Indian entrepreneurs in US stuck with temporary, non-immigrant work visas | Hacker News Reader

Indian entrepreneurs in US stuck with temporary, non-immigrant work visas

economictimes.indiatimes.com

35 pointssuprgeek21 comments

Reading these lines I can't help but feel how distorted & out-of-touch the author is with the facts.

"Over half-a-million highly-educated and skilled immigrants are stuck with temporary, non-immigrant work visas like the H-1B, which don't allow them to start a company or even change jobs. Pushed to a corner, they come back to India, where the entrepreneurial climate is far from ideal."

Being an Indian who chose to come back from US after couple of years, I know this is not true, but this statement is being made as if its authentic. There will always be a genuine few who are trying to start a company and stuck due to these issues.

But saying that half a million can't change jobs due to this is ridiculous. They choose not to change jobs, because they want to get their permanent residency status in US. But they know it is their choice.

And if ALL these are people who want to start companies & do well, I can't see why they cannot come back & do it. It is not necessary that you need to have the "perfect" environment before you start something.

If you can't see a change happening, be the change yourself. If you want to do something so much, just do it anywhere.

I don't think the article misleads on the point you are contending with. I'm not from India but do know quite a few very talented Indians in the US who are stuck with their present employment because of visa BS. The process for permanent residency is surprisingly painful and rigid (e.g. restricts job mobility). There are multi-year roadblocks such as getting labor certifications, etc. Additionally, many employers require you work with them for a number of years (get to year 4 or 5 of your H1 before they will apply for permanent residency). I don't see too many viable alternatives here.

Let me put it differently ... to a young foreign student who just earned a degree from a top US/Canadian school, this is what say: "If you want to stay in the US, you can't change your job." Would this be a fair assessment of the situation faced by thousands of Indians (and people from many other foreign countries) in the US?

P.S. I hope I don't sound harsh in response to your comment. That's not my intent. I'm just a bit sad at how these folks are being treated. I don't want to start a flame war over this.

This is true, I have known few engineers who were really good but being treated differently by their employers once they know they are close to their 6 year limit on H1, meaning they cannot move anywhere, people who were single took their chances and people who had family and other commitments couldn't. Its really hard to be in their shoes. Not many are willing speak outside but this is the reality.

I agree that the visa requires reforms and definitely people are affected in terms of job mobility and permanent residency status.

I absolutely agree with you that thousands are affected (especially students who studied on a equal footing with their peers while completing the course) but having disadvantage to get employment just because of the lottery system and their status.

But claiming that half a million are stuck unable to start a company / change jobs due to a visa is BS just to push the author's opinion down the reader's throat and this is where I differ.

Doesn't surprise, considering it is the Times group. Their reporting, while good in several cases, is highly opinionated and unsubstantiated/lacking research in others. Their gaming and tech coverage is usually cringe inducing. Whats tragic is that they are the most read newspaper in the country.

According to Wikipedia, the WSJ and USA Today beat the NYT.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_the_Unite...

Though if that excludes online views, the NYT may indeed be #1 (quite possibly their paywall will nuke this, however).

I'm referring to the Times of India group, and I was referring to India. Sorry about the mix up that caused. :)

The Times of India is the largest circulated English-language daily newspaper in the world, across all formats (Broadsheet, Compact, Berliner and Online)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaper_circulation

I always assumed that WSJ appealed only to business and finance types who needed it for work. I'm surprised that the WSJ is that well circulated, does this mean that it has broad appeal? Or is it that the WSJ can be expensed to the a firm, driving up its circulation?

My bad. I read the article with readability and by the time I was done, I forgot where it came from.

I suspect the popularity of the WSJ is due mainly to the fact that WSJ demographics are more likely to buy a subscription than NYT demographics.

I'm all for visa reform and stuff but some of these quotes are cringe-worthy.

  By as close as 2016, he claims the company will 
  grow in revenue to $1billion and employ over 
  4,000 people. "These jobs could have belonged 
  to the US," says Wadhwa.

Another:

  You don't tell mummy and daddy that you're back 
  because America didn't want you.

The second quote is quite relevant, coming back to India can easily mark you as someone who didn't make it which carries a lot of stigma.

I think the 'mummy and daddy' bit was his attempt at humor.

The entrepreneurial climate is terrible in India, but it is getting better. The crumbling infrastructure, rampant corruption and terrible quality of life mean that a lot of educated experienced Indians are now going away from the cities and into areas that really need them -- in the countryside.It still is difficult to get things done, but the bureaucracy is getting better albeit slowly. It will take another 3 generations for all of it to fall in place for India and it's people.

Is this really feasible?

It's hard enough getting regular electricity in places like Bangalore and Delhi, won't it be much worse in the countryside? What about Internet connectivity -- do we have broadband penetration outside the cities?

I do agree the bureaucracy is getting better. However, corruption and the political climate is getting worse. I'm still not sure where we're headed ...

Internet penetration is 10x better than it was 2 years ago with wire-less broadband devices and with so many cell-phones around, almost everyone I know "at least" has a GPRS.

Electricity is getting better but till then power back-up ftw!

I find it strange bootstrapping startups complaining about environment, looks like someone wants to be mouth-fed.

  Internet penetration is 10x better than it was 2 
  years ago with wire-less broadband devices and with 
  so many cell-phones around, almost everyone I know 
  "at least" has a GPRS.

I agree it's better than two years ago. However, I'm not sure it's good enough to warrant moving out of a big city to start a company.

  Electricity is getting better but till then 
  power back-up ftw!

From what I've heard from my friends many villages have between two to four hours of power a day. So, UPS backup isn't going to fly. If you use a generator, you have to put up with the noise, not to mention the additional cost.

  I find it strange bootstrapping startups 
  complaining about environment, looks like 
  someone wants to be mouth-fed.

The OP suggested that entrepreneurs were moving to the countryside. I just asked whether that's feasible. I think this snide remark was uncalled for.

I also submit that not having to worry about electricity and broadband is worth more than you think.

I need to be clear here. Not all entrepreneurs are Internet based. There is a ton of non-internet things people are trying to do.

I don't think India is bad in terms of entrepreneurs environment , in opposite India is ideal place for startup , technology is yet to reach grass root , is starting to flow like in US. Broadband penetration is doubling every year.

Yeah we have social problems , corruption etc. Where does these don't exist.I would bet my money on India to be great for entrepreneurs for new business in coming years.

Spot on! A lot of people, especially expat Indians, mindlessly complain about infrastructure problems and corruption in India. I fail to see what's the big deal.

For a web startup in India, the only infrastructure hurdle I can think of is uninterrupted electricity (it's not as bad as it's made out to be) and as someone said earlier, this can be easily solved by power backup which is affordable in India.

Corruption only matters if you're in a hurry to register your startup or get some licenses. Refusing to pay bribes in India only makes the processes a bit slower. People say this exact attitude is what keeping the corruption alive in India. But it's high time we need to move on. One can't forever say "let India become corruption free, then only I'll plan on contributing to the country".

Despite all its flaws, the Indian economy is growing at about 9% a year and this level of growth is most likely to continue for many decades to come. http://bit.ly/f8OukZ . Not to mention India is one mammoth market. Those who miss this train will only repent.

I somehow feel that tolerating corruption is not an option. The "chalega" attitude is what got us in this mess today.

> Over half-a-million highly-educated and skilled immigrants are stuck with temporary, non-immigrant work visas like the H-1B,

I don't quite understand this. On one hand, it would probably be in USA's advantage to accept more skilled people as permanent residents. But given it's a temporary, non-immigrant visa, why do people act surprised/outraged when they find they cannot stay indefinitely? And why would someone start a company on a temporary visa at all?

Other than family sponsorship, marriage, adoption and the DV lottery, the only way to start the immigration process to the US is through these "dual intent" temporary non-immigrant employment visas. That's it. And for the majority of workers, the whole labor certification, the bureaucracy and long long long wait times makes it a fairly ridiculous process.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com