And if it is going to be this hard, why do I have to pay social security and medicare taxes? I call it a donation/yearly fees at this point, working with such a shady system.
From the Congressional research service's report on immigration backlog [1] (note: this was before covid), for applicants from India, the projected backlogs for various employment-based green card applications applying in 2020 were:
EB-1: 8 years.
EB-2: 195 years.
EB-3: 27 years.
EB-1: 18 years.
EB-2: 436 years.
EB-3: 48 years.
eb-1 eb-2 eb-3
2024 12 292 36
2023 11 268 34
2022 10 244 32
2021 9 220 30
2020 8 195 27
2019 7 171 25
2018 6 147 23
2017 5 123 21
2016 4 99 19
2015 3 75 17
2014 2 51 15
2013 1 27 13
In any case, it is reasonable to assume that anyone with a priority date of 2017 or so will likely retire before your priority date is current.
You (and me) will probably spend an entire career paying for social security and never be eligible for it.
Those are two completely different issues.
This is about exceptions to the rule preventing payments outside the United States after 6 months, and is based on more than 10 years of work by the qualified worker.
But the actual worker needs to be a citizen or a legal permanent resident (“green card” holder) [0] to be eligible to either receive benefits themselves or have dependents receive benefits based on their eligibility.
[0] Actually, there’s a few other categories like certain refugees and asylees, but not, general dual-intent non-immigrant visa holders (like H-1B workers.)
I think you're confusing Supplemental Security Income (SSI) with Social Security retirement benefits. Those are two different things.
IIRC green card problem began simultaneously with H1B problem, between 2005-2008. It makes sense: if the major entry to the immigration pipeline ends up 75% of Indian nationals, of course the exit for India-born (due to per-country diversity rule) is jammed.
I know backlog growth has a few unrelated causes adding up together, but at least 90% of the mess correlates very well with overuse of H1B and L1B (transfers) by odd consultancy businesses. Other factors don’t seem as important, for example, China has the same population size as India, but its wait time has been growing several times slower. Both problems are clearly connected.
Much more free time for ie visits back home (basically everybody has 25 days of paid leave + various public holidays, and I can be off sick for a long time without any any effect on paycheck), you have top notch medical and school system for free, retirement savings are forever yours and yours only and accessible from anywhere. CHF is stronger than ever, country is historically most stable in the world for past 800 years, extremely low criminality compared to US.
Being treated with respect regardless where you come from or how you look like and bureaucracy working well are additional features. More real freedom than you could ever dream of having in US (maybe unless you are a proper gun nut) is just a cherry on the top of the cake.
How about being treated as a Swiss regardless of where you come from or how you look? Say what you will about America, but it is a place where you can become an American in all senses of the word within one generation.
This is not the case in the US and Canada. each country has an ugly past but their true strength is in the ability for anyone from anywhere to become fully integrated and equal in their societies.
Unless you marry someone who's not from India (does not have to be a green-card holder or an American either). Indians really get screwed by their cultural expectations to marry someone who's also from India.
You don’t; no one is requiring you to reside or work outside your country of citizenship; presumably, you have chosen to do so because it provides economic advantage over your other alternatives. (Also, no one is prohibiting you from taking the necessary steps to qualify for a different immigration category, including the unlimited ones that have no quota and therefore no backlog.)
However, it seems strange to complain about the US naturalization process, when its not easy for me being a US citizen to become a citizen of india.
https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/Ic_GeneralInstruction...
Citizenship of India by naturalization can be acquired by a foreigner (not being an illegal migrant) who is ordinarily resident in India for twelve years (throughout the period of twelve months immediately preceding the date of application and for eleven years in the aggregate in the fourteen years preceding the twelve months) and fulfils other qualifications as specified in third schedule to the act, 1955.
In addition:
1) A copy of valid Foreign Passport
2) A copy of Residential Permit/LTV
3) A copy of Bank Challan in original amounting to Rs.1500/- deposited in the State Bank of India.
4) One affidavit from self (applicant) and two affidavits from two Indians testifying to the character of the applicant in the prescribed language available in the application form. Affidavit to be allotted by Notary/Oath Commissioner/ DM.
5) Two language certificates certifying the applicant’s knowledge in any one of the Indian languages specified in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. (A language certificate from a recognized educational institution or from a recognised organisation or from two Indian citizens of the district of the applicant).
6) Two newspaper (circulating in the district in which the applicant resides) cuttings of different dates or of different newspapers notifying his/ her intention to apply for citizenship in the prescribed language available in the application form.
I think only true fanatic Republicans would claim this. Normal Americans would not claim this, in my experience.
In case there is any doubt about this, the founding war cry for the country was taxation without representation is basically equivalent to slavery. And then civil war with southern states for the same. How is taking away money from people's paycheck for a service that they'll never use and have no representation into not mini-slavery. I mean if you want to steal that money from down-on-their-luck immigrants then why not just create a new taxrate slab for migrant workers so they have a clear view of what they are getting into.
It is, which is why I said that American is not morally sound.