I don't mean to be snarky--I'm genuinely curious if you are being sarcastic here. As a US citizen, I've been met with indifference, or more likely, quizzed on the places I've been, my home address, or the contents of my luggage. Never once has the greeting been "Welcome home"
I also heard that in Seattle, though it was a weird feeling, as I am not a citizen nor a permanent resident. At the time I thought it might be due to my frequent travel to the US.
Its the same as retail/customer service based industries. I've never had a pleasant experience at Walmart, but at the bodega down the street things are different. Flying into a major hub like say Miami the agents just wanna get you through, flying into say...Cincinnati or San Antonio the pace is a bit slower and the customs agents more friendly.
I usually return via SFO, and I don't think I've ever heard "Welcome Home". Last time (after a short vacation from the region) I was quizzed "Do you reside in New Zealand or Australia?" followed by "Move along."
In SFO most recently, I was welcomed back only after I thanked the guy at passport control and told him to have a good day. It really depends on how passport control feels that day.
Logan immigration has been very friendly to me in the past.
These days I'm not in Boston and usually come in through Newark Liberty. Half the time I get a nice friendly/chitchatty immigration officer who welcomes me back.
Nowadays most airports do that electronic thing, so they don't even need to ask you questions since its all on that slip of paper. So a couple of times I've had them glance at the slip, and then just welcome me back with a smile.
I've had a welcome home on my H1-B at SFO, made me feel quite warm and fuzzy. Also had much less pleasant experiences (the immigration officer who thought Europe was being overrun with Mislims.) As a white British person I've never had a welcome home from an immigration officer in the UK, but being greeted in the UK would seem weird.
I'm really happy that the author found a place that he could truly call home. However, his generalisation of India largely based on a single incident comes across as rather shallow and naive. Yeah sure India has many quirks, but I can't find another country which has people from so many diverse backgrounds (religion, language, customs) who co-exist so peacefully. Let's also not forget that the legalisation of same-sex marriage is a recent development even in the USA.
>Yeah sure India has many quirks, but I can't find another country which has people from so many diverse backgrounds (religion, language, customs) who co-exist so peacefully.
"India, one of the most diverse countries in the world with a population of 1.3 billion, experiences severe caste and tribal discrimination, and in recent decades has seen a notable increase in sectarian violence."
Bettye Miller's piece on Ajay Verghese, author of The Colonial Origins of Ethnic Violence in India (2016) [0]
A notable increase does not imply a large amount of violence. And personally I doubt that India had less sectarian violence in the past; it was just covered less dramatically.
I agree there, and lacking any concrete data, it's better to not pass off opinion or speculation as fact.
For quite a lot of the sectarian violence, I blame the government and the political parties for having policies that favour some castes over others, and for being soft on sectarian violence. Moreover we, in the middle class, who lead lives far away from politics, are largely isolated from these shenanigans.
Having spent 25 years of life in India, I'd say the "subjugation" is largely political and isolated occurrences in uneducated parts of the country. And that too, what usually starts as a brawl regarding everyday matters quickly turns communal after some politician eyes the chance to milk some mileage out of it.
The Indian identity, luckily till now, isn't based on religious lines. Though I have to agree, Pakistan-hate is strong in India and any remote Pakistan-love (even cheering for the Pakistan cricket team) can be seen as anti-nationalism and could lead to a sedition charge. This is, of course, due to the 3 wars fought since independence.
The original word 'subjugate' is directly linked to absence of representation - i.e. voting rights.
To the second point on oppression, find this interesting reading - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ira-glasser/legacy-of-racial-s....
Feel free to compare incarceration rates.
[ based on a single incident comes across as rather shallow and naive.]
Not True.
There is a trend happening. An actress who never went to college (and tried to fake her certificates) was made 'Higher Education Minister'.
The actress who knows drama very well is turning every university into a theater. Why are there so many disturbing incidents in Indian universities in last 2 years?
Or maybe those disturbing incidents are because of the imploding corrupt university system? If you actually studied in an Indian university (especially those aided/funded by the government) you'll know how corrupt the entire system is.
Corruption in India begins at the school level. The recent topper scam in Bihar (which led to the fraudulent topper being jailed) exposed how deeply-rooted corruption in education system is: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/biha...
I got my green card yesterday. It took me eighteen months, which is a ridiculously short amount of time, if I had been from India instead of Australia it'd be another 6 years or so before anyone even looked at my application.
For me a green card was a convenience rather than a necessity. It wasn't anything life changing as it was for the article's author. As a software engineer that qualified for a non-supply capped visa I could live in the US almost whenever I felt a need (I only needed to find an employer willing to fill out some extra paperwork for me).
That said I'm really grateful to have my green card, I'm much less stressed about my future. I no longer worry about having to leave the US if I lose my job. Now, maybe I'll buy a house, maybe I'll start a business? Exciting new possibilities.
The H1-B has a lengthy application process, there is a maximum number of consecutive years you can be on one, there are more applications than availability, there's a transfer process, it is dual intent, and what else?
None of which are characteristics of the E-3, which is practically instant and infinitely renewable and expressly not dual intent.
Is that the "thanks for all the help in WWII" program that I hear Australians refer to? Many Australians I've met have mentioned that it's really easy for them to come and work in the US because of "this program", but I've never been able to figure out the official name of "this program." TIA!
It's only been around since 2004ish. Our PM back then was really chummy with Bush. Dunno if it was a thanks for military help but we've been war buddies plenty of times since ww2. We rarely invade people on our own initiate and mostly use our military to help you guys out.
Also, I don't know why you guys would be giving us thank you privileges for ww2. We were at a lot more risk from Japan and you put in far more work to stop them. If anything it'd be the other way around!
I had been on an E-3 visa (similar to a H1-B but for Australians and without dual-intent), I applied for a PERM via the EB-2 category (employment based advanced degree / extraordinary ability).
I had good immigration lawyers (McCown & Evans) and the process really had only a few main steps.
1. My employer describes to the Department of Labor a position that they would like to fill and demonstrating that they are unable to fill the position with a permanent resident or citizen.
2. A process where my employer submits my resume and reference letters to the Department of Labor to show that I am an alien that could fill the position.
3. I submit an application for permanent residence and and application to adjust my immigration status (from E-3 to PERM). Because there isn't a queue in my category (for my nationality) these can be filed simultaneously.
The first two steps took about 6 months and the final step about a year.
> The first two steps took about 6 months and the final step about a year.
That's quite lengthy (by the book): the LCA usually has a two-week turnaround. A nice perk is that it's also 'free' for the employer (there is no filing fee), although many have immigration lawyers on retainer to handle supporting paperwork and shepherd you through the process.
Excluding the interview process at the employer, LCA -> visa interview -> issued E3 for me was about ~3 weeks.
My E-3 process was always about 2 or 3 weeks (including interview) except for the one time the US Government shutdown while I was trying to get a LCA.
The six month process for the labor requirements for a green card was longer in processing but also longer due to non-processing time spent getting letters attesting to my skills from previous employers and my current employer running job adverts to try and find local candidates that met the skill requirement.
Just remember, technically a green card is not a residency visa...INS can actually bar you from re-entry, although in practice this is unlikely. INS has the jurisdiction to also confiscate green cards. As a non-citizen, you have little recourse.
I recommend getting citizenship if you want to establish a meaningful foundation in the US...INS cannot decline re-entry of a US Passport
I didn't know it was easier for people from Australia. I have many Indian and Chinese co workers who have worked for years in the US and still sweat visa issues. It also limits their ability to job hop because immigration status chips away at stability and confidence.
The green card process wasn't specifically helped by being Australian but more by being from a country that does not submit a lot of green card applications.
There's a rate limiting approach so that countries can not use more than a certain amount of USCIS's application processing bandwidth. Currently China, Mexico, India, Honduras, The Philippines, El Salvador and Guatemala are being "rate limited".
Thank you. I think a lot of people believe the system is intentionally racist, but if there was a sudden large influx of applications from Australia those folks would face the same issues as Indians and Chinese do right now.
The decision to set a 7% limit per country regardless of the country's population was intentionally meant by the drafters of the 1965 legislation to limit immigration from India and China (the most populous countries then and now).
It took me and my husband about 10 months to get ours, but a colleague in the same situation as us got his in 6 months or so, using the expedited parallell process.
I was on an L1-A visa, which gets you into the EB-1C green card preference category, couple that with coming from a non-capped country, and that's pretty much as fast as you can get one.
Meanwhile, I was forced to fire one of my direct reports, because she didn't win the H1-B lottery that year, and couldn't get her student visa renewed, so she lost her work permit. And even if she had won the lottery, she would have been years away from a green card.
It was quite the eye-opener for me to experience the vast differences depending on where you're from and what you do. Especially since getting a green card wasn't a goal for me. The company paid for it, and the weather is nice here, so whatever. And then having colleagues who desperately want one and need one, and have to suffer for years and the whims of luck.
"if I had been from India instead of Australia it'd be another 6 years or so before anyone even looked at my application."
For anyone born in India, it would be another 11~12 years(and 6 years for China-mainland born) or so before anyone would even accept a last-step document, even if approved for green card with I-140 approved today.
It is unbelievable and clearly discrimanatory that legal immigrants from India (and China) are expected to stick with the same employer for more than a decade.
After I-140 is approved you will be able to apply for I-485 to get EAD which will allow you to change employers. Obama's executive order is making it so. You will now see two sets of date for adjustment of status filing in the visa bulliten. Execution of the order is still catching up.
President Obama announced the executive order in November 2014(https://www.uscis.gov/immigrationaction) Since then, the USCIS has just complicated the process by adding one more application "Filling for Employment Application" which is actually 5 years apart form the Final Action date(when the visa number is actually made available).
There have been numerous meetings to solve this mess which affects the USCIS and DHS too. But the Corporate-Legal/lawyers lobby tends to win over USCIS every time justifying to keep the dates as is, and not to use the un-used visa numbers from other countries, after-all they make more money when the legal immigrants are kept in limbo, and applying for various applications and are bound to stick to a single employer.
I was basing it on the priority date for my category (EB-2) when I first considered getting my green card.
For Indians in the EB-2 category the priority date is July 2009, so assuming that the demand remains constant it would be roughly 6 years until my hypothetical priority date would be current.
You are correct, it would be 6 years till someone would review the documents, but still 11~12 years till the visa number is made available towards the green card.
I love this. I am a teenager who got permanent residency a few years ago. America is the land of opportunity, and as a software engineer I can earn a lot of money, much more than I would in my home country, India. So glad I can have a great quality of life here in the United States, with a great job. This country was made for someone like me.
I got my greencard this winter. It took me less than two weeks to be approved and a couple of months to get it through all the bureaucracy. My wife and oldest son also got one. It helped that I was on an O1 before.
I feel truly blessed and I have always felt home in the US. Now next step is dual citizenship (Denmark and the US have an agreement)
I'm also switching from 0-1 to EB1-A. Premium processing only applies to the I-140 part (qualification for the category.) The I-485 adjustment of status still takes at least three months to be processed before you get the actual green card. The big advantage of the EB1 here is that I don't have to wait 9 months for the labor certification. Hopefully I'll get my advance parole a little sooner so I can travel again as having applied for the AOS I'm unable to re-enter the country on my O-1.
His Experience is entirely a prejudiced monologue. If you read it, its all about what he thinks that the other guy is thinking. Thats not an experience thats racism.
I suspect he has experienced it often enough to know what is going on, he just didn't provide the full facts of why he thought so, which is understandable since that's not the subject of the article.
I've been living in India for nearly a decade now. Casteism and religion-ism are very non-obvious to those unaffected (or positivrly affected) by it, but spend enough time outside your bubble and you start realizing that it exists often in an undercurrent and start recognizing situations like the one he talks of for what they really are. I've seen far more overt versions of his anecdote play out; I have no trouble believing him there.
India has the second largest Muslim population in the world; it's unlikely that whatever tone he inferred was from being Muslim. More likely is the case that the passport control person saw the British passport and commented on that.
Moreover to state that the immigration officer inferred him speaking English as a sign of class is in itself racist; English is one of the official languages of the country, plenty of Indians speak very fluent English.
His name Aatish means fire or fireworks in Hindi.
Surprisingly he does not explain that in the article.
Given recent history of blasts in India from uninvited visitors, why should Indians not want their consulate services to inquire about people's backgrounds and intentions ?
A population which to a large degree is often found clustered in separate communities (as the case for many minorities in other countries) and generally segregated, even if not by intention. Coming across a Muslim can be an oddity in many localities. There are a lot of communal tensions still being harbored by people today. I have repeatedly heard the phrase "सब पाकिस्तान से हैं" (they are all from Pakistan) being used derogatively to describe Indian Muslims, amongst other similar things (that one sticks out to me because I've heard it way too often)
It is possible that the reasons are not what the author thought they were. But it is pretty likely that they were, and I'm suggesting we give the author the benefit of the doubt in that he had valid reasons and prior similar experiences to feel that way.
It is very easy to discount an experience when your bubble makes you think it is impossible. For many years I didn't think casteism was a thing anymore in cities, since I never saw it happening. Over time I realized that it is still very much there, just that those not negatively affected by it tend to not notice it.
I don't think I've lived in an Muslim-discrimnation-free bubble; I've grown up in the Middle East, and if there's one place you'll hear about antiMuslim going-ons, it's there.
And from my position, Muslims in India have it pretty fucking good. In what world can people like this:
get away with being spewing divisive bullshit, and then call for action against Muslim discrimination and for reservations for Muslims? Muslims have their own penal code! Up until the BJP rule, legislation was in favour of Muslims, at the expense of togetherness of society.
In India Muslims have a pretty powerful political position given the fact that they are a minority. I somehow am disinclined to believe that the author suffered any actual discrimination given the political clime in India.
All Indians follow the same Criminal, Contract, Labor, Company, Tort, Property and Tax laws.
The only exception is Personal law (marriage, inheritance, adoption etc) where for historical reasons there were separate laws for Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists etc. These laws were codified in British India when the British came to control directly or by proxy a diverse population with diverse religions, languages and culture.
When India became an independent country, the framers of the constitution had many issues decide on in a short time and decided to punt on some contentious issues for later generations to resolve. One of them was personal law where they agreed that a uniform personal code would be desirable but left it to future generations to resolve. The other was a common national language.
Both have not been resolved. There is no uniform personal law and Hindi is not the national language.
Just because it isn't as bad as $othercountry and because the state does not directly oppress them does not mean religion-ism doesn't exist. It need not be overt.
Work experience can replace the requirement for a degree (I think).
Have you lived in the US before? It is not as great as it seems from the outside. (My dream once was to get a greencard, but I came to the US through a student visa and after some years I can say that that dream surely has gone away)
I moved here a few years ago and have had my Green Card for a while. The US is every bit as I expected and even more. I love this country more than I've ever loved my home country.
I go to the US 2-3 times a year. I have been to over 30 states. I'm from Canada.
Everything is better in the US. Better companies, better cities, better salaries, better healthcare, better prices, better services, better schools, lower taxes, etc.
99% of the content I read online seems to be aimed at american people. All the advice, tips, tricks, guides and news assume that the reader lives in the US. You would be surprised how often (online) american people assume that they're talking to other american people. Sorry, but the service, loophole, employer, store, offer or product doesn't exist here in Canada.
And when you look at the tech salaries in the US. How can you NOT feel envious?
Shitty public schools are an issue. Everyone has money, but no one pays taxes.
The shrinking middle class is an issue and so is the wealth gap that you can see almost everywhere in the US. For someone from a country that has less rich, but also less poor, this is standing out quite a lot.
Healthcare is not that great in the US, I am not sure why you are saying that. If you do not go to the doctor because you feel it is too expensive, then there is certainly something wrong.
The American Society is an issue. Political Correctness everywhere is harming this country a lot.
>99% of the content I read online seems to be aimed at american people.
Well, if you are browsing American websites, why does it surprise you?
Now, I do not hate everything about the US. I like certain things here and if immigration would be easier, I would probably decide to stay, especially, since I feel very American after all these years being here. All I am saying is that the US is not as awesome as I thought it would be, especially not if one is from a wealthy European country.
Here in Canada, I can't just get an appointment. I must wait 20 hours at the emergency room to see a doctor. If I want to see a specialist, there's a 6 month wait.
On another HN thread, several commenters did get that visa (O-1 Extraordinary Ability), apparently you need some well-known prizes (Nobel Prize would be best, or Turing Award, but apparently Google/O'Reilly Hacker of the Year works too) and national media coverage.
Quotes from other threads:
From USCIS:
* Receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field of endeavor
* Membership in associations in the field for which classification is sought which require outstanding achievements, as judged by recognized national or international experts in the field
* Published material in professional or major trade publications, newspapers or other major media about the beneficiary and the beneficiary’s work in the field for which classification is sought
* Original scientific, scholarly, or business-related contributions of major significance in the field
* Authorship of scholarly articles in professional journals or other major media in the field for which classification is sought
* A high salary or other remuneration for services as evidenced by contracts or other reliable evidence
* Participation on a panel, or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or in a field of specialization allied to that field for which classification is sought
* Employment in a critical or essential capacity for organizations and establishments that have a distinguished reputation
For science:
- publications
- recommendation letters (preferably a blend from business, research and politicians)
- awards (even things like "the best paper" of a small conference with only 30 papers from local researchers)
- interviews
- be a member of an association only open to certain persons (for example with a Ph.D. you qualify for IEEE membership, and they will deliver a good-looking membership certificate)
So having a Ph.D is not enough, but if are a decently successful researcher and have a good network for the recommendation letters (or your future employer), you can get it without being of Turing award level.
Got my green card a few months ago. Also from a mixed Indian, Pakistani, Middle Eastern and British background. Was a minority in all of those nations. Really feels good to call America a home.
Aatish's father was a true light for Punjab. It's a shame what happened to him.
For someone who has been through visa abuse, exploitation, threats of deportation, and so on, getting a green card is like opening a book to day 1 of your life. You get your humanity back.
If you have a great run in the US on a visa, great. But it's not like that for everyone.
The writer is a typical british born indophobic racist. More people are killed in pakistan (his beloved land of pure) every year in sectarian and religious violence than in India. Blacks were treated far worse in USA up until 1965 and even today considering how many of them are disproportionately jailed.
The authors hate towards india is misguided, and not supported by any statistical evidence of increase in "intolerance".
Section 377 was enacted by british, the only opponents to its repeal in the current pending supreme court case are Catholic and Muslim organizations not a single hindu organization. And oh several ministers in the ruling party have called on supreme court to render it unconstitutional. So get your facts straight.
Pakistan has tumbled so down, that its impossible to apologise for, but author did commit sin of comparing india as if the situation in both countries were similar. India has as many muslims as pakistan, yet there hasn't been a single incidence of large scale sectarian violence directed against them in last decade, in Pakistan its a monthly occurrence.
Regarding vote. What vote? The sham vote pulled by an outgoing congress MP in a parliament session that was obstructed by his own party members. The ones who refused a vote (and haven't still) on important economic & tax legislations. It was his own party with him as a minister that was in power for several years when the initial supreme court decision was made. And that the biggest obstacle to indian parliament passing any gay rights legislation would not be BJP but rather from smaller parties which are trying to appease minority religious groups. While section 377 gets all the attention, the Indian parliament is also working on a transgender rights bill, which given indian context and historical discrimination faced by them is of higher a importance. Indian politics due to the fact that its a functioning democracy is complicated.
Any discussion about Green Cards or permanent US residency should always mention eventual exit tax[1]: "...to deter tax avoidance by abandonment of citizenship, the United States imposes an expatriation tax on some of those who give up U.S. citizenship. The tax also applies to green-card holders who abandon U.S. residency after having held a green card for at least 8 of the last 15 tax years."
I've just added a calendar entry for 6 years time to consider whether or not I am willing to be subject to an exit tax (and give myself two years to plan alternatives if I'm not).
A problem in the author's piece is putting India and Pakistan at the same pedestal. Consider this:
(1) Till date, not a single person has been charged in India for being homsexual. Being a homosexual is a crime in India. Yes, its a colonial legacy and in spite of indian bureaucracy being slow, people in govt are working to get rid of it. The less we talk about Pakistan, better it is
(2) Indian metropolis have a vibrant LGBTQ community. Suffice it to say, that there have been many pride parades in different cities of india. Contrast this with Pakistan, where a pride parade organized by US embassy in 2011 sparked protests.
(3) Author's claim about Sedition charges on university students - There have been massive protests against the govt in India because of this. Govt made a mockery of themselves with this action (as is evident). All the guys charged with sedition are still expressing their dissent against the govt and more forcefully now.
(4) To any of you who have been to the countries of Indian subcontinent, I am sure you can see the difference.
I would love to write a similar article of my own. It has been 13 yrs of being in US, paying high-bracket taxes, raising a family, buying a home, befriending tons of wonderful folks, contributing to the community and generally being a good citizen. It might be another 2 to 4 years.
Although it is hard to complain and I feel I have gotten more out of life here than given back, I often wonder what it has done to my psyche of not being at "home".
My dream is to migrate to the US eventually. Not so much for the incredibly better pay but just because it seems there's much more interesting stuff to work on there. I'm German and currently doing my Master of Computer Science in Germany.
Do you have any advice on which path would maximize my chance of getting a visa? Or possibly your personal success story?
So far, I will be doing an internship at one of the Big 4 and will be trying to get a job at the Big 4 in Europe or some other company in London (provided I can still migrate there post-Brexit) after my graduation. But I'd be glad to get other (possibly better) suggestions.
“Aatish Ali?” one said to me just a few months ago as I arrived in New Delhi. “Quite a name you’ve got there.” The subtext was: You’re not part of the Hindu majority, so not part of the deeper organization of caste.
This is an incorrect interpretation. Aatish means a cracker and possible the office was being humorous. The sense of humor is a bit different in India and a little more crude (though harmless).
112 comments
[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 181 ms ] threadLogan immigration has been very friendly to me in the past.
These days I'm not in Boston and usually come in through Newark Liberty. Half the time I get a nice friendly/chitchatty immigration officer who welcomes me back.
Nowadays most airports do that electronic thing, so they don't even need to ask you questions since its all on that slip of paper. So a couple of times I've had them glance at the slip, and then just welcome me back with a smile.
"India, one of the most diverse countries in the world with a population of 1.3 billion, experiences severe caste and tribal discrimination, and in recent decades has seen a notable increase in sectarian violence."
Bettye Miller's piece on Ajay Verghese, author of The Colonial Origins of Ethnic Violence in India (2016) [0]
[0]https://ucrtoday.ucr.edu/37140
For quite a lot of the sectarian violence, I blame the government and the political parties for having policies that favour some castes over others, and for being soft on sectarian violence. Moreover we, in the middle class, who lead lives far away from politics, are largely isolated from these shenanigans.
India is light-years behind the rest of the developing world in part because it subjugates hundreds of millions of its own citizens.
The Indian identity, luckily till now, isn't based on religious lines. Though I have to agree, Pakistan-hate is strong in India and any remote Pakistan-love (even cheering for the Pakistan cricket team) can be seen as anti-nationalism and could lead to a sedition charge. This is, of course, due to the 3 wars fought since independence.
Since 1951, there has been equal vote for every Indian citizen.
Equal voting rights for all citizens was not true even in the US until its voting rights act of 1965.
Not True. There is a trend happening. An actress who never went to college (and tried to fake her certificates) was made 'Higher Education Minister'. The actress who knows drama very well is turning every university into a theater. Why are there so many disturbing incidents in Indian universities in last 2 years?
Corruption in India begins at the school level. The recent topper scam in Bihar (which led to the fraudulent topper being jailed) exposed how deeply-rooted corruption in education system is: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/biha...
Or Laloo Prasad Yadav being Railway Minister?
For me a green card was a convenience rather than a necessity. It wasn't anything life changing as it was for the article's author. As a software engineer that qualified for a non-supply capped visa I could live in the US almost whenever I felt a need (I only needed to find an employer willing to fill out some extra paperwork for me).
That said I'm really grateful to have my green card, I'm much less stressed about my future. I no longer worry about having to leave the US if I lose my job. Now, maybe I'll buy a house, maybe I'll start a business? Exciting new possibilities.
The H1-B has a lengthy application process, there is a maximum number of consecutive years you can be on one, there are more applications than availability, there's a transfer process, it is dual intent, and what else?
None of which are characteristics of the E-3, which is practically instant and infinitely renewable and expressly not dual intent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-3_visa
Source: I've had one.
Also, I don't know why you guys would be giving us thank you privileges for ww2. We were at a lot more risk from Japan and you put in far more work to stop them. If anything it'd be the other way around!
As for the thank you, it was probably compensation for whatever damage was caused to the MCG. ;)
Either way, us Australians are certainly lucky to have this visa.
I had good immigration lawyers (McCown & Evans) and the process really had only a few main steps.
1. My employer describes to the Department of Labor a position that they would like to fill and demonstrating that they are unable to fill the position with a permanent resident or citizen.
2. A process where my employer submits my resume and reference letters to the Department of Labor to show that I am an alien that could fill the position.
3. I submit an application for permanent residence and and application to adjust my immigration status (from E-3 to PERM). Because there isn't a queue in my category (for my nationality) these can be filed simultaneously.
The first two steps took about 6 months and the final step about a year.
That's quite lengthy (by the book): the LCA usually has a two-week turnaround. A nice perk is that it's also 'free' for the employer (there is no filing fee), although many have immigration lawyers on retainer to handle supporting paperwork and shepherd you through the process.
Excluding the interview process at the employer, LCA -> visa interview -> issued E3 for me was about ~3 weeks.
The six month process for the labor requirements for a green card was longer in processing but also longer due to non-processing time spent getting letters attesting to my skills from previous employers and my current employer running job adverts to try and find local candidates that met the skill requirement.
I recommend getting citizenship if you want to establish a meaningful foundation in the US...INS cannot decline re-entry of a US Passport
There's a rate limiting approach so that countries can not use more than a certain amount of USCIS's application processing bandwidth. Currently China, Mexico, India, Honduras, The Philippines, El Salvador and Guatemala are being "rate limited".
Here are some tables about the backlog for each country in each category: https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bul...
I was on an L1-A visa, which gets you into the EB-1C green card preference category, couple that with coming from a non-capped country, and that's pretty much as fast as you can get one.
Meanwhile, I was forced to fire one of my direct reports, because she didn't win the H1-B lottery that year, and couldn't get her student visa renewed, so she lost her work permit. And even if she had won the lottery, she would have been years away from a green card.
It was quite the eye-opener for me to experience the vast differences depending on where you're from and what you do. Especially since getting a green card wasn't a goal for me. The company paid for it, and the weather is nice here, so whatever. And then having colleagues who desperately want one and need one, and have to suffer for years and the whims of luck.
Ugh. :-/
For anyone born in India, it would be another 11~12 years(and 6 years for China-mainland born) or so before anyone would even accept a last-step document, even if approved for green card with I-140 approved today.
It is unbelievable and clearly discrimanatory that legal immigrants from India (and China) are expected to stick with the same employer for more than a decade.
https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bul...
There have been numerous meetings to solve this mess which affects the USCIS and DHS too. But the Corporate-Legal/lawyers lobby tends to win over USCIS every time justifying to keep the dates as is, and not to use the un-used visa numbers from other countries, after-all they make more money when the legal immigrants are kept in limbo, and applying for various applications and are bound to stick to a single employer.
For Indians in the EB-2 category the priority date is July 2009, so assuming that the demand remains constant it would be roughly 6 years until my hypothetical priority date would be current.
I feel truly blessed and I have always felt home in the US. Now next step is dual citizenship (Denmark and the US have an agreement)
Disclaimer: Indian, IT consultant.
I can say that I know others who have been through similar experiences.
I've been living in India for nearly a decade now. Casteism and religion-ism are very non-obvious to those unaffected (or positivrly affected) by it, but spend enough time outside your bubble and you start realizing that it exists often in an undercurrent and start recognizing situations like the one he talks of for what they really are. I've seen far more overt versions of his anecdote play out; I have no trouble believing him there.
Moreover to state that the immigration officer inferred him speaking English as a sign of class is in itself racist; English is one of the official languages of the country, plenty of Indians speak very fluent English.
Never seen anything like that in India which moderates societal differences to a very high degree.
Given recent history of blasts in India from uninvited visitors, why should Indians not want their consulate services to inquire about people's backgrounds and intentions ?
Most likely it was just from his British passport.
It is possible that the reasons are not what the author thought they were. But it is pretty likely that they were, and I'm suggesting we give the author the benefit of the doubt in that he had valid reasons and prior similar experiences to feel that way.
It is very easy to discount an experience when your bubble makes you think it is impossible. For many years I didn't think casteism was a thing anymore in cities, since I never saw it happening. Over time I realized that it is still very much there, just that those not negatively affected by it tend to not notice it.
And from my position, Muslims in India have it pretty fucking good. In what world can people like this:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asaduddin_Owaisi
get away with being spewing divisive bullshit, and then call for action against Muslim discrimination and for reservations for Muslims? Muslims have their own penal code! Up until the BJP rule, legislation was in favour of Muslims, at the expense of togetherness of society.
In India Muslims have a pretty powerful political position given the fact that they are a minority. I somehow am disinclined to believe that the author suffered any actual discrimination given the political clime in India.
No.
All Indians follow the same Criminal, Contract, Labor, Company, Tort, Property and Tax laws.
The only exception is Personal law (marriage, inheritance, adoption etc) where for historical reasons there were separate laws for Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists etc. These laws were codified in British India when the British came to control directly or by proxy a diverse population with diverse religions, languages and culture.
When India became an independent country, the framers of the constitution had many issues decide on in a short time and decided to punt on some contentious issues for later generations to resolve. One of them was personal law where they agreed that a uniform personal code would be desirable but left it to future generations to resolve. The other was a common national language.
Both have not been resolved. There is no uniform personal law and Hindi is not the national language.
I don't have a degree.
Is my only option to marry an American citizen?
Have you lived in the US before? It is not as great as it seems from the outside. (My dream once was to get a greencard, but I came to the US through a student visa and after some years I can say that that dream surely has gone away)
I moved here a few years ago and have had my Green Card for a while. The US is every bit as I expected and even more. I love this country more than I've ever loved my home country.
Everything is better in the US. Better companies, better cities, better salaries, better healthcare, better prices, better services, better schools, lower taxes, etc.
99% of the content I read online seems to be aimed at american people. All the advice, tips, tricks, guides and news assume that the reader lives in the US. You would be surprised how often (online) american people assume that they're talking to other american people. Sorry, but the service, loophole, employer, store, offer or product doesn't exist here in Canada.
And when you look at the tech salaries in the US. How can you NOT feel envious?
Because to me money is not everything.
Shitty public schools are an issue. Everyone has money, but no one pays taxes.
The shrinking middle class is an issue and so is the wealth gap that you can see almost everywhere in the US. For someone from a country that has less rich, but also less poor, this is standing out quite a lot.
Healthcare is not that great in the US, I am not sure why you are saying that. If you do not go to the doctor because you feel it is too expensive, then there is certainly something wrong.
The American Society is an issue. Political Correctness everywhere is harming this country a lot.
>99% of the content I read online seems to be aimed at american people.
Well, if you are browsing American websites, why does it surprise you?
Now, I do not hate everything about the US. I like certain things here and if immigration would be easier, I would probably decide to stay, especially, since I feel very American after all these years being here. All I am saying is that the US is not as awesome as I thought it would be, especially not if one is from a wealthy European country.
Is it the same in the US?
It seems to be about an hour.
20 hours seems to be extreme.
http://reason.com/assets/db/immigration-flow-chart.jpg
Quotes from other threads:
From USCIS:
* Receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field of endeavor
* Membership in associations in the field for which classification is sought which require outstanding achievements, as judged by recognized national or international experts in the field
* Published material in professional or major trade publications, newspapers or other major media about the beneficiary and the beneficiary’s work in the field for which classification is sought
* Original scientific, scholarly, or business-related contributions of major significance in the field * Authorship of scholarly articles in professional journals or other major media in the field for which classification is sought
* A high salary or other remuneration for services as evidenced by contracts or other reliable evidence
* Participation on a panel, or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or in a field of specialization allied to that field for which classification is sought
* Employment in a critical or essential capacity for organizations and establishments that have a distinguished reputation
For science:
- publications
- recommendation letters (preferably a blend from business, research and politicians)
- awards (even things like "the best paper" of a small conference with only 30 papers from local researchers)
- interviews
- be a member of an association only open to certain persons (for example with a Ph.D. you qualify for IEEE membership, and they will deliver a good-looking membership certificate)
So having a Ph.D is not enough, but if are a decently successful researcher and have a good network for the recommendation letters (or your future employer), you can get it without being of Turing award level.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8228338
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10400912
Aatish's father was a true light for Punjab. It's a shame what happened to him.
If you have a great run in the US on a visa, great. But it's not like that for everyone.
The authors hate towards india is misguided, and not supported by any statistical evidence of increase in "intolerance".
So, how are gay people (of which he is as well) treated in India again? Is section 377 any closer to being repealed?
Section 377 was enacted by british, the only opponents to its repeal in the current pending supreme court case are Catholic and Muslim organizations not a single hindu organization. And oh several ministers in the ruling party have called on supreme court to render it unconstitutional. So get your facts straight.
But the last vote was not exactly close.
Regarding vote. What vote? The sham vote pulled by an outgoing congress MP in a parliament session that was obstructed by his own party members. The ones who refused a vote (and haven't still) on important economic & tax legislations. It was his own party with him as a minister that was in power for several years when the initial supreme court decision was made. And that the biggest obstacle to indian parliament passing any gay rights legislation would not be BJP but rather from smaller parties which are trying to appease minority religious groups. While section 377 gets all the attention, the Indian parliament is also working on a transgender rights bill, which given indian context and historical discrimination faced by them is of higher a importance. Indian politics due to the fact that its a functioning democracy is complicated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rights_of_Transgender_Persons_...
Homosexuality is technically illegal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_in_India but you can be openly gay, married to your partner and receive national honors from the President of India. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Rodricks http://www.nri.goa.gov.in/wendell%20Rod.jpg
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriation_tax#United_States
I've just added a calendar entry for 6 years time to consider whether or not I am willing to be subject to an exit tax (and give myself two years to plan alternatives if I'm not).
(4) To any of you who have been to the countries of Indian subcontinent, I am sure you can see the difference.
Although it is hard to complain and I feel I have gotten more out of life here than given back, I often wonder what it has done to my psyche of not being at "home".
Do you have any advice on which path would maximize my chance of getting a visa? Or possibly your personal success story?
So far, I will be doing an internship at one of the Big 4 and will be trying to get a job at the Big 4 in Europe or some other company in London (provided I can still migrate there post-Brexit) after my graduation. But I'd be glad to get other (possibly better) suggestions.
EDIT: Added Paragraphs.
This is an incorrect interpretation. Aatish means a cracker and possible the office was being humorous. The sense of humor is a bit different in India and a little more crude (though harmless).