[HN Gopher] I used indie hacking to sponsor my own green card
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I used indie hacking to sponsor my own green card
Author : Swizec
Score : 114 points
Date : 2022-02-02 17:58 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (swizec.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (swizec.com)
| going_ham wrote:
| Thanks for the awesome post! Really insightful.
|
| Most people in the tech hypes about US. Is it really worth as the
| hype to go through all these burdens and immigration process?
|
| Does it really make a difference being somewhere else (for eg.
| Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, UK etc.)
| and being in the states? I am really curious to know about it.
|
| There is a meme that most of the open source projects stand
| because of some European dude doing off the charity work! The
| European companies also offer work permit for the qualified
| people!
| asdadsdad wrote:
| In terms of entrepreneurship, I don't really think is the case.
| You can build your company anywhere in the world with minimum
| first-world standards (any of the countries you mentioned) and
| be successful. Will you have more capital in the US, or will it
| be easier to get? Yes. Will your company fail because it's not
| in the US? probably not.
|
| Career-wise, meaning actually having a job and working for
| someone else, there's no place that compares to US compensation
| standards - some may even argue it's a bubble situation.
| AkshatM wrote:
| It depends on what you're optimizing for long-term as a member
| of the software industry. Pure monetary compensation? The US
| remains the only place where salaries for junior developers
| begin in the early six figures and climb higher with career
| progression. Security of living? Probably not. A culture of
| entrepreneurship and a support network for your own
| entrepreneurial desires? Yes.
|
| Overall, I would say this is a great place to start a career as
| a foreign national but far from a perfect place to retire or
| even raise a family, unless you happen to be quite well off by
| that point.
| ballenf wrote:
| Salaries for junior devs in the US start at 60k in some areas
| of the US.
| pc86 wrote:
| If you have no portfolio, no previous work to show, come
| from a no name school or don't have a degree, or did very
| poorly in school, you're absolutely, 100% right.
|
| If you know the fundamentals, _you can code_ , and you can
| answer LeetCode-style questions in an interview setting,
| $80-100k with minimal or no experience is certainly doable.
| kingcharles wrote:
| It really blows my mind that the US makes it so hard to get in
| legally and stay. The US is turning away so many talented
| individuals that could vastly add to the nation in many
| different ways.
| nebula8804 wrote:
| 40% of Americans cannot afford a 400$ emergency expense
|
| [1]: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/20/heres-why-so-many-
| americans-...
|
| Time and time again, any attempts to provide a safety net are
| destroyed at the onset.
|
| Majority of blue collar manufacturing jobs have left for
| China. Most states are flat lining and apart from tech what
| major growth industry is there? I guess if you work for a
| government supported industry you are safe (defense, military
| etc.)
|
| In this environment seeing people fly in from the rest of the
| world and earn massive salaries on the coasts while the rest
| of the country is being strip mined for every last penny that
| it has left is not something that will endure support for
| immigration.
|
| This environment has resulted in >50% of the population with
| a great sense of anger against the perceived causes. They
| will continue to vote in more and more extreme version of
| Trump to 'solve the problem'.
|
| Yes the US is risking its last growth industry but those
| people do not care (rightfully so since they don't feel as if
| they are benefiting anyway).
|
| I really don't know how the US is going to come back from
| this. The end result of this is some sort of collapse. There
| needs to be bold leadership at all levels that pushes back on
| the causes of these problems but I don't see anybody on the
| horizon willing to do this.
| dahfizz wrote:
| I would take that stat with a huge grain of salt. According
| to the original source[1], of the 40% of people who
| couldn't easily pay the expense, 43% say they would put the
| expense on a credit card and pay the credit card over time.
| So the reality is that most people already have a balance
| on their card, and would put any surprise expenses on their
| card and continue to make the payments which they can
| afford. Less than %2 of all credit cards are delinquent, so
| it seems most people are affording their monthly payments
| just fine.
|
| Also, in the article you linked, they mention that the same
| stat for households making $100k+ a year is 17%. 17% of
| people making 6 figures don't have $400 saved??? If people
| are unable to save 0.4% of their income, no amount of
| economic growth will help them.
|
| This is a combination of the uselessness of self reported
| statistics, poor budgeting skills, and ambiguous questions.
|
| [1] https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2017-
| repor...
| nebula8804 wrote:
| Honestly the point was to demonstrate the declining
| standard of living of Americans. I could have also
| brought up the stat that the majority of bankruptcies in
| the US are medical related.
|
| [1]:https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/11/this-is-the-real-
| reason-most...
| dahfizz wrote:
| > Honestly the point was to demonstrate the declining
| standard of living of Americans.
|
| That's a bad way to prove your point, because the 40% in
| your stat is _down_ from 50% a few years prior. The
| number of bankruptcies has also been steadily falling
| since 2010.
|
| My point is that things are better than you think, and
| generally improving.
|
| https://www.uscourts.gov/news/2021/11/08/bankruptcy-
| filings-...
|
| https://www.statista.com/statistics/817911/number-of-non-
| bus...
| davidw wrote:
| It's not a zero-sum game though! Those immigrants bring
| talent and skills and ideas and create companies that
| create jobs for people here.
| nebula8804 wrote:
| Yes you are right but put yourself in the shoes of the
| people who vote for these anti-immigration policies.
| Decade after decade of decline does not give them the
| freedom to care if some startup that they may never hear
| of gets created in one of them "coastal elite" cities.
|
| All they see is probably what they watched on the TV show
| Silicon Valley or what they hear in the news. I fully
| believe that if things were improving for them, they
| would be welcoming immigrants with open arms (or at least
| not minding them). However that is not the case. So in an
| environment where there isn't abundance but scarcity, it
| is a zero sum game.
| geodel wrote:
| > It really blows my mind that the US makes it so hard to get
| in legally and stay.
|
| Huh, why it blows your mind? Is it some kind of human right
| that anyone can come to US at any point in time and just
| start living there. Besides if they are so talented why they
| can't stay in home country and apply the talent.
| kingcharles wrote:
| No, but if I'm running a country and talented people want
| to move to my country and bring their skills, then I would
| want to open my borders to them. That way my country will
| theoretically be better off than other countries.
| valarauko wrote:
| I would think that a significant proportion of native born
| American households (including most politicians) have at
| least one immigrant grandparent, and the conditions that
| led to them leaving their native home. You would think that
| a people who are well acquainted with their own relatively
| recent roots in the country would be more open to the idea
| in general.
| hunterb123 wrote:
| Noone's not open to it. Everyone is open to legal
| immigration.
|
| We'd have more resources available if there was less
| illegal immigration.
|
| Everyone wants reform. More border security, less visa
| lotteries. Visas on merit.
| hunterb123 wrote:
| We don't. We accept the most immigrants in the world by far.
|
| It's harder to get into other countries, especially long-
| term.
|
| If we end the visa lotteries, curb illegal immigration, we'll
| have more room for merit based immigrants.
| Swizec wrote:
| > Does it really make a difference being somewhere else (for
| eg. Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, UK
| etc.) and being in the states?
|
| Let me put it this way: In the 7 years I've lived in SF, I have
| built more wealth than my parents have in their entire
| lifetimes.
|
| A lot of it comes down to being surrounded by people with a
| can-do attitude who hype each other up instead of the European
| (at least Slovenian) attitude of _" Bah why even bother trying?
| Even if you succeed the govt/people/someone is just gonna steal
| it anyway and the only people who are successful are crooks and
| cheats"_
|
| It took a lot of work to get out of that mindset. In large part
| thanks to being surrounded by people who are the exact
| opposite.
| BasilPH wrote:
| Congrats on getting your green-card Swizec!
|
| I wouldn't generalize to Europe here. I think it's a common
| mistake that I often make myself is to compare the US to
| Europe as if both were homogenous. San Francisco is different
| from Detroit, and Germany is different from Poland both
| economically and regarding people's mindset.
|
| I've moved from Switzerland to NYC on an E-2 visa. I've
| worked multiple years for both a Swiss and a German startup
| and have been in contact with Swiss and German founders
| through an accelerator. I've never heard any founder or
| software engineer say that taxes, administration, or other
| people kept them from reaching for the stars. I've also
| learned that taxes in NYC are easily as high as in Germany
| and that paperwork in the US is just as burdensome as
| everywhere else I've had to do it.
|
| I think the reason that so many ambitious people are drawn to
| Silicon Valley and NYC is that they know it's a place where
| other ambitious people are. That's precisely why I came, and
| it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. And I went despite the high
| taxes (easily 3x of what I paid in Switzerland), higher rent,
| and burdensome immigration process because I want to be in
| this environment.
|
| You allude to the fact that people are what matters, but I
| feel that a lot of the discussion about what makes a good
| startup ecosystem is about money, taxes, and other
| administrative side-shows. Those only matter if you have the
| right atmosphere to start with, and I think we should talk
| about this more. Especially now that most of us are working
| remotely and physical location will become less critical.
| Swizec wrote:
| I agree, not all of Europe is the same and moving to
| London, Berlin, Amsterdam, or similar would've worked
| almost as well. Mainly you find that wherever people _go
| to_ rather than being primarily born there is full of
| ambition.
|
| But the scale is different. The amount of capital in SFBA
| dwarfs all other markets combined. And while you can make
| great indie films anywhere and even have a runaway succes
| or two, blockbusters happen in Hollywood and Bollywood.
| There's a whole industry and ecosystem that knows how to
| make them.
|
| Same with startups. If you want to be in a place with
| dozens, even hundreds, of people who know how to take an
| idea from $10mil to $100mil at every level of a company -
| that's SFBA.
|
| Meanwhile Slovenia just announced an innovative new govt
| pre-seed startup fund investing up to a whopping $100k if
| you have strong revenue. Our entire GDP is less than
| Apple's quarterly profits.
|
| And I figured if I'm moving out of country might as well go
| all the way to SFBA. I can always come back later with
| lessons learned.
| morelisp wrote:
| [deleted]
| triceratops wrote:
| > Is it really worth as the hype to go through all these
| burdens and immigration process?
|
| Money and career opportunities. Silicon Valley is to software
| as NYC or London are to finance. Working there will super-
| charge your bank balance and future career path
| disproportionate to your ability (meaning: you will work far
| harder for far less reward in other places).
| notyourday wrote:
| > Does it really make a difference being somewhere else (for
| eg. Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, UK
| etc.) and being in the states?
|
| Yes. If you are any good you would make at least 2x in the US.
| Probably 3x to 4x.
| dominotw wrote:
| > Is it really worth as the hype to go through all these
| burdens and immigration process?
|
| Yes if you want the best compensation. No if you value other
| things like staying in your home country near family.
| yftsui wrote:
| [deleted]
| Swizec wrote:
| The justification that my GC hinges on has been approved. As
| long as I don't commit any crimes while I-485 processing
| churns, it's essentially a done deal. And I've done all the
| medical stuff already.
|
| I'm even allowed to freely leave the country without abandoning
| my application.
|
| A benefit of being from Slovenia is that there's no queue. I am
| only waiting on slowdowns due to covid.
| yftsui wrote:
| Well as long as you don't have I-485 approved, you don't have
| Green Card approved. Adjudication of I-485 is an entirely
| different process than I-131/I-765 or I-140, which are the
| ones you get approved for real. The 2 year Combo card is not
| a green card.
| alangibson wrote:
| As an American citizen that left for Europe 10 years ago, I
| honestly don't see why an American citizenship is so desirable.
| Yes you can make a lot of money, but you don't need a citizenship
| for that. I tell people that ask me about moving over they should
| "get in and get out". Make your money then move to somewhere with
| a functional society to raise a family. You might take a pay cut
| but your kids won't get shot at school either.
| [deleted]
| ForHackernews wrote:
| It's too easy to dismiss something when you've never lacked for
| it.
|
| "Why I Became an American" by Enes Kanter Freedom -
| https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/12/why-enes-k...
| alangibson wrote:
| Apples and oranges. I'd like to give automatic citizenship to
| anyone persecuted in their home country, but most green card
| applicants aren't refugees.
| kkwteh wrote:
| This is essentially what I did, and I feel like it worked out
| really well for me. Besides the benefits you mentioned, I feel
| like my money goes a lot further over here too in terms of
| healthcare, education, and housing.
| alangibson wrote:
| If you adjust for quality, many things in Europe are similar
| in cost to the US. Rents are arguably cheaper. A 2 bedroom
| apartment in Wien is like 1200 USD vs God knows how much in
| SF. And Wien is officially the world's most livable city.
| hkthrowaway88 wrote:
| As an American citizen living in Hong Kong I see more and more
| every day why an American citizenship is so desirable.
| alangibson wrote:
| That's a bit of a special circumstance, no? You're on an
| island that is actively being absorbed by an ideologically
| opposed superpower. There's a lot of daylight between people
| in HK and the vast majority who's motivation is primarily
| greater earning potential.
|
| Also, there's nothing special about the US in this case.
| Germany would probably be an easier go.
| hkthrowaway88 wrote:
| I don't know that much about German immigration, but many
| European countries are harder to get residence in than the
| US. Also, most people in HK speak at least some English but
| hardly anybody speaks German. I doubt it would be much of
| an "easier go" except for people working in high paid jobs
| in desirable fields (who would probably go to the US or
| Canada).
|
| It's not that special of a case. For as much as people in
| the US complain about their government, most of the world
| is much worse.
| manquer wrote:
| The reason people on a work visa desire citizenship or
| permanent residency status is because their lack of ability to
| negotiate with their employer, you get fired without another
| sponsor you have to leave in 10 days or so etc.
|
| This is ripe for abuse, they can get paid less than their
| others in the same jobs, or be exploited by the body shops /
| mills etc, they move jobs less frequently than someone who
| would purely have based on career or financial choices, all of
| which have material impact in the money they can make.[1]
|
| Also it is not unusual for such people to have kids who because
| they usually born in America are American citizens and may not
| have citizenship in the country of origin etc, so the risk of
| stranding the family is also a factor.
|
| Finally English speaking countries generally get more
| immigrants as language barrier is major factor same reason why
| U.K. is more desired than other countries in Europe, or
| Australia/New Zealand are also typically attractive
| destinations.
|
| For all the negative press about U.S, it is still have one of
| the largest immigration programs of anywhere in the world and
| also the jobs that can be had, so it is generally simply easier
| to get to U.S. and live here than anywhere else.
|
| [1] I wouldn't use inflammatory terms like slavery, however
| traditionally U.S. has been "built on the backs" of immigrants,
| First actual slaves and indentured labor(most Europeans up to
| the revolution came this way ), then poor immigrants. As long
| as it was better than back home people would keep coming, and
| as long it was even slightly cheaper than what it would cost
| locally or jobs citizens won't prefer to do, it will be
| profitable.
| bialpio wrote:
| The worry that you may get kicked out of work and will be
| forced to leave the country in a matter of weeks is real.
| Citizenship makes it go away. Besides, there's a whole matter
| of "no taxation without representation".
| myth17 wrote:
| For immigration to USA, whatever you do just don't be born in
| India where wait to get Green Card is 2-3 decades (yes 20-30
| years estimated wait). If only one could control the place of
| birth...
| kingcharles wrote:
| Ugh. This is true. When I was at the US Embassy getting my
| fiancee visa I started talking to an African woman. She was
| very excited. She had just been called up to get her visa after
| being on the list for 18 FUCKING YEARS.
| CoastalCoder wrote:
| Honest question: Is there any downside to simply crossing into
| the U.S. via its southern border, or overstaying a visa?
|
| My impression is that the U.S. government mostly doesn't
| enforce its laws against unlawful entry. And that the
| Democratic party wants a path to full citizenship for anyone
| who manages to stay in the country long enough.
|
| So I'm curious if this approach would work:
|
| 1. Enter the U.S. illegally to start the clock.
|
| 2. Work remotely "from India" for some company. Have a trusted
| friend/relative in India forward enough of your paycheck to the
| U.S. to cover your cost of living.
|
| 3. When the political climate is right, get onto whatever path
| to citizenship is being offered.
| NearAP wrote:
| >> And that the Democratic party wants a path to full
| citizenship for anyone who manages to stay in the country
| long enough.<<
|
| Full path to citizenship is for those who 'were brought as
| kids/infants' i.e. who had no say in how they came into the
| country. If they are still minors and need their parents,
| then some 'form of stay' for their parents.
|
| If you cross the border illegally as an adult and barring any
| special circumstances, you will most likely be deported. It
| would also be difficult to get a professional job since a lot
| of companies participate in the eVerify program.
| 908B64B197 wrote:
| DACA is a true slap in the face to everyone who made the
| decision to follow and respect the law.
|
| > Full path to citizenship is for those who 'were brought
| as kids/infants' i.e. who had no say in how they came into
| the country.
|
| It's true they had no say, but as adults they do have a say
| and can decide to leave at any time and apply for the
| proper visa from their country.
| ceras wrote:
| There are people who come at a young enough age, e.g. as
| infants, and don't know anything at all about their
| "home" country. They may not even know the language very
| well, if at all. They likely don't have a single memory
| of the place.
|
| So while technically you're right - as adults they have a
| say - it's asking quite a lot. Very few people would move
| to a (likely much poorer) country with no social support,
| and likely with no money, just because of a decision
| their parents made. For all intents and purposes their
| home is the US, and their identity is American.
| kmeisthax wrote:
| DACA is a workaround for people who are functionally
| "American" but not legally so. Them moving "back to
| Mexico" would work out about as well as telling a bunch
| of people working in car factories to move to Mexico to
| keep their job.
|
| Also, _the law itself_ is a slap in the face to everyone
| who made the decision to follow and respect the law.
| Immigration law is deliberately designed to be at least
| _a little_ dehumanizing to the immigrant: it 's NIMBYism,
| but for people instead of duplexes. The only thing that
| we should be giving the people who followed the law is an
| apology for having to go through such a nightmare. We
| absolutely should not retain such a restrictive system
| purely for the sake of making people who followed it feel
| like their sunk costs went into something.
| xmprt wrote:
| > DACA is a true slap in the face to everyone who made
| the decision to follow and respect the law.
|
| It's different if you had a choice in the matter but how
| does DACA affect the decisions that you made? If you knew
| that DACA was going to be a thing, would you have decided
| to illegally immigrate instead? I think that would have
| been pretty much impossible if you were a kid.
|
| > apply for the proper visa from their country
|
| If you've been living in the US for as long as you can
| remember then the US is your own country.
| oh_sigh wrote:
| > their country.
|
| If someone has lived in the same country for the entirety
| of the life that they can recollect, most people would
| consider that "their country". Your strict viewpoint also
| presents the opportunity for absurd scenarios when
| coupled with birthright citizenship, for example a
| Mexican woman is giving birth to twins...one comes out on
| the south side of the Rio Grande, and the other comes out
| 5 minutes later on the north side of the Rio Grande.
| According to you, 18 years later the first born would
| have no respect for the law, and the second born would be
| some kind of pure embodiment of America.
| nebula8804 wrote:
| I love how a lot of these knucklehead's ancestors came at
| a time when there were no immigration checks. They had no
| papers they just waltzed in...so now their mostly useless
| descendants(most of these complainers come from states
| that are net negative in terms of tax revenue) want to
| ensure that everyone coming in now are super squeaky
| clean. Complete hypocrites.
| nebula8804 wrote:
| Democratic Party can't get any bills passed. Did you miss the
| whole debacle with the dead "Build Back Better" bill? Watered
| down to almost nothing over many months and in the end, it
| failed regardless. You really expect to depend on them for
| anything? They only serve their donors and everything else
| they say is fluff. The most they can do is executive order
| which gets reversed when the next Republican enters office.
| Keep in mind each Republican that enters is getting more and
| more aggressive. Trump instituted a new 40 question
| immigration test. Doing anything other than following the law
| with perfection is strongly not recommended.
|
| Your best bet is to secure 500K-1M in assets to invest in the
| US and use that route. I know some rich people who have given
| up their citizenship for tax purposes and will regain the
| citizenship using this route when they wish to retire in
| Montana.
| klipt wrote:
| > I know some rich people who have given up their
| citizenship for tax purposes and will regain the
| citizenship using this route
|
| Technically renouncing citizenship for tax purposes can
| make the renouncer inadmissable to the US. If the
| immigration authorities decide these people are
| inadmissable, no amount of money will get their citizenship
| back.
| powersnail wrote:
| > U.S. government mostly doesn't enforce its laws against
| unlawful entry
|
| If you ever get arrested for anything, get background checked
| for anything, get reported by somebody to the police, need to
| deal with legal matter, need health insurance, or if one day
| somebody at ICE missed his morning coffee......
|
| Life as a fugitive is not fun. Even if currently the law is
| not strictly enforced.
| kingcharles wrote:
| The traffic stops are how most get caught. I was in jail
| with hundreds of no-paper immigrants. Almost always they
| would get caught in some random traffic stop and then have
| a hard time from there.
| diebeforei485 wrote:
| It probably would work fine, except that you'd be paying US
| cost of living (healthcare, rent, etc) while not on a US
| salary, so there doesn't seem to be a point - you're most
| likely burning money doing this and if you're hoping for a
| path to legalization, the issue is Congress can remain
| irrational longer than you can remain solvent.
|
| A lot of people do what you say, but for a few months at a
| time (within the terms of their visa), every 3-4 years.
| During those months you could maybe get rent a Manhattan
| apartment (on airbnb or something) and experience living in
| New York, visit national parks or other attractions, do some
| shopping, and after a few months (6 months is the legal limit
| I think) you've probably experienced most of what you need to
| know.
| HeavenFox wrote:
| If you can work remotely from India while making enough money
| to cover your cost of living in the U.S., then you should...
| stay in India and live like a King?
| bgdam wrote:
| This whole exercise would be moot, because the clock cannot
| be started by just entering the country. Specific paperwork
| has to be filed and then approved. The clock only starts
| after the approval.
| CoastalCoder wrote:
| Any idea which particular paperwork?
|
| I know that the Democratic party uses the term
| "undocumented" rather than "illegal", presumably for
| rhetorical reasons. But I assumed that they also meant
| "undocumented" in the literal sense, i.e. that a person
| would have little or no paper trail to prove their
| residence.
| orangepurple wrote:
| All you have to do is cross the border, get arrested, and
| then you're released and good to stay.
|
| The Transportation Security Administration confirmed to
| Fox News on Friday that it allows illegal immigrants to
| use arrest warrants as an alternative form of ID to board
| airplanes.
|
| "For non-citizens and non-U.S. nationals who do not
| otherwise have acceptable forms of ID for presentation at
| security checkpoints, TSA may also accept certain DHS-
| issued forms, including ICE Form I-200 (Warrant for
| Arrest of an Alien)," a TSA spokesperson told Fox News.
| That refers to a civil immigration arrest warrant, not a
| criminal arrest warrant.
|
| The agency added that the document will then be validated
| via an "alien identification number" being checked
| against a number of Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
| databases.
|
| "All passengers whose identity is verified through
| alternate procedures receive additional screening before
| being allowed into the secure area of the airport," the
| statement said.
| triceratops wrote:
| > you're released and good to stay.
|
| But unable to drive legally, work legally, apply for
| benefits legally, or do pretty much anything else. Sure
| you can board a flight; for whatever that's worth. TSA
| accepts foreign passports as identification too so...I
| wouldn't say it's worth all that much.
| klipt wrote:
| Some of that depends on the state. California will issue
| a driver's license to undocumented immigrants, just not a
| REAL ID license. I think undocumented immigrants can also
| get Medicaid in some states.
|
| Of course it's a stressful life and they have to work
| under the table and can't travel internationally, but if
| their main goal is for their kids to be Americans, they
| may think the sacrifice is worth it.
| [deleted]
| [deleted]
| anxrn wrote:
| A family of four just tragically perished trying step 1
| (albeit on the northern border).
|
| https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60162500
|
| At best, this is a perilous, uncertain and undignified route.
| yardie wrote:
| > anyone who manages to stay in the country long enough.
|
| If you're talking about DACA their eligibility to change of
| status is also measured in decades. But you have the problem
| of being detained and deported at any moment during those
| decades of waiting.
|
| And for point 2 you've upped the penalties to tax evasion as
| well. If the company you work for knows you are working
| illegaly or no in the US and not paying payroll taxes on it
| it's going to cause a lot more problems.
| jamesmishra wrote:
| This is a terrible idea.
|
| Some American politicians have hinted at the possibility of
| mass amnesty for illegal immigrants, but it is an issue that
| is widely unpopular--partially due to how that could change
| the eligible voter population.
|
| I think it is more likely that amnesty either never happens,
| or it is only offered to specific small groups of people.
|
| Otherwise, America is extremely unkind towards anybody who
| breaks their laws--especially if your goal is to later apply
| for a visa or Green Card.
|
| Finally, crossing through the southern border is not so easy.
| Other immigrants die when they make the journey.
| orangepurple wrote:
| 1.7 million people may disagree with you
|
| Oct. 22, 2021 A record 1.7 million migrants from around the
| world, many of them fleeing pandemic-ravaged countries,
| were encountered trying to enter the United States
| illegally in the last 12 months, capping a year of chaos at
| the southern border, which has emerged as one of the most
| formidable challenges for the Biden administration.
|
| https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/22/us/politics/border-
| crossi...
| kube-system wrote:
| That 1.7 million is the number of people caught while
| trying, not the number of people who get away with it.
| light_hue_1 wrote:
| > Some American politicians have hinted at the possibility
| of mass amnesty for illegal immigrants, but it is an issue
| that is widely unpopular
|
| That's just not even remotely true. It's wildly popular.
|
| https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-
| tank/2020/06/17/americans-b...
|
| 74% want to give legal status to all children. 75% want to
| give a path to legality for everyone. Even most of
| Republicans want to do so!
|
| There aren't that many positions in the US that are so
| wildly popular.
|
| Can you imagine anything more popular than giving people
| free money in their bank accounts? Well that's only
| supported by 78% of people. Legalizing illegal immigrants
| is as popular as giving everyone in the US free cash.
|
| https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/us/stimulus-check-
| polls.h...
|
| Now, that's with actual humans. Politicians often care
| about businesses more than humans, and US businesses
| benefit tremendously from this underclass of workers that
| have no rights and often live in fear.
| sg47 wrote:
| 20 years since I came to the US and still no GC in sight (maybe
| this year). I'm at the mercy of my employer despite my TC being
| in 7 figures (yes, even with the stock crash)
| otagekki wrote:
| Wouldn't it be easier to apply for an investor visa? There
| are quite a bunch of businesses you can start with a fraction
| of your yearly compensation.
| allisdust wrote:
| Can't you just sponsor your own investor visa?
| dilippkumar wrote:
| >20 - 30 year estimated wait.
|
| From the Congressional research service's report on immigration
| backlog [1], for applicants from India, the projected backlogs
| for various employment-based green card applications applying
| in 2020 are:
|
| EB-1: 8 years.
|
| EB-2: 195 years.
|
| EB-3: 27 years.
|
| Projecting out to 2030, the report says (for Indian
| applicants):
|
| EB-1: 18 years.
|
| EB-2: 436 years.
|
| EB-3: 48 years.
|
| "20-30 years" has been wishful thinking for Indian applicants
| for a long time now.
|
| [1]. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46291
|
| EDIT: I was bored, so I performed a linear extrapolation using
| the 2020 and 2030 estimates. Two points and a straight line
| through them gives: 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
|
| All numbers in years. The numbers are rounded up to the next
| highest integer. Note that a straight line through these two
| points isn't necessarily the correct model but whatever.
| diebeforei485 wrote:
| Most people on EB-2 also qualify for EB-3, so the EB2 and EB3
| numbers should be averaged out. Instead of 244 and 32 for
| 2022, perhaps it should be ~140 for each column. Not that it
| matters, of course.
| BhavdeepSethi wrote:
| These numbers are probably off because USCIS wasn't
| processing any GC during the pandemic. As of now, EB-1 is
| current and EB-2 is 10 years.
| coconoco wrote:
| What the difference between ev-1, 2 and 3?
| [deleted]
| masterof0 wrote:
| Can't you just get another nationality and then apply to the
| green card with that new passport?
| techsupporter wrote:
| No, they "solved" that "loophole" by amending the law in the
| 1996 Immigration "Reform" Act to state that place of birth is
| used, not place of nationality.
|
| (Just another law in the long series of laws containing the
| word "reform" that makes things so much worse for the groups
| covered by the law.)
| kvrk2000s wrote:
| exactly, because, you know, "diversity"
| chana_masala wrote:
| > If only one could control the place of birth...
|
| Puny aur punarjanm
| sremani wrote:
| I feel you -- I have family that is waiting for GC. But this is
| not the thread to despair -- take a look at his strategy pick
| the elements and execute.
|
| Also, understand sooner or later there is a legislative exit
| for this issue. I am sure, once there is great labor pressure
| in the US market, there would steps taken to mend the GC
| waiting line issue.
| bgdam wrote:
| Or you could stop waiting and living for an uncertain future,
| and just move to a country which values your skills more than
| the place you were born. A lot of them are even better than
| the US (except for the pay).
| RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote:
| Congratulations.
|
| But it does seem risky making a public post about this.
|
| By using the word "hacking" and the implications in the post that
| the lawyers painted a very sanguine view of the qualifications as
| well as the admission that the lawyers wrote the reference
| letters and just had the "highly successful" friend sign, seems
| very risky.
|
| The US government has revoked greencards and naturalization in
| the past for what they consider fraudulent applications.
|
| I am definitely not saying or implying that anything was
| fraudulent, but you never know who might read your post and
| decide that it seems suspicious and worth doing an audit.
| margalabargala wrote:
| I'm just a random US citizen, but I would say that the sort of
| person who would go to the effort and lengths described to
| understand and make their way through the process, is indeed
| precisely the sort of person for whom an "extraordinary
| ability" visa is intended.
| flavius29663 wrote:
| you would be surprised how much immigrants have to know and
| do in order to get in the US legally.
| Swizec wrote:
| You're right, "draft" wouldve been a better word to use. The
| reason lawyers do that is to make it easier on your busy
| friends/connections to do the favor and to ensure the right
| things are mentioned.
|
| Everyone has the opportunity to change anything before signing
| 533474 wrote:
| If I was you, I would have written an anonymous blog post or
| nothing at all
| e1g wrote:
| Absolutely. @Swizec: ask your immigration lawyers if
| they're OK with this post being online and linked to both
| of you. If they are, you need new lawyers.
| [deleted]
| bencollier49 wrote:
| Honestly, I'd be super paranoid about this. Someone with an
| axe to grind about foreign workers could report you on the
| off chance. You seem like a super clever bloke and the US
| would do well to take you, but if I was an immigration
| official and read this post, I'd be red underlining your
| application. They've made it mega-easy to report, as well.
| dixie_land wrote:
| Exactly. The OP just built himself a sand castle. Even
| naturalization can be revoked if you get it through fraudulent
| means, which the OP openly and somehow proudly admits
| manquer wrote:
| One thing to keep in mind in getting the Green Card(Permanent
| Residency ) in the U.S. it is not fully Permanent, you can loose
| your status if you leave for extended period of time.
| danso wrote:
| You paid all that money for legal services and no one told or
| implied to you that writing this specifically clickbait headline
| has significant potential downside?
| draw_down wrote:
| vmception wrote:
| I've never heard of the O-1 Visa, but I do know of the L-1 visa
| and the E series visas.
|
| People should really read about US visa types. Well, for any
| country they want to get into. There are often times some really
| obscure paths prescribed by the government that even people
| working for that government don't know how to process because so
| few people (sometimes none) have used those paths.
|
| The crux of this article is that there is way more than H1B /
| wage slave visas that allow you to be present for a long time and
| support yourself.
| WaitWaitWha wrote:
| > People should really read about US visa types.
|
| Like this?
|
| https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-inf...
| flavius29663 wrote:
| be advised, fraud in obtaining the green card is one of the few
| reasons they can cancel it. I wouldn't make waves about what you
| did, it might come back to haunt you.
| imgabe wrote:
| It doesn't sound like he did anything fraudulent. He did things
| that the application requires and the lawyer presented it in
| the best way possible, as is their job.
| nwiswell wrote:
| You've made me feel embarrassingly privileged for have done
| absolutely nothing to earn my right to work in the world's tech
| capital.
|
| I wonder how many people just slightly less motivated or talented
| than you are turned away (or even more troubling: less able to
| afford prolific immigration lawyers). I understand the importance
| of immigration controls writ large, but this is transparently
| ridiculous.
| goodpoint wrote:
| Believe me or not, I know a number of engineers at FAANGS that
| turned down opportunities to move to the US even at 3x the
| salary.
|
| The bizantine bureaucracy without clear guarantees and
| timelines, the theoretical risk of being deported, the less
| theoretical risk of being under surveillance, the limits on
| what you can do on H1B... it makes people feel very unwelcome.
| ipaddr wrote:
| Most never come.
| crazy1van wrote:
| Impressive story, but what did your lawyer say about making this
| blog post before it is a 100% fine deal?
| ianhawes wrote:
| gervwyk wrote:
| Thanks for sharing. Interested to learn more regarding your
| thoughts on "scarcity mindset around money". If you have written
| anything on the topic, please share.
| kareemm wrote:
| You may want to pull this down. I've heard more than half a dozen
| stories about people who wrote about applying for visas whose
| socials and websites were checked and who were asked about things
| they've shared online. I'm not 100% sure but I think a Green Card
| can be revoked. And if you're applying for citizenship this post
| may not reflect favorably on you.
| Taylor_OD wrote:
| Not an employment lawyer but I agree. You really don't want
| anything that could cause issues at this point and even if
| there is a 99% chance this wont... It would be really
| unfortunate for the 1% to happen. Especially since only 3/4th
| of the process is finished.
| ianhawes wrote:
| I'm not an immigration attorney but I work in the global
| mobility space and nothing about this post is particularly
| damning if it were to come up during adjudication of his N-400
| (application for naturalization).
|
| What the author is describing, the EB-2 NIW, is well known
| amongst immigration attorneys.
| danso wrote:
| We live in a political and bureaucratic reality in which:
|
| 1. Immigration of any kind is highly scrutinized
|
| 2. Law enforcement suspicion can be aroused by something as
| trifling and absurd the fact that "Subversion" [0] sounds
| like "subversive"
|
| Putting aside the debate of what the word "hacking" actually
| means, wouldn't you advise a client to _avoid_ writing a
| headline of "I used hacking..."? If your client runs afoul
| of the law for any reason, this seems like the kind of
| documentary "evidence" that prosecutors would be happy to
| entice a grand jury with.
|
| [0] https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2013/09/michael-lewis-
| goldma...
|
| https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-
| content/uploads/2019/03/Al... (page 12)
| fibers wrote:
| Is this really an issue if the OP did this anonymously? Who
| would possibly know? Or does this count as perjury?
| imgabe wrote:
| It's not anonymous, the domain is his name...
| VTimofeenko wrote:
| > Last I heard, your employer can apply for a greencard after 5
| years on a visa. You can then become independent after a grace
| period with the sponsoring employer. 6 months is typical.
|
| Having gone through L1 process myself I don't believe the 5 years
| until application is an official requirement. L1 visa itself
| maxes out at 5 years, so filing for the greencard with the work
| permit(EAD) at 5 year mark will leave the employee unable to work
| until the work permit is granted. I have seen cases when
| companies would file for a greencard almost immediately after
| transferring the employee on L1 visa.
| whoisjuan wrote:
| This is correct. You can apply for a green card whenever. I did
| mine a few months after getting my H1B.
| VTimofeenko wrote:
| Minor correction: in case of the work visas it's not the
| employee that files for green card, but the company. It's not
| a cheap process(and AFAIK, the employee cannot pay even a
| portion of the main process by themselves), so some companies
| hesitate when filing, leading to the long periods of
| uncertainty and stress.
| whoisjuan wrote:
| Right. My H1B employer refused to file for a green card
| right away and wanted to wait a year.
|
| I simply left for another employer who filed it right away.
| VTimofeenko wrote:
| Did you go through H porting process? How long did it
| take?
| whoisjuan wrote:
| Yes. It took less than a month paying premium. But this
| was a while ago.
| VTimofeenko wrote:
| Yeah, these days even with premium processing the
| processing times are insane.
| temp_praneshp wrote:
| What do you mean by "these days"? My wife and I have done
| h1 porting 3 times in total during the pandemic (once
| during President Trump, others during President Biden),
| and the process was insanely fast (== 1.5 month total
| from starting email with lawyer to I797 in hand,
| including a week at DOL and about a week at USCIS for the
| I797). We used Premium Processing (never not used it,
| except during the time it was suspended a few years ago).
|
| I was curious if it has ballooned back up since May 2021.
| VTimofeenko wrote:
| Haven't done H porting myself (went L1 -> GC), but the
| time to process for i539+i765 for L2 was 14 months in
| 2020-2021, which put my spouse on forced unpaid leave for
| ~8 months. Green card processing times estimates were
| also insane, so I surmised porting would be affected as
| well. Glad that it wasn't.
| ReaLNero wrote:
| How long did your GC take from start to finish?
| whoisjuan wrote:
| A year and a half. More or less. But it was relatively
| fast.
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