Reply to: The US H-1b visa

[mcquiggd]

I have that too... had an afternoon of downloading the worst songs recorded... astonishingly most are by Shatner and Nimoy - try the latters version of 'Proud Mary'...

If I find a link to the video of Shatner signing 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' (which is on the web somewhere) ill post it...

Ah, here it is - in Quicktime format unfortunately...

http://slap.nu/~rdoty/media/shatner_rocketman.mov

Hang on theres also ....

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...96287489458266

Spot Zheitghost doing a guest appearance... hes about one minute in....

[DaveB]

Currently listening to: 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' - sung by William Shatner... (for those in the know, consistently voted the Worst Song of All Time)

Closely followed by the Ballad Of Bilbo Baggins, sung by Leonard Nimoy.

[Lucifer Box]

Chronic depression wont get you anywhere... except maybe a permie project managers role....

It worked for Franco.

[mcquiggd]

Wouldnt know mate... I have too much saved up to even qualify for any sort of benefit...

Chronic depression wont get you anywhere... except maybe a permie project managers role....

[AlexExFTV]

Oh lord, only 3 months until AlexExFTV is claiming the dole...

Any advice on it - I just don't have a clue where to start?

Chronic depression - does it help? Will google for symptoms ...

[mcquiggd]

Oh lord, only 3 months until AlexExFTV is claiming the dole...

[AlexExFTV]

If you care to go and cross swords with Norman Matloff, please let us know where and when, and we'll come and have a laugh at you.

Sorry, but I do not need that for 2 reasons:

- never wanted to live in the US
- will be a British citizen in 3 months time

[datestamp]

I do realise that Alex-ex-tv-repairman thinks he's god.

If you care to go and cross swords with Norman Matloff, please let us know where and when, and we'll come and have a laugh at you.

Dr. Matloff also writes about social issues such as immigration, affirmative action, and age discrimination. He has served as an expert witness in litigation regarding age and racial discrimination in the software industry. He has presented invited testimony to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on a number of occasions, and his advice has been solicited by the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. State Department, as well as the State of California Little Hoover Commission. His writings on immigration have been used as course materials at Stanford and Cornell Universities. He has served as a reviewer for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the main funder of PBS.

[mcquiggd]

Send H1-B holders back where they came from!

(Unless its Surrey)


Currently listening to: 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' - sung by William Shatner... (for those in the know, consistently voted the Worst Song of All Time)

[AlexExFTV]

Sorry. When I had one, you did need to promise that: it was specifically a "non-immigrant visa" and you did have to declare that you did not intend to remain in the United States permanently.

How long ago was it?

"Dual-intent" is a term used by INS itself now - it is absolutely clear that many (possibly most) H1-B holders are actually planning to stay in the US.

[expat]

You are wrong again - H1-B is dual-intent visa, you do NOT need to prove or promise that you do not have intention to stay in the country permanently.

After all - who is a professional immigrant here ?

Sorry. When I had one, you did need to promise that: it was specifically a "non-immigrant visa" and you did have to declare that you did not intend to remain in the United States permanently.

[AlexExFTV]

Changing employers would mean starting the green-card clock all over again

It is not a clock - there is no requirement to spent some number of years before applying for G.C. Problem is that G.C. application includes several stages and takes time (around 2 - 3 years currently, but I am not 100% sure). During the first stages of the application, a change of employment may mean that the application must be started from the beginning, during the more advanced stages, your application already does not depend on specific employer and you can change employment easily.

Obviously, it is much better to find a new employer before you have been fired, but in practice, if you find a new job in 2-3 months after you lost your previous job, you most probably will not have problems.

By the way, British immigration rules have similar approach:

- according to the printed rules, you lose your status next day your lost your job and need to leave immediately (which is absolutely unrealistic)
- according to internal Home Office regulations, you keep your status for the next 28 days
- and in real life, you usually do not have any problems for at least 3 months

[datestamp]

And : http://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/H1BvsGreenCard.htm

[datestamp]

Debunking the Myth of a Desperate Software Labor Shortage

http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/itaa.real.html

Question: Why are the H-1Bs de facto indentured servants?

Most H-1Bs hope to get U.S. permanent residency status, i.e. green cards. But during their sponsorship by employers for greencards, they are in essence indentured servants: The green-card process takes several years, so H-1Bs dare not change employers. Changing employers would mean starting the green-card clock all over again.

The legislation passed in late 2000 tempers the indentured servitude problem somewhat, but is far from a solution. Immigration attorneys estimate that H-1Bs will still typically have a period of indentured servitude of 3 or 4 years.

Starting in early 2001 (or late 2000), the industry experienced a sharp slowdown. There were now many more H-1Bs than jobs which employers wished to fill with H-1Bs. Accordingly, many employers no longer offered green card sponsorship when they hired H-1Bs. Though this would at first appear to at least give the H-1Bs more freedom of movement, they now had a new problem - deportation. If they were laid off or fired from one job, they would have to find another within 10 days, or face deportation. (Some immigration attorneys challenged this, but the INS chose not to respond.) So, it was de facto indentured servitude all over again.

[AlexExFTV]

Let's say it will take 4 to 5 years to get your Green Card while on an H1B.

You crank up 2 years with employer one. Then leave. You start with employer two. You then have a total accrued time of zero years towards your Green Card. Yup, lots of fun.

There is no such thing as "accrued time towards G.C." (there is in the UK, but in the USA they have different rules), moreover depending on the status of your G.C. application, you even may not need to start the application from the scratch when you change employment. I know quite a lot of people who changed employers in the States and got their G. Cards without a problem.