3 ms·

You forgot other loopholes: 1. Get F1-visa and do MS. 2. Marry a US citizen 3. use a J1 visa?

qaq 7y ago
You can join EU office of the company and get transferred via L1.
winter_blue 7y ago
> 3. use a J1 visa? I've addressed this in this sibling comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19789172 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19789172 > 1. Get F1-visa People that study here also have to go through the H-1B lottery, like everyone else. Graduates with MS/PhD have a slightly higher probability of winning the H-1B lottery, but it's like 0.5 for US MS/PhD versus 0.3 for everyone else. You are still forced to go through a lottery. (One thing is you get to work in the US for a 1-3 years with an F-1 visa under a program called OPT.) There are many graduates with Masters and PhD degrees from American universities (incl. highly-ranked ones), who have well-paying jobs (under F-1 OPT), who lose the H-1B lottery, and as a result, employers are forced to fire them, and they have to leave the country (under the threat of forcible deportation and being banned from the US). This is the reality of US immigration today, and it's been like this for a long time. For example, here's a Harvard Crimson article from back in 2007 arguing for increasing or eliminating the H-1B limit: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2007/4/9/raise-the-h-1b-cap-many-members/ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2007/4/9/raise-the-h-1b-c... > 2. Marry a US citizen Marrying someone for the purpose is immigration is considered "immigration fraud", and if they find out, you will be deported and permanently banned from the US. If you became a U.S. citizen through such a marriage, your citizenship can and will be revoked, and you could even be rendered stateless as a result. If the currently conservative U.S. Supreme Court overturns Zadvydas v. Davis[1], you could spend the rest of your life in prison. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zadvydas_v._Davis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zadvydas_v._Davis
- dragonwriter 7y ago
  > Marrying someone for the purpose is immigration is considered "immigration fraud" No, it's not; Marrying someone for the purpose of evading immigration laws is. There is a difference; even if immigration is sought as a benefit of marriage, if there is genuine intent to enter into and maintain a bona fide marital relationship and that is maintained throughout the conditional period associated with immigration by marriage, there is no fraud.
  - winter_blue 7y ago
    You're right -- I'm aware of distinction; I should have used more precise language. I meant to refer to someone that was entering into a fake marriage. Anyways, my bad--I've gotten a bit imprecise/sloppy with my writing lately -- I'm definitely going to try to be more precise in the future (and make it a habit to be precise). I personally am very against fake marriages (in my own life). I want my marriage to be genuine, and life-long. There was a post on HN back in 2015 about William Han's experience with the US immigration system: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9764564 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9764564 (article: https://www.vox.com/2015/6/23/8823349/immigration-system-broken https://www.vox.com/2015/6/23/8823349/immigration-system-bro... ) Some of the parts of his article, especially regarding marriage as an immigration pathway, are sad but enlightening (emphasis mine): > Years spent as a student do not count. Neither do years on a work visa unless your employer is willing to sponsor your green card. Marrying an American works, as a thousand films and television shows have taught us, because it allows a change of status to permanent resident. But if you wish to follow the rules, as I do, then it must be a bona fide marriage. And if you take important personal decisions such as marriage seriously, then you may not wish to have their timing dictated by Homeland Security. > I've already talked about my friends who think becoming a citizen is as easy as going to a government office and signing some papers. But even people whose job it is to understand the system often don't see how broken it is. At one firm where I worked, an HR manager told me to "just get married." Marriage solely for the sake of a green card is, of course, illegal — it is fraud upon the federal government. A bona fide marriage is fine, but that depends on you finding the right person and having your relationship progress according to Homeland Security's timeline. Once again there is the humiliating feeling that your life is not your own: the government may now effectively dictate when you get married.

qaq 7y ago

You can join EU office of the company and get transferred via L1.

> 3. use a J1 visa? I've addressed this in this sibling comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19789172 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19789172 > 1. Get F1-visa People that study here also have to go through the H-1B lottery, like everyone else. Graduates with MS/PhD have a slightly higher probability of winning the H-1B lottery, but it's like 0.5 for US MS/PhD versus 0.3 for everyone else. You are still forced to go through a lottery. (One thing is you get to work in the US for a 1-3 years with an F-1 visa under a program called OPT.) There are many graduates with Masters and PhD degrees from American universities (incl. highly-ranked ones), who have well-paying jobs (under F-1 OPT), who lose the H-1B lottery, and as a result, employers are forced to fire them, and they have to leave the country (under the threat of forcible deportation and being banned from the US). This is the reality of US immigration today, and it's been like this for a long time. For example, here's a Harvard Crimson article from back in 2007 arguing for increasing or eliminating the H-1B limit: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2007/4/9/raise-the-h-1b-cap-many-members/ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2007/4/9/raise-the-h-1b-c... > 2. Marry a US citizen Marrying someone for the purpose is immigration is considered "immigration fraud", and if they find out, you will be deported and permanently banned from the US. If you became a U.S. citizen through such a marriage, your citizenship can and will be revoked, and you could even be rendered stateless as a result. If the currently conservative U.S. Supreme Court overturns Zadvydas v. Davis[1], you could spend the rest of your life in prison. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zadvydas_v._Davis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zadvydas_v._Davis

dragonwriter 7y ago
> Marrying someone for the purpose is immigration is considered "immigration fraud" No, it's not; Marrying someone for the purpose of evading immigration laws is. There is a difference; even if immigration is sought as a benefit of marriage, if there is genuine intent to enter into and maintain a bona fide marital relationship and that is maintained throughout the conditional period associated with immigration by marriage, there is no fraud.
- winter_blue 7y ago
  You're right -- I'm aware of distinction; I should have used more precise language. I meant to refer to someone that was entering into a fake marriage. Anyways, my bad--I've gotten a bit imprecise/sloppy with my writing lately -- I'm definitely going to try to be more precise in the future (and make it a habit to be precise). I personally am very against fake marriages (in my own life). I want my marriage to be genuine, and life-long. There was a post on HN back in 2015 about William Han's experience with the US immigration system: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9764564 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9764564 (article: https://www.vox.com/2015/6/23/8823349/immigration-system-broken https://www.vox.com/2015/6/23/8823349/immigration-system-bro... ) Some of the parts of his article, especially regarding marriage as an immigration pathway, are sad but enlightening (emphasis mine): > Years spent as a student do not count. Neither do years on a work visa unless your employer is willing to sponsor your green card. Marrying an American works, as a thousand films and television shows have taught us, because it allows a change of status to permanent resident. But if you wish to follow the rules, as I do, then it must be a bona fide marriage. And if you take important personal decisions such as marriage seriously, then you may not wish to have their timing dictated by Homeland Security. > I've already talked about my friends who think becoming a citizen is as easy as going to a government office and signing some papers. But even people whose job it is to understand the system often don't see how broken it is. At one firm where I worked, an HR manager told me to "just get married." Marriage solely for the sake of a green card is, of course, illegal — it is fraud upon the federal government. A bona fide marriage is fine, but that depends on you finding the right person and having your relationship progress according to Homeland Security's timeline. Once again there is the humiliating feeling that your life is not your own: the government may now effectively dictate when you get married.