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Comment by skaul | Hacker News Reader

Because not everyone [lives in the US | has a North American passport | can afford to not care about money].

I fit the exact combination you were excluding. [lives in the US with a work VISA| does not have an American passport | can NOT afford to not care about money]

I'd much rather apply to the plenty other companies that has opportunities. Seriously, IMO, this country has so much opportunities for the person that is working hard and willing to try.

Work is a place we spend the majority of our living life in the most active age of our life. It has to be at the least "NOT hell". Don't you think?

This is exactly why Amazon's behavior are so unacceptable. They abuse the fact that most people do not have those luxuries to create an unhealthy and exploitative work environment.

Hell to companies who treat their employees like assets!

To this day, i thank my dad who told me to go study in Canada rather in US since he knew how crazy immigration laws in states are. Graduating from a Canadian uni gives me options to work for any company/start up i like without having visa restrictions.

Just curious. Can someone who graduates from Canadian university work for any startup/company in the US just like that? Never heard of this before..

Nope not in US, but i can work anywhere in Canada for 3 years which is enough time for me to get my PR.

Same in the US with post-completion OPT letting you stay and work freely for three years (including the STEM extension)

If i know correctly, the difference is you can't get your green card in those 3 years, where as here in Canada you can get your PR in those 3 years.

A non-zero amount of people never get the chance to obtain an immigrant or dual-intent visa during those years and subsequently get kicked out of the country.

Well, 3 years (at best) to find an employer who will sponsor you for an H-1B visa application. And then you have win the once-a-year lottery to get the actual H-1B visa (~1/3 chance this year). And then you hope that your employer will agree to apply for a Green Card on your behalf right away (which they don't have to; they can keep you on the short leash of H-1B for another six years). The processing of the Green Card application can also take a few years. And if you change jobs while your Green Card application is in process, it's voided -- you have to have your new employer re-apply from scratch. And if, at any point during all of these, your current status (OPT or H-1B) expires, you have to pack up and GTFO of the country.

So no, not nearly the same in the US.

In Canada you can pretty easily get a work permit to stay longer and PR without jumping through 70 hoops and waiting years.

The US immigration system is much shittier.

Good for you. Your dad is wise. I have a few friends who are in/approaching/just past the Green Card process, and hearing their stories makes me feel shame. These are people who have been here for years after getting their master's degrees. It's incredible.

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