This strikes too close to home. I am packing my bags and heading out soon too.
I have spent 5 years here and have a masters in computer science from a top ranked school. The H1B visa is essentially a lottery which locks out talent from American companies. I failed to get a visa through the lottery process and I have to head back home too.
The H1B is now primarily used by outsourcing companies to move jobs overseas. Previously 15 years ago it was largely used to bring talent to the US not to take the jobs outside.
Changing the H1B so it a) it cannot be used to transfer jobs outside of the US and b) provides a path that after the first 3 years the employee can apply for a green card without sponsorship.
Both those things would largely solve a lot of the current H1B issues.
"some of the most active users of visas for visiting workers are Indian outsourcing firms, which appear to be training workers in the U.S. and then sending them home"
Correct. Outsourcing company sends workers to the job site to document the job responsibilities so that the position can be transferred overseas. Usually it takes about six months to a year.
It saddens me to hear this. I wish you had been able to stay. I know how painful it is to leave a place that you made your home for 5 years. Your situation reminded me of a similar story I read of a while ago: http://app.fwd.us/stories/429
The immigration system here is really broken. I wish people would recognize that more, and fight for change.
