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> Sure there are always workarounds and in the end spouse can always look for someone to sponsor application for working visa, but good luck with getting it if

by eshvk 14y ago

> Sure there are always workarounds and in the end spouse can always look for someone to sponsor application for working visa, but good luck with getting it if you had no or little experience. Going back to school doesn't really solve the problem of spouse being attached to the main visa holder (AFAIK education in US can be quite expensive). OK. Let me put it across in a different way then: Why should a person with no or little experience be allowed to take a job which could potentially be used by someone who is a citizen? > What I dislike the most about H1B visa is that it is almost the only way to start working in the US which as you said aimed to temporarily fill a need for highly skilled labor. So what are the alternatives? I would be totally OK with H1B if it was limited to say 2 years with absolutely no possibility to extend it, people would not be lured to the USA with false promises of future improvement of their conditions. Last time I checked it was possible to lose H1B simply because of quota no matter how many years you've spend in the US, it's wrong. So is your issue the time limitation itself or that time for which one can be on an H1B is two years rather than five years. > I would like to compare it to Swiss B permit. It is very hard to get one especially because of quotas on the first time applicants, but once you have it you don't have to worry anymore. To extend it all you need is to be gainfully employed (you're not tied to your original employer). Process is rather streamlined and after 6 years you receive C permit which is similar to the green card. (disclaimer: some cantons are better some are worse, in Geneva and Zurich for example they can issue L permit instead of B which is limited to 2 years without notifying the applicant, basically you learn that you have L when it's too late...) I agree that a better system must exist: Of late, I have come to the realization that the H1B is an evil system which is basically a form of white-collar slavery. However, it is going to be hard to build a scalable, robust system that benefits current citizens without exploiting future citizens.

notimetorelax 14y ago
> OK. Let me put it across in a different way then: Why should a person with no or little experience be allowed to take a job which could potentially be used by someone who is a citizen? How is this different from an American marrying a foreigner who then receives green card and can work wherever? He/she may not have any experience and yet will take over someone else's job. On one hand we have a person with expertise that is in high demand on the other hand we have a citizen who just happened to be born on the USA soil, why should we treat their families differently? Especially that we have confirmed that the former is an asset to the economy.
- eshvk 14y ago
  You are comparing apples and oranges: The reason a foreigner who marries an American gets a green card is because it is considered to be a preliminary step for the person who by virtue of marrying a U.S. citizen to acquire citizenship. The second case is of someone who is temporarily in the United States and whose family has an even more tenuous status. Also, a citizen has additional rights and responsibilities: E.g. voting is a right and a responsibility so is selective service. Economic productivity is only part of the civic responsibility of a citizen.
  - notimetorelax 14y ago
    Is there another way for an experienced professional to get into the USA without going through H1B? Again please correct me AFAIK the standard path to citizenship is H1B then green card then citizenship. How many years should you spend in the country before your status changes from temporary to something else? Anyway I respect your opinion and it certainly has merit, the only thing the I want to say is that, as you say, to prevent white collar slavery immigrants must be allowed higher mobility and their spouses independence.

by eshvk 14y ago

notimetorelax 14y ago

> OK. Let me put it across in a different way then: Why should a person with no or little experience be allowed to take a job which could potentially be used by someone who is a citizen? How is this different from an American marrying a foreigner who then receives green card and can work wherever? He/she may not have any experience and yet will take over someone else's job. On one hand we have a person with expertise that is in high demand on the other hand we have a citizen who just happened to be born on the USA soil, why should we treat their families differently? Especially that we have confirmed that the former is an asset to the economy.

eshvk 14y ago
You are comparing apples and oranges: The reason a foreigner who marries an American gets a green card is because it is considered to be a preliminary step for the person who by virtue of marrying a U.S. citizen to acquire citizenship. The second case is of someone who is temporarily in the United States and whose family has an even more tenuous status. Also, a citizen has additional rights and responsibilities: E.g. voting is a right and a responsibility so is selective service. Economic productivity is only part of the civic responsibility of a citizen.
- notimetorelax 14y ago
  Is there another way for an experienced professional to get into the USA without going through H1B? Again please correct me AFAIK the standard path to citizenship is H1B then green card then citizenship. How many years should you spend in the country before your status changes from temporary to something else? Anyway I respect your opinion and it certainly has merit, the only thing the I want to say is that, as you say, to prevent white collar slavery immigrants must be allowed higher mobility and their spouses independence.