As many of you know, the Obama administration issued an executive order decreeing that spouses of some H-1B visa holders be granted work permission in the U.S. The Trump administration has announced plans to reverse that order.
To me, the solution is exceedingly simple: Allow the spouses to work, but count them towards the yearly H-1B cap. This would deal with the humanity issue — many spouses are highly educated and feel frustrated by their lack of ability to do so — but would also recognize the reality that many of these spouses take jobs that qualified and interested Americans would fill.
In other words, I do indeed sympathize with the H-1B spouses — except for this one quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle. The article notes,
For immigrant families in the Bay Area, where housing is rarely affordable on a single salary, the work permit has helped them make ends meet.
Sivarajan, who worked for several years in India before coming to the U.S., said she would have never bought a bigger house in Fremont a few years ago if she knew she could lose her right to work.
I find this highly offensive, typical of the unwarranted sense of entitlement common among the H-1Bs (“We are contributing so much to the U.S.”). Ms. Sivarajan buys her dream house, due to benefiting from a legally questionable executive order, and now publicly expresses outrage that she may no longer be able to afford it? What is the Hindi word for chutzpah?!
The fact is that the REASON Bay Area real estate is so expensive is that Silicon Valley employers have hired so many foreign workers, swelling the pool of home buyers. Sivarajan is the CAUSE of the very problem she is decrying.
Look, I have family and friends in Fremont who are benefiting from the steep rise in housing prices, since they bought their properties long ago. Good for them, but the fact is that many Americans — native and immigrant alike — are frozen OUT of the real estate market as a result of tech employers’ love of cheap, indentured labor.
I hope the Trump people don’t cave on this one.
Upon Closer inspection 
The unlimited immigration and open borders people never acknowledge this fact – housing prices in CA continue to go up, up, up because of pressure of population. Much of the pressure is from illegals and from visa workers. This is probably 20% of CA’s population, and if they were removed, prices would fall precipitously.
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The real estate lobby has also made it possible for any foreigner who invests $500K to get a green card. So prices in CA have been bid up, mostly by Chinese buyers. All of this real estate speculation makes it impossible for low wage workers to survive. This is another reason you have an increasing amount of homelessness in CA.
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The EB-5 visa is a little more complicated than that, but yes, widely recognized as subject to rampant abuse.
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#2 lobbyist organization: National Realtors Association.
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>> Allow the spouses to work, but count them towards the yearly H-1B cap
Unfortunately, that is in no proposal we have on *any* immigration bill out there. So we are back to status quo.
In fact, the entire H-1/L-1 needs to be scrapped or put a moratorium on countries where Sivarakan is from. We all know why spouses of H-1 holders from other countries do not have this issue – They get their LPRs in no time; where as these spouses from backlogged countries have wait times of more than 10 years. (more like 3 centuries).
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Ms.Sivarajan is a Tamil, might not understand Hindi. What’s the Tamil word for chutzpah? It is “Aanavam”
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Given that her husband is educated and thus knows Hindi, I think it’s a fairly safe bet that she is in the same situation. But thanks for the Tamil lesson.
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not necessarily… a very few Tamil folks actually learn Hindi… it is a political thing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Hindi_agitations_of_Tamil_Nadu#Agitation_of_2014
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Ah, interesting, thanks.
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Entitlement is right!
Did you notice that the children in her program as pictured in some of the articles about this woman are not ethnically diverse.
I am sick of hearing about “the best and brightest” being the international students. If this is the case, US students would be flocking to foreign institutions rather than those from other countries coming to the US. How can these brilliant students and workers be coming from Third World countries; they cannot clean up their home countries and choose to run to the us for the money not to assimilate into the culture that has evolved over hundreds of years.
I am frustrated that American workers are not being hired while foreign nationals who have gained green cards and citizenship are sponsoring only individuals from their home country for H-1Bs and green cards.
I have no confidence that DC will support the American workers needing jobs but will continue to allow the current H4s and even expand the program to permit even more to work. What should be happening is removing the ability of L2s and J2s to work not adding more.
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L-1s are used by Indian bodyshops to bring people in and there is no numerical limit on L-1s. L-1s also pay no income taxes. That is why we are $22 trillion in debt. MILLIONS of these people have been brought in to displace existing American workers.
We are being deceptively and silently invaded by foreign powers. Most Americans are unaware that these people hate the west both because of Britian’s colonization of them 150 years ago, and because the US kept them out of the world econ since the end of WW2 because they were an ally of Russia.
What do you suppose they do when they arrive in our country? They target us for removal in our own jobs.
We are being silently taken over. Any American who does not ackknowledge this fact is in denial.
India does not even try to hide this fact
http://swaminomics.org/the-global-indian-takeover/
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I don’t see the validity of that article.
I personally find that most Indians I know are overjoyed to be here.
They should make excellent citizens.
India is actually more a collections of tribes divided against themselves that an entity trying to take over something.
They do of course want out jobs and have spent an enormous amount of effort focusing on IT>
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Agreed with gdwitt. Most Indians are thrilled to be here and, based on my experience, do assimilate very quickly compared to others. H1/H4 are big issues and completely agree with all of Norm’s writings on this, however, let’s not turn an important argument into some disingenuous discussion about assimilation.
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I hope you are not against all H4 visa holders because of “chutzpah” of one person’s opinion.
Having H4 visa and getting stuck at home as housewife sucks sir. It’s literally depresses you as a person.
When I received my H4 EAD, I was so overjoyed. I went online and applied for jobs through monster.com and paid subscription of linkedin.com.
I got few interview calls and went for few interviews.
Finally, after 2 months of job hunting, I got a full time job in a pharmaceutical firm.
I followed all the rules and was so happy to be finally independent. I got a new purpose in life. Got a reason to get up in morning.
I have been working since Dec’2015 and got promotion a month back.
What now sir? When this rule will go away, I will lose my job and will be back to where I was.
I am one step away from Green Card but that’s a long step. I don’t expect my GC for next 5 years.
I won’t be employable again once GC comes in.
Please support women like me sir.
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I stated clearly that I sympathize with people like you. All you have to do is read what I wrote.
But your statement, “I won’t be employable again once GC comes in,” is SO true! Think about it. And think about its implications for U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
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> getting stuck at home … sucks sir. It’s literally depresses you as a person.
And there are vast numbers of unemployed and underemployed American STEM workers who feel the same way. They were excellent employees for 10, 15, and 20 years. They were regularly promoted and recognized in other ways for their outstanding performance. And then, one day, they unwittingly crossed a red line: they became too expensive.
Now they are housewives or househusbands because they’ve been out of work for so long that interviewers won’t touch them, but their love for their former profession compels them to contribute to open source projects in between chores. Or they are working as administrative assistants in government agencies trying to come up with creative formulas for their department head’s latest spreadsheet because they want to feel their Masters degree in a science can still be useful. And the luckiest few have stayed in their field as contractors, but, while making an annual salary comparable to what they were receiving 20 years earlier, they continue to provide quality engineering work commensurate with their experience because they feel anything less would compromise their principles.
Based on your experience, you should have empathy for these, your struggling fellow “future” countrymen and women. Will you do the right thing and not take advantage of the H-4 program? Will you seek out an unemployed American pharmaceutical professional, shepherd them through HR, and resign your current position so one more American citizen can return to the profession they love?
Please support men and women like me, ma’am.
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>> Will you do the right thing and not take advantage of the H-4 program? Will you seek out an unemployed American pharmaceutical professional, shepherd them through HR, and resign your current position so one more American citizen can return to the profession they love?
We need a legislative solution – All regulatory ones are band aids. I am quite certain that the next D administration will show lot of benefits for H-4 EAD and bring that program back in.
And, I stress on legislative solution since I believe that even if this “person” will not take advantage of the program, some one else will. Again, it’s the cartel thats bringing these folks into our country. We should focus on addressing the root cause and not these symptoms – Moratorium/Ban on H1/L1/OPT and such.
Its downright sadistic that the cartel is making it a game between Americans vs Non-immigrants when it is actually Americans vs Cartel. And the cartel is made of Americans + LPRs + LPR-turned-Citizens. If Issa’s bill is any indication, our cartel is trying to deflect that it’s the Infosyses/NASSCOMs of the world that “bad actors” when in fact, Intels/FWD as as bad or worse (as evidenced by the author of this blog time and again).
I keep hearing this ‘you knew it before you came here, so get out’ argument time and again , which fails the simple test – if that individual/family leaves this country and goes back to improve their country, the next one takes its place from that same country.
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Being a citizen in your own country, working 20 years to build a life and career, then being tossed on the street by someone from another country who is not even a citizen and doesn’t have the skills claimed, and then ask you to TRAIN them to do your job also really sucks. Wonder what would happen if Americans did the same thing to Indians in India. Wonder what the outcry would be?
Imperialism? Racism? But when it’s done to American citizens, not a peep from anyone.
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Ritu,
You are free to return home to work. Assuming you are from India by your name, few foreign nationals are welcomed to work in your home country. Why should you and your spouse be entitled to do so elsewhere?
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Hi Cathy,
Yes I know that I am free to return to my country.
Unfortunately, that’s the last option for me.
My husband has a decent job and we are around 5 years away from getting Green Card.
I have one son and one daughter, both USA citizens, who grew up here and are as American as anyone else.
They are in school and it would be very problematic for them to adjust to life (social, academic) in India. Tried as hard as I could, both of them only speak English.
I don’t know what else I can do to prove that I am as dedicated to America as native born.
This country is made by immigrants, the only difference is that you are multi generational American and I will be first generation American.
I didn’t have work authorization for 6 years but when legally got it, I found a job fair-and-square in open market.
If this rule passes, my work authorization will be taken away from me in few months.
I will be a prisoner and will be stuck at home but once I get my Green Card, I will get back on my feet and will again start at the bottom. What i will not do is give up.
Thanks for reading my rant.
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Ritu, I think people would gladly accept the sincerity of your desire to become American if only you were to show some sympathy to Americans who are already here. Instead, you have resorted to blaming the victim, insisting that “there are tons of jobs out there” that American techies could get, even those over age 35, and many people here know this to be just plain false. Some have applied for thousands of jobs (literally), with only a few interviews and no offers.
Did you really get your job “fair and square”? Did a fellow Indian hire you, or at least connect you to the job you got? Are you under age 35?
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Hard cases make bad law.
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These are people who have filed for Gc’s and waiting to get it in decades long back log for mostly Indians on H1B’s. Also any economist will agree more people in workforce is good for any nation and economy, Instead of allowing people to contribute to the society keeping them at home isn’t good. Also author doesn’t mention the fact that only spouses of people who have their I-140’s approved (Next stage is GC i.e future USA citizens) can do this.
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Why did you feel the need to state that the backlog is mostly Indians?
“Any economist will agree more people in workforce is good for any nation and economy”? Really? Name one economist who thinks it’s good to take all would-be immigrants in the world.
“Keeping them at home isn’t good”: I said so myself. But you didn’t read what I wrote, did you?
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Keeping U.S. citizens at home isn’t good, but that’s what happens when they get replaced by lower-cost imported replacement workers.
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Agree with your viewpoint Norm. H4 visas should count within H1 cap.
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H-1Bs are not the problem. L1s have NO cap and India Incs bring in millions on L-1s. They also pay no income taxes.
End all guest worker programs, put Americans back to work, and watch what happens to the US debt.
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Dont lie. Both H1B and L1 are the problem. H1B have fake certificate, fake resume, fake experience and proxy interview issues too. End both H1B and L1 as it is not relevant anymore.
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The raw arrogance of some of our “guests” from overseas, who come here taking jobs that otherwise would have gone to qualified U.S. Citizens or existing legal immigrant Green Card holders who are already here, is breathtaking.
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You’re supposed to respond sympathetically to their personal stories. And then change your mind.
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Gee I wonder where they get their sense of entitlement…
Headline on opinion piece in today’s WSJ: “Immigration Is Practically a Free Lunch for America”, by Neel Kashkari.
Free money on the table for Americans, all of us, and all we have to do is pick it up off the table… unless we’re crazy.
Why wouldn’t immigrants feel entitled? They are told they are “free money” on the table, and they surely don’t want us to die from “crazy”. They feel sorry for us. They come to the US, hoping to help us make the right decision. I guess. Lord knows, computer programming is another one of those “jobs Americans won’t do”.
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Remember, Kashkari was one of the key architects in the bailout of the big banks in 2009. Hardly a man of the common people.
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Back in the late 80’s I was in a very specialized job and my employer moved their HQ to Amsterdam. My wife was unable to legally work in the Netherlands because the Dutch worried about the Duch first. And they are a very open and tolerant society.
My wife was fine with it, but got bored after a year, so she started a cosmetics company and had extremely high end cosmetics made under her formulas. She registered the company under a Dutch friend’s name, and everyone was happy with it because we knew it was only going to be 5 years or so. All was 100% legal.
Taxes were paid, 26 Dutch were employed, my wife netted after taxes, ~$285,000/yr. The Dutch tax authorities took her money, didn’t ask questions and everyone was happy. Employed (at high incomes) Dutch, lots and LOTS of taxes, no jobs lost. I love the Dutch way.
Kill the H4EAD!
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America is the ONLY nation on earth that does not take care of its own citizens first.
Suicide of a Superpower.
Trump doesn’t seem to get it either.
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I do not understand why any immigration question, whether it be illegal, non-immigrant guest worker, greencard, or even legal immigration, does not start with the question of do we have enough jobs for our population.
This is never discussed even though 3 simple first grade math questions will expose what is happening:
1. as our population increases, this means that we need more jobs for our people that want to work.
2. As we send jobs to other countries via free trade agreements, this DECREASES the jobs for our people that want to work.
3. As we import non-immigrant guest workers and allow illegal immigration, this also DECREASES the jobs for our people that want to work.
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Some articles have noted that almost all population growth in the U.S. consists of foreigners and their children. Interestingly, almost all job growth during the last few Obama years was among foreigners. The implications of these two numbers should be obvious. American citizens have been left out of the nation’s economic growth, and have not been able to afford to have children beyond the number needed for zero-growth. This is not by accident; it was the goal and the intent of the prior administration that all future economic and population growth in the U.S. be devoted to “catching up” the rest of the world.
As Pres. Obama said at a huge rally in Germany early in his administration, “I come before you as a citizen of the World.” Or, to be more precise, “the REST of the world.”
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Agree on all counts:
a) temp visa workers should not be displacing Americans. but the spouses are allowed to take jobs in retail and food service – no shortage of applicants at Walmart.
b) If no one would pay $4000/month for a 1 bedroom apartment, then the price would fall. But for 6 H-1b splitting the cost – not a problem. Also we should not be allowing Chinese (or any foreigner) to be buying up our houses – driving up the sale price beyond what wages would sustain – and then renting them back to us.
c) Congress has done nothing for Americans harmed by H-1b. But now Dems are holding up the budget for the sake of a group of illegal occupants that have citizenship in other countries. Just wow.
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>> Congress has done nothing for Americans harmed by H-1b
Lets be careful of the words we choose. If we keep shouting as H-1B being the *only* culprit, Congress will just hear that and “fix” it (case in point – Issa’s bill that addresses the “H-1B” problem).
We ought be saying “Americans harmed by *all alphabet visas* that allows foreigners to work here”
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The problem with the H4 EAD is that it essentially is a work permit card like DACA, OPT, and the Advanced Parole. It entitles the spouse to work at “any” job he/she feels like working at. It can be working part time at a retail store, driving Uber, or working as a bank teller. It can even be used to start a business! How fair is that to Americans who now have to compete for those jobs in unskilled labor? How fair is it to the H1b person who is forced to work in the “specialty occupation” but their spouse can easily work anywhere? The H4 EAD needs to be eradicated. If you’re indeed highly qualified, apply for an H1b visa. Simple as that. Looking at the responses of some of the Indian commentators on here, one has to wonder how they even got sponsored for a green card in the first place. Furthermore, a lot of these green card petitions from Indians are loaded with fraud. They are not the best and brightest. Seriously, a green card petition for a QA worker? An accountant? The whole system is screwed up. No H4 EAD and no HR 392!
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If people only knew how badly it’s gamed, they’d be furious.
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The problem with the H4 EAD is that it essentially is a work permit card like DACA, OPT, and the Advanced Parole. It entitles the spouse to work at “any” job he/she feels like working at. It can be working part time at a retail store, driving Uber, or working as a bank teller. It can even be used to start a business! How fair is that to Americans who now have to compete for those jobs in unskilled labor? How fair is it to the H1b person who is forced to work in the “specialty occupation” but their spouse can easily work anywhere? The H4 EAD needs to be eradicated. If you’re indeed highly qualified, apply for an H1b visa. Simple as that. Looking at the responses of some of the Indian commentators on here, one has to wonder how they even got sponsored for a green card in the first place. Furthermore, a lot of these green card petitions from Indians are loaded with fraud. They are not the best and brightest. Seriously, a green card petition for a QA worker? An accountant? The whole system is messed up. No H4 EAD and no HR 392!
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Your last point here is especially relevant. How can a QA person be “the best and the brightest”? It’s absurd.
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Norm, “best and brightest” is all a scam, in fact, it was PR dreamed up by NASSCOM in 1998 when they hired DC lobbyist/PR firm Hill & Knowlton to push the visa increases through. India saw Gates, etc become billionaires and all the good IT jobs and announced “America is going to have to find something else to do”> I lived in Silicon Valley, I watched every detail unfold.
If they are the best and brightest, then really, why do they even come to the US? Why isn’t their country already better than the US? Why are they falling all over themselves to get US degrees?
So they can take our jobs, that is why. “Best and brightest” is nothing more than foreign paid PR. Media hype.
The best and brightest in just 20 years have turned a booming economy with a tax surplus and full employment into a $22 trillion debt-ridden, 95-million American unemployed nightmare.
Since when does the US continue to tolerate non-performers?
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Speaking of housing in the Bay area. My husband and I refinanced our tiny home several years ago in an attempt to try and keep it. (My husband is a Hispanic American and a semi-conductor engineer with over 20 years of experience. He has been hurt by employment displacement due to all of the H1-B’s coming into our country). Prior to our refinance, we spoke with a mortgage consultant at very well-recognized American bank chain. This consultant told us that a huge number of the home loans they process are for foreign nationals from India mainly (and also China), and that the job title for almost every one of the loan applicants is “engineer”. This consultant also mentioned that many of the tech companies help these foreign engineers buy homes here.
I felt so frustrated hearing this because no American tech company has ever helped my family in this way. Seeing these foreign workers being “subsidized” by American tech corporations has been a bitter pill for me (an American citizen) to swallow. Many of these foreign nationals own better cars that my family has ever owned and it is hard seeing their children have educational opportunities that my kids cannot participate in anymore due to a lack of funds for such luxuries. I am very grateful that President Trump is attempting to rectify this great injustice to our citizens. If this type of situation were happening in India, I guarantee that the Indian people wouldn’t stand for it. There would be riots and anger at Americans taking their jobs, yet we Americans have been most patient and tolerant as we watch opportunity being drained from us. Enough is enough. American citizens of all ethnic backgrounds should be given priority for jobs, after all it is our country. If corporations are going to do business here in America, they should have an obligation to employ Americans first.
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It is also the law.
Title 8, Section 1182 Inadmissible Aliens, Subsection 5.
It is illegal to hire foreign workers if Americans are unemployed.
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>> It is also the law.
Title 8, Section 1182 Inadmissible Aliens, Subsection 5.
It is illegal to hire foreign workers if Americans are unemployed.
The law also gives extreme authority such that the POTUS can stop *any and all* immigration if its “detrimental” to our interests. Certainly, job losses are NOT detrimental, otherwise we should have had a moratorium on any and all immigration (guests or otherwise), no? oh and we are seeing how the three “bans” are panning out. So status quo again.
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Years ago, most American companies even dropped the practice of paying “relocation expenses” for U.S. citizens to move to a different city to take their new job. So you move to a new city, on your own dime, and if the company changes course and replaces you with an H1-B, you’re stuck in a new city with no job and no connections, either.
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$500 billion remittance market
https://qz.com/775159/theres-a-500-billion-remittance-market-and-bitcoin-startups-want-in-on-it/
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Numbers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remittance#Top_recipient_countries
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The concept of keeping a worker and a spouse together is very important. Trying raise children by Skype is not going to result in a happy childhood. Many cases of “human trafficking” (sexual slavery) in the U.S. are driven by male-only immigration patterns.
However, the idea that “we can’t afford to buy our dream home unless I work” ignores fact that U.S. citizens cannot afford their dream homes, either. The stress of living in a wage-war environment has broken many U.S. families. For the first time in history, we live in a society where nearly one out of three Americans lives alone.
It cannot possibly be right — or beneficial to a nation — to inflict nightmares on citizens, in order to replace them with the dreams of imported replacements.
If you are “bored at home”, imagine how bored and frustrated the people are whose jobs got replaced. There are plenty of ways to keep busy in the community, such as volunteering at food banks for displaced U.S. citizens, or homeless shelters for U.S. citizens, or drug rehab centers for U.S. citizens. And the best part is, you might actually find out how the other half lives.
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The major difference between the recent immigrants and the ones who came 100 years ago is one of attitude: the newcomers think they’re entitled to things. The whole world today believes it has a “right” to come to America and that it is “racist” if you object to open borders.
One of the most risible lines I’ve heard from Silicon Valley Indians is, “We built Silicon Valley.” Where does this hubris, not to mention ignorance, come from?
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>>> The major difference between the recent immigrants and the …
I believe you mean to say “non-immigrants”. If it’s immigrants, then they already are Americans and the discussion would be steered in a different way – as to what Americans think they will be “entitled” for. Almost everyone makes this same mistake – to a point where the “illegals” are also termed as “immigrants” (illegal immigrants). No, they are not immigrants. No matter how much they think they are “asssimilated” in this country.
>> Where does this hubris, not to mention ignorance, come from?
Recent (indian) immigrants (LPRs/citizens) found their way into this country rather easily – abusing L-1A/H-1/other visas. No wonder they think this country cannot run without them. Sad, but true.
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Rajan, you need a history lesson.
Indians were forbidden from immigrating to USA until about 1945, followed by the immigration reforms of 60s after which Indian immigration became a possibility.
Whole of north east America shared the same attitude towards Italian immigrants of 1900-15, what you feel is nothing new – but that does not mean that its right.
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It comes from their employers: “best and brightest”. They actually believe it.
it was news to my Mr., an LPR from India:
– no, people with bachelors degrees aren’t paid $10 an hour,
– his “scholarship” was paid for many times over, as his university billed out his “research assistant” hours for mighty big bucks and
– he were underpaid by $15K from day 1 in his tech industry job
– laid off within one month after green card, not a coincidence.
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Just for clarity and as service to my fellow readers.
The H4 EAD executive order benefits only a small portion of all H4 dependents. Firstly the spouses of H1-B immigrants (<- emphasis), secondly only those who have filed for a green card and are on a long wait queue (no priority date because subject of an oversubscribed country) and finally spouses who want to work.
The above sentence translates into "Spouses of Chinese, Indian and Pinoy origin". The issue of H4 EAD would not exist for people of any other nationality than above – they get a PR in 2 years.
The spirit of the executive order was to correct (in a tiny way) this unjust consequence of per country caps on immigration. If all men are made equal, I don't see any reason for these caps.
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Sadly, you just don’t get it, International. Many American readers here are extremely frustrated at the fact — do you deny that it is a fact? — that they are bypassed in the job market in favor of H-1Bs and other foreign workers. It doesn’t matter how many qualify for H-4 EAD; to these readers (with whom I agree), as long as ANY foreign workers are hired in lieu of Americans, the policy is WRONG.
“All men are created equal” can be interpreted in lots of ways. If the U.S. wants nationality diversity in its immigrant population, there is nothing wrong with that.
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Per country caps are a vestige of the red-lining era in American history. Needs to be done away ASAP.
This call for diversity is a dog-whistle, it is a systemic instrument being used to limit ‘non-black colored’ immigration.
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Some people say the H-1B and employer-sponsored green card programs should be done away with ASAP. 🙂
So you have been in this country, oh let’s say 4 or 5 years, and yet you know the populace so well that you can identify dog whistles?
And since you are responding to my usage of the term “diversity,” are you accusing me of using it as a dog whistle?
There are lots of good reasons for country caps, but in any case it should be up to Americans to decide, not you, no matter how many accusations you want to make
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>> it should be up to Americans to decide..
You mean the cartel decides on their behalf. I am amazed at how the cartel works without breaking a sweat!
>> Per country caps are a vestige of the red-lining era in American history
Or,
1) let it be the way it is.
2) “fake” fix the H-1B (and hike the quotas in that process),
3) lose focus on L-1 and other alphabet visas;
4) somewhere in this melee, be innovative and introduce regulations like ‘Entrepreneur Parole rule’; stuff them into greencard backlog
5) lose more American jobs by stuffing the ‘greencard’ queue with more bright and best (from India, obviously)
6) Make it Americans vs Indians (deflecting from Americans vs cartel) and so on.
In other words live the groundhog day.
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“this unjust consequence of per country caps on immigration”
This consequence is due to unjust discrimination in hiring… against Americans. You’re ignoring unjust root cause.
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Not to mention, Ms. Sivarajan apparently is taking a skilled job from an AMERICAN, without any restrictions, even though her spouse was ostensibly given the H1-B because he was in a “shortage” occupation. The inability to work should have factored into their decision to take the H1-B in the first place. If you can’t live on one income, don’t take it. If we’re going to continue offering H1-Bs, Norm’s suggestion of counting the wife toward the H1-B cap makes sense.
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The Indian “non-immigrant” folks complaining here can always go back to their home country of India. And that’s what they precisely do and did when the economic recession hit twice both during the dot com bubble, and the housing crisis bubble. The packed up their bags and left! Defaulted on their mortgage, auto loan, and credit card loan – and just bought a one way ticket back to India and just left! This shows that these folks are not looking to enrich and better the United States. They are specifically looking at what they can “take” from the United States. In all seriousness, these green card backlogs for Indians (some Chinese) is not a disastrous situation as they make it out to be. They can freely transfer their H1bs to any other company and retain their priority date. The simple mentality of the average Indian is to brag that they have the coveted American passport (once they naturalize) to brag to others back in their home country. It’s also a quick attempt to start the chain migration process whereby they start sponsoring their grandparents, parents, and siblings. Those are the 2 biggest reasons why they want their green cards quickly. The other argument I keep seeing as well is the fact some of them brought their children while on H1b (or L1) and are mad that they don’t have green cards because their kids now have to file an F1 student visa to enter University. I mean, for crying out loud, it’s just a simple paperwork to get your kid to enroll in college. Oh wait – they want to pay in-state tuition. See my point here? What can I take from this country?
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Ali, please refer to these Indian, Chinese, Mexican and Pinoy folks as “IMMIGRANT” folks, because H1-B is dual intent.
People from over subscribed countries would love to enrich the US by buying property, starting businesses and running for office. But the discriminatory per country caps on immigration awards, keeps them from going all-in on their American dream.
If award of citizenship/green-card was reasonably quick (3-5 yrs) and certain for these people who were born in the over subscribed nations by no fault of their own – you would see more people settling their roots in and investing in their American future; instead of having to keep a small capital footprint in USA because they can be kicked out anytime.
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Wannabe immigrants, not immigrants. They are immigrants if and when they get their green cards.
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There’s a whole bunch of farce in US immigration and foreign worker “policy”.
“temporary” visas
“undocumented”
“border control”
Gone is any definition of goals/justification they’re using for this dysfunction.
Enough with this ridiculous BandAid’ing, which gets warped and twisted.
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The Million Dollar Shack video really captures the SF Bay Area / Silicon Valley housing crisis.
I just wish some GOP politician would use this in a campaign. Ask his/her opponent what is so great about this mass immigration and:
– Higher housing costs
– Higher rents
– More congested traffic
– More demand for entries to colleges and universities
– More strain on local government budgets
Someone needs to hold them accountable.
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To all those folks who are crying over for not able to work if their H4 EAD is terminated how about some non profit jobs, if you really want to contribute to the society.
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I think all the H and L visas need to be eliminated, but until that happens I think allowing H-1B spouses work permits which count against the H-1B limit is better than how it is currently done.
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