Bill Gates on Immigration and My Green Card (slightly OT)
It’s an interesting coincidence that Bill Gates is talking about immigration today, given that I received my own ‘Permanent Resident Card’ (or Green Card for the rest of us) just last night. I am planning to write a bit more about this process later on.
Now that it is over, I feel free to talk about it without my opinions about the process possibly having some negative influence over the decision the USCIS is going to make (though I have to admit, the process was quite fast and painless in retrospect – but then being in a bureaucratic limbo never feels good until it is over).
About Bill Gates: he surely has a point. Having spend quite some time mentoring international graduate students, it seems clear that those who choose to come to America are some of the best and brightest minds in the world. Many of them plan to stay in America after getting their degree. That, indeed, shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering that they have just spend six years in this country and gotten used to being here and many have lost contact with their home country.
H1b visa (the ones companies use when hiring a foreigner) usually sell out within a few months (they become available in October and are usually gone by the end of the year). That can be extremely frustrating, not only for the employee, but also for the employer who might potentially use an employee to this who might have no other recuse but to leave the US and go home and wait before they get a new visa.
The Green Card process itself can last from just under a year (unless one marries a US citizen) to at least four years for Indians and Chines citizens, and often far longer (seven years is not unheard of). In that time, the employee is completely bound to the hiring company, as any change in jobs could potentially reset the whole process. After the Green Card has been issued, you can leave your job, find a new one, start a business or whatever you want to do.
I know of various employees of a large semiconductor company who would love to find another job, but can’t, because they are waiting for their Green Card. Imagine the atmosphere of that – there is a whole class of employees who really, really want to leave, but can’t. Managers are quite aware of this and know that they can push these people harder than anybody else. Where are they going to go after all? Back to India? These people feel they have no choice but to say if they don’t want to jeopardize their own dreams of living in the US on hold.
So, in a way, the fact that there aren’t that many Green Card available per year might just be a good thing for corporate America as it creates a loyal group of employees who don’t mind being on call 24/7, 365 days a year…
Technorati Tags: bill gates, immigration, green card