3 ms·

They're probably going indentured to someone or to an organization that they'll be paying off for a decade or so. My cousin payed someone to get a work visa to

They're probably going indentured to someone or to an organization that they'll be paying off for a decade or so. My cousin payed someone to get a work visa to Canada from North Africa, which cost about $15k. Although the first time she did it it was a scam and she lost all of that money, which was pretty devastating for her. Another cousin payed a coyote to get him to Europe (via Greece), and that was cheaper, but they also left the boat for dead in the Mediterranean and he ended up getting deported back to North Africa. So yeah, $72k is a lot, but if you're desperate and it's not all upfront, I can see it happening.

alephnerd 2y ago
For the Indians who are taking this route they are not. My family is from one of those villages where immigration (documented and undocumented) to the West has been common since the 1970s. The ones who are truly desperate (the rural poor and working class) cannot afford to immigrate illegally to the West so they end up immigrating to the Gulf, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or South Korea to work as unskilled laborers. The only people who take these routes in Northwest India are those who area weird mix of landed (so rich as they have a high value asset that can be mortgaged) and ignorant. Oftentimes a healthy dose of "stunting" as well, because even if the guy immigrated abroad illegally, they can at least get a wedding offer now whereas before they were a NEET.