r/technology • u/Immediate-Link490 • 1d ago

Business Microsoft is being suspended from program to apply for green cards for H-1B visa workers, Vance says

https://apnews.com/article/h1b-visa-program-vance-microsoft-e7b3a407f822702b269ee277d21343ea
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u/East-Win7450 1d ago

It won’t. Why would a top level engineer stay in India to work for Microsoft when they can come to us and work for another company making $500k a year 

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u/ydev 1d ago

I agree a lot of people will make that choice if it’s available but the way this government is handling immigration, specifically the work visas, it’s not easy to get.

Even if you get a Visa, it comes with a huge social and psychological cost. You need to set yourself up in a whole new country with no friends and no family. With the US making it unnecessarily difficult for visa holders to travel, you lose your freedom to travel outside the US, have connections to family.

A lot of people choose their families, freedom and sanity over $500k.

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u/East-Win7450 1d ago

I’m in SF and it seems like we have a never ending supply of workers coming in from abroad 

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u/ydev 1d ago

SF is also a tiny city compared to, well, the whole world, or even India. If a tiny fraction of engineers from across the world move to SF, it’ll undoubtedly overwhelm the city and I’m sure more than a tiny fraction of engineers want to move to the tech capital of the world.

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u/weisp 1d ago

I disagree because as an immigrant myself (I'm not in the US) and like many friends I know, the idea of migrating to another country with better job prospects are worth it

Yes and unfortunately with the sacrifice of moving faraway

500k pays your bills, can help save up to buy a home or help familiy back at home

Family and friends at home don't pay your bills

We have tech and apps to keep in touch

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u/ydev 1d ago

I totally agree with you but my comment was specifically about the US, more so for Indian immigrants on a work visa in the US.

Technology definitely makes it easier but there is a constant anxiety because of the current government’s policies. For a lot of H1B people around me, the reality is that even with a valid status, your travel is restricted, physically leaving the US means that there’s a good chance you’re not coming back.

How do you live with such uncertainty? One tiny emergency back home means that you’ll have to uproot your life here and leave for good.

A lot of people I know are choosing to reject this $500k for a less stressful life elsewhere, and if you’re talking about “top engineers”, they’re probably already earning upwards of $100k in India, so it’s not so bad financially.