of it and came back to India 2 months ago. Haven't even started looking for a job. They gave me RFE for my H1B extension. I saw the RFE document and it was just a copy paste from some template. They didn't even have my employer name correct. And since I was in a state where they give driving license based on h1b, I couldn't drive for 3 months because of the RFE delay. I am finally at peace after spending the last 6 years on the h1b leash, always living in uncertainty. There is no way I would have lasted while I wait for the green card. On some days, I used to cry while driving to work. I used to feel really strong emotional pain on most of the days. I haven't experienced any of that since I came back. I think quality of life is not just a higher salary or a clean environment or better job opportunities. Part of my brain must have been seeing all this uncertainty as life threatening and pushed me away. I don't know how else to explain it. Sometimes I wonder if this is one way US is filtering out people because they want only the most mentally strong to be part of their society.

fouc 8y ago
I welcome both of you to Canada. The technology company I worked for in Toronto had an incredible number of immigrants that were well on their way to getting full citizenship (I think it takes just 5 years?). It was a great work environment with an eclectic mix of east asians, eastern europeans, etc.
- newyankee 8y ago
  Do you know if there are good companies in Victoria BC as i am intrigued by that as a place to move to.
  - derekja 8y ago
    I'm in Victoria. There is a good, but small, tech scene here. Salaries are significantly lower than Vancouver in general, though.
    - newyankee 8y ago
      As long as the cost of living is lower it works for someone like me
masonic 8y ago
They gave me RFE for my H1B extension Who is "they"?
- deanmoriarty 8y ago
  RFEs are usually issued by USCIS (government) after sending some request in. In this case, likely the parent poster employer filed for an H1B extension, and got the RFE as a reply instead of an extension approval.
- throwawaymjabba 8y ago
  As deanmoriarty mentioned, this "request for evidence" is issued by USCIS when we (employer) apply for a visa or an extension. In the last 1 year, RFE was more or less certain if one is working for an Indian employer. I had never even heard of that term before 2017. https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/25/h-1b-visa-rfe-trump-administration-india/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/25/h-1b-visa-rfe-trump-admini...

masonic 8y ago

living in US for the last 8 years In other words, you came in on an H1B in 2010, right as the recession was peaking and there was lots of tech talent unemployed and underemployed (scrambling for contract role after contract role)... which exemplifies the problem. Even in the teeth of the recession, the entire quota of new H1B visas was consumed every year.

danaur 8y ago
Could you clarify what problem you are pointing out. I'm just not reading the conclusion you are trying to make.
- InGodsName 8y ago
  I think he's saying that H1B visa program is bad because it hires immigrants at the expense of local workers. Even tho supply of local labor was high during recession, it should not have been possible for emmigrant to come to US during that time. There was no need to bring labor from outside, it demonstrates problem with this program.
  - jiveturkey 8y ago
    I agree, that's the point he was trying to make. I don't agree it's a correct conclusion. Have you read any of the almost-weekly tech interview threads here? Or been in a high growth startup where you are interviewing a lot? Just because there are lots of people in the internal labor pool, doesn't mean there are lots of qualified people. When you can reach out to the ROW for your highly skilled talent, why would you limit yourself to less qualified local talent? As an employer, it's [rhetorically] my job to hire the best talent I can find at the best price I can get. (Assuming that is maximally efficient; in some cases less good labor for better prices may be a better calculus. But let's ignore that.) It's the government's job to strike the balance between native employment and immigrant employment. If the H1B pool is consumed each year, I'd say they are doing a reasonably good job at it. If it's consumed, that means there are plenty of folks denied, for lack of quota. Those are jobs that end up filled by less qualified native talent.