Friday, March 31, 2006

Reactions to the NBC news clip

In my previous post I mentioned some folks like Siva Singaram were trying their best to rectify the current clog in the legal immigration system in U.S. And as I was browsing the internet for related stories I came across this page on FreeRepublic.Com where a bunch of members were discussing the news article.

I've posted some of the comments, go ahead, read them and have a laugh!

Here's the first post...
Posted on 03/31/2006 6:25:19 AM PST by adorno
My question is: If these people are so talented, why do they need to be in the U.S. to start their dream business? Wouldn't their respective countries be better off having those people start businesses in their native countries? India, as an example, has a huge IT sector and I'm sure would be willing to welcome those 'entrepreneurs".

Me think that some of their complaints are retitless and more than likely are just looking for excuses for staying in the U.S.

Ok, I've to say I agree with this guy here. Why the hell do we come here and contribute to this country when there are people like these who are so clueless and don't want us here? Truly, this isn't what I expected of Americans when I was home looking for job oportunities in the U.S.

Here's another one:
Posted on 03/31/2006 6:29:44 AM PST by HamiltonJay
India has lots of IT folks, but generally in my experience their calibre is far lower that most US engineers. I have met some that are amazing.. but most are just bit pushers that will never be more than individual contributors.

And then he calmly walks out of his office to the car, plugs in his iPod and plays the songs without a clue that the software running his iPod was designed by IT folks in Bangalore. Clueless! BTW, did any of you read the article about India surpassing USA with the most IT project entries for the Stockholm Challenge 2006?

One more...
Posted on 03/31/2006 6:35:22 AM PST by IronJack
But because he has no green card, he'll have to return to India to start his company.

Oh, boo hoo! I suspect most Americans are willing to forego his "genius."

Do you see the arrogance here? Why do you want to come to a country which has jerks like these who have no appreciation for all that you do? There were 82 posts on this page and most of them were anti-immigration. They don't want foreign engineers or scientists here. Stay away!!

They don't understand that these skilled immigrants are the people who are already educated by the tax payers of a foreign country. They beat the thousands of other talented engineers in the recruitment process and got a ticket to the U.S.A. Now, some want to make this country their own and you have a bunch of whiners who complain that they should go back. Can you have a more clueless bunch of losers than these?

If I were to start a country let's say by pouring sand into the ocean to build an island and I have 65,000 engineers and scientists with the skills and experience to perform some the most complex tasks and generate wealth for my economy, do I welcome them or send them back? When will these people understand they are assets to the country. Surely, you can't let everyone in but you certainly can have a system which creates an atmosphere to attract these bright folks and allow the top among them in.

America during the past 3 decades has created an atmosphere that attracts the best and brightest from around the world, but I'm afraid the last few years are the beginning of the end of this era. Post 9/11, every foreigner is frowned upon as the masses simply don't have the calibre to understand their value or how global economics works. America may have been the place to be all these years but it will no longer be the place to be in the future if something short of a miracle doesn't happen soon.

Immigrant brain drain in Silicon Valley

Siva Singaram, one of the founder members of ImmigrationVoice.Org has been interviewed on NBC nightly news. He presented his case of not being able to invest and contribute to the U.S. economy as he has no green card even after years of waiting. His current option is to go back to India and start up a company there.
"Currently I've got an idea for a startup company," says Singaram. "It's in the field of Internet advertising." But because he has no green card, he'll have to return to India to start his company. Singaram and his wife Sangeetha, expecting a baby in May, are here on temporary skilled workers visas. By law, only 65,000 people a year can get those visas and it's difficult for them to become permanent residents.
Check out the video link on the news article page to see what was broadcasted.

Do you see the irony here? People with talent should be invited to stay. Instead they are given the hope of a green card and kept in limbo for years. Then they start to beg and plead for the green card and their ability to continue with their lives. You can't make important decisions about life like buying a house, starting a family. It all depends on whether you will be here 2 to 3 years from now. And all this while, there is this hope that you may get the green card in the next 6 months. They never say you will not get the green card. I would be more happy if they review my application and say that it is denied in a month rather than it being accepted after 5 years in limbo. Do you need to spend 5 years of your life in frustration, without being able to plan anything?

So guys, I am not discouraging you from moving to the U.S. but be wary of the permanent residency process. Stay here for a few years, earn good money and enjoy life. When you're ready to settle down, buy that next plane ticket and leave here for good, otherwise you'll end up like me 5 years later, frustrated and writing a blog while at work. Cheers!

News Link: Immigrant brain drain in Silicon Valley

Thursday, March 30, 2006

More skilled immigration proposed for Australia

Australian immigration could be accepting up to 180,000 migrants within two years. This would be the highest intake since the late 1960's. The Australian Industry Group has lobbied the government to add up 20,000 skilled places for the Skilled Migration Program. This would bring the total for skilled immigration for 2006/2007 to 160,000. A further 20,000 places are called for by the AIG the following year. This total would be the second highest number of skilled immigrants to Australia since 1969/1970 when 185,000 workers immigrated. Last year, the Government increased skilled migration by 20,000 places after pressure from the AIG and other business groups.
Wow, 180,000 skilled immigrants for 2006/2007? Compare that to the 140,000 per year that the U.S. allows. Specially when you look at it percentage wise and you consider that the total population of Australia is only 20 million while that of the U.S. is 295 million. Also, Australia like Canada uses a point-based system for skilled immigration which I feel is a more efficient system compared to that of the U.S.

News Link: More skilled immigration proposed for Australia

Asians see discrimination in US immigration reforms

ASIANS may not account for the large majority of illegal immigrants in the United States but are in the forefront of protests of what they see as increasingly discriminatory moves to regulate immigration. In recent days, dozens of Asian groups joined mammoth Hispanic-led protests from California to the grounds of Capitol Hill demanding better treatment for immigrants amid plans for a draconian crackdown on illegal immigration.

The groups are concerned that the Senate, currently debating immigration reforms, could adopt key provisions from the House bill, including one which basically allows the police to detain suspects first and verify citizenship status later.
"Now how would an officer come to such a presumption: would it be because the person `did not look American? Would it be because the person had an accent?` It would disproportionately impact the Asian American community," Hong said.
No, they don't know or care whether you're in the top 5 percent of your university rankings or that you left your high-paying job back home to get a better education with all good intentions.
Led by the Chinese, some one million of the 14 million Asians in the United States are illegal immigrants. There are 1.5 million Asians in the backlog of applications for permanent residency status or citizenship.
Holy cow! 1.5 million in the backlog. Can you guess when your turn is going to be when you apply for permanent residency? Remember the numerical limit per year? Bottom line my friends, there are lots of problems here too. Worst still, even if you come through legal immigration channels, you will have very limited rights. It will take a while to get a credit history which basically determines what or how much spending power you can have. It will take a while to get used to driving here and get a license. Sometimes you may have a tough time getting a driver's license based on state laws, increased paper work and scrutiny. These are things that the recruiters back home don't tell you when they hire you for the job.

News Link: Asians see discrimination in US immigration reforms

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

The truth hurts. Retrogression!

During the 1990s and through the dot-com boom upto the recession of 2002, a large number of engineers/scientists came to the USA from all over the world. The most popular ways of coming were to come as a skilled-worker(H visa), foreign employee(L visa) or international student(F visa). After coming here, many believed that this was a land of opportunity and wanted to pursue a career and a life here and applied for permanent residency (green card) through one of the employment based(EB) categories. However, the USA only allows a fixed number of employment based immigrants per year. This number is fixed at 140,000 per year since 1990. This number also includes the dependents(spouse and children) of an EB applicant and in addition there is a per-country limit set at 7% of the total. While, most people applied for permanent residency and continued on with their daily lives, they were unaware of a major bottleneck being created in the system which came to light in January 2005. Retrogression!

First there was denial, then there was anger, then frustration. While many went on to hope and prayers, some decided to take matters into their own hands. These are the people of the likes at ImmigrationVoice.Org, who decided to do something to reverse the steady decline of the American dream for the highly educated, skilled individuals or as I like to call them, "the cream of society". These are the people who generate wealth in a economy. They use their brain power to come up with products and innovations that drive companies to profits, driving up the economy and ultimately resulting in employment creation for all. It would seem suicidal for any country to create an atmosphere which discourages these people from migrating to their country. There is already a steady outflux of these PhD holders, Masters' degree holders and others with extensive industry experience from this country out to either competing economies or albeit third world, but fast growing home economies.

So, before you decide to make plans to come here, understand that there is no red carpet welcome here even if you topped your university back home. You will have to work hard for your future and there will be no guarantees of any sorts. I've learnt my lessons the hard way, hope you don't have to do the same. Happy enlightenment!

Yes, there is opposition!

What may surprise most of you is that there is strong opposition to immigration within the U.S. NumbersUSA.org is one of the premier sites which has some fascinating statistics about immigration numbers. Be sure to read this site extensively before making any plans to come to U.S.A. Some of their facts are true but I think they publish the numbers in such a way that will promote their idealogies. They urge americans who support their ideas to call Senators and Representatives to support/oppose immigration related bills that are introduced in Congress. This is an organization with full-time employees and they are very serious about what they do. Happy reading and enlightenment!