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I concur that the H1B rules are awful. We should make it as easy as possible for the best in the world to come here. The laws as they stand directly abuse non-c

I concur that the H1B rules are awful. We should make it as easy as possible for the best in the world to come here. The laws as they stand directly abuse non-citizens for the benefit of companies, some of which are US based. The H1B holders don’t vote. The beneficiaries of a better system are more indirect, and less likely to make a case. (Most of us benefit when the best talent in the world is free to come here and build/create/pay taxes) However... The system is arbitrary and can punish people short term. It seems strange to buy a house in a country that can kick you out on no notice through no fault of your own.

kinkrtyavimoodh 6y ago
> It seems strange to buy a house in a country that can kick you out on no notice through no fault of your own. OK, it's strange to buy a house. What about marrying and having a kid? Many H1B workers here have lived there for decades (with no realistic hope of a green card in sight). Must we stay childless because we can be kicked out on no notice? I know your statement is well-intentioned but it comes off as one of those things that's easy to say in 'abstract' but it demonstrates a lack of understanding of actual life situations of people.
- dragandj 6y ago
  AFAIK, marying a citizen gives you a straight path to resident papers and, later, citizenship, in the western world, including USA.
  - kinkrtyavimoodh 6y ago
    Marrying a citizen, yes. But the chances of H1B visa holders marrying other H1B visa holders (or people from back home) are pretty high given that the elephant in the room is that all of this discussion disproportionally affects Indians and Chinese.
  - chucky_z 6y ago
    A close friend of mine got married 3 years ago. He is a dual citizen of China and the USA. His spouse is a Chinese citizen. This straight path you speak of they have been filing paperwork for and fighting for, for 3 years now. I believe he is just in the path to permanently moving to China and revoking his US citizenship status. Everything about this process sucks. :(
    - throwaway744678 6y ago
      How can your friend be a dual citizen of China and the US, when PRC does not recognize dual nationality?
    - ivalm 6y ago
      Strange, my Chinese citizen wife got her conditional green card within ~6 months of application (about a year ago, we’ve been married less than 2 years and she took a few months to apply since her status wasn’t pressing). One thing they ask is if you are a member of the communist party (my wife never was), and I guess if the answer is yes things may be more complicated. I, myself, am a naturalized us citizen (from Eastern Europe, my dad got an E1 in 2001).
- mathattack 6y ago
  I don’t intend to seem callous, so please help educate me. If you marry a citizen, that accelerated the Green Card. If you marry a non-citizen, your situation is precarious, so why not rent rather than buy? I’m not arguing that the rules are right. (They are clearly wrong) Just that if you’re ina precarious situation, avoid doing things that make it worse. When I lived abroad, the expats were all aware of being on borrowed time. I think the world would be a better place in terms of peace and prosperity if people could circulate as easily as money. Unfortunately that’s not our world. If my posts are wrong or offend I’m happy to delete them.
  - michaelt 6y ago
    Because they do not foresee their situation becoming less precarious in the future.
  - kinkrtyavimoodh 6y ago
    I am not offended and you have been polite, so please don't remove your posts. Renting vs buying is fine. We can choose to rent all our lives and frankly in the Bay Area buying isn't even that slam dunk of a decision anyway. My point was a bit more general. It's very common for people to argue 'technically' about how others should live their lives while missing their ground reality. For instance, it's easy to say "Well technically H1B is not an immigration visa, it's a temporary workers visa so why are you making long-term life decisions while on it". But the ground reality for most Indians and Chinese on H1Bs in the US is that they will never get a green card (permanent residence), and they will spend their whole lives here under H1B, so while the question is well-meaning and genuine, it translates to "don't buy a house, don't get too many possessions, don't marry[1], don't have kids". [1] Unless you marry a citizen, in which case you are sometimes accused of entering into a 'green-card marriage' and seen with suspicion.
    - User23 6y ago
      As a guest worker you are not supposed to put down deep roots here. If you want to immigrate you should follow the law and get an immigrant visa. This isn't hard at all. It's just like being a guest anywhere else, you have to follow the host's rules even if you don't like them.
Lammy 6y ago
> The laws as they stand directly abuse non-citizens for the benefit of companies, some of which are US based. So let's rein in those companies by giving them a talent pool of people who can't rock the boat too hard without fear of having to leave the country?
maxerickson 6y ago
We should just have really loose immigration laws that let lots of people in. Never mind the best in the world stuff.

kinkrtyavimoodh 6y ago

> It seems strange to buy a house in a country that can kick you out on no notice through no fault of your own. OK, it's strange to buy a house. What about marrying and having a kid? Many H1B workers here have lived there for decades (with no realistic hope of a green card in sight). Must we stay childless because we can be kicked out on no notice? I know your statement is well-intentioned but it comes off as one of those things that's easy to say in 'abstract' but it demonstrates a lack of understanding of actual life situations of people.

dragandj 6y ago
AFAIK, marying a citizen gives you a straight path to resident papers and, later, citizenship, in the western world, including USA.
- kinkrtyavimoodh 6y ago
  Marrying a citizen, yes. But the chances of H1B visa holders marrying other H1B visa holders (or people from back home) are pretty high given that the elephant in the room is that all of this discussion disproportionally affects Indians and Chinese.
- chucky_z 6y ago
  A close friend of mine got married 3 years ago. He is a dual citizen of China and the USA. His spouse is a Chinese citizen. This straight path you speak of they have been filing paperwork for and fighting for, for 3 years now. I believe he is just in the path to permanently moving to China and revoking his US citizenship status. Everything about this process sucks. :(
  - throwaway744678 6y ago
    How can your friend be a dual citizen of China and the US, when PRC does not recognize dual nationality?
  - ivalm 6y ago
    Strange, my Chinese citizen wife got her conditional green card within ~6 months of application (about a year ago, we’ve been married less than 2 years and she took a few months to apply since her status wasn’t pressing). One thing they ask is if you are a member of the communist party (my wife never was), and I guess if the answer is yes things may be more complicated. I, myself, am a naturalized us citizen (from Eastern Europe, my dad got an E1 in 2001).
mathattack 6y ago
I don’t intend to seem callous, so please help educate me. If you marry a citizen, that accelerated the Green Card. If you marry a non-citizen, your situation is precarious, so why not rent rather than buy? I’m not arguing that the rules are right. (They are clearly wrong) Just that if you’re ina precarious situation, avoid doing things that make it worse. When I lived abroad, the expats were all aware of being on borrowed time. I think the world would be a better place in terms of peace and prosperity if people could circulate as easily as money. Unfortunately that’s not our world. If my posts are wrong or offend I’m happy to delete them.
- michaelt 6y ago
  Because they do not foresee their situation becoming less precarious in the future.
- kinkrtyavimoodh 6y ago
  I am not offended and you have been polite, so please don't remove your posts. Renting vs buying is fine. We can choose to rent all our lives and frankly in the Bay Area buying isn't even that slam dunk of a decision anyway. My point was a bit more general. It's very common for people to argue 'technically' about how others should live their lives while missing their ground reality. For instance, it's easy to say "Well technically H1B is not an immigration visa, it's a temporary workers visa so why are you making long-term life decisions while on it". But the ground reality for most Indians and Chinese on H1Bs in the US is that they will never get a green card (permanent residence), and they will spend their whole lives here under H1B, so while the question is well-meaning and genuine, it translates to "don't buy a house, don't get too many possessions, don't marry[1], don't have kids". [1] Unless you marry a citizen, in which case you are sometimes accused of entering into a 'green-card marriage' and seen with suspicion.
  - User23 6y ago
    As a guest worker you are not supposed to put down deep roots here. If you want to immigrate you should follow the law and get an immigrant visa. This isn't hard at all. It's just like being a guest anywhere else, you have to follow the host's rules even if you don't like them.

Lammy 6y ago

> The laws as they stand directly abuse non-citizens for the benefit of companies, some of which are US based. So let's rein in those companies by giving them a talent pool of people who can't rock the boat too hard without fear of having to leave the country?

maxerickson 6y ago

We should just have really loose immigration laws that let lots of people in. Never mind the best in the world stuff.