How bad is life bein on H1/EAD waiting for GC

K

krprasad

Registered Users (C)
heard a ton of sermon from people who think we are all wasting our life being in usa and waiting for GC.

I though why not we "GC waiters" discuss to see what all is wrong with this life, while we are waiting(maybe 5-7 years at the worst).

I am on H1, and hope to get my GC in next 4-5 years, and frankly speaking i am not happy being on H1, having to feed two middle men between me and my client(i get only 50% of my billing).
because i cannot look for another client if i want to, since my billing is so high, compared to similar skill/experience peers.

career wise i am not sure i would have had a great life in india, i have not heard that it has become paradise from my friends who missed the last bus to usa (i came in NOV 2000, just made it.. :D )..

saving wise i think its around 8-10 times of what i will be able to save in india, with similar lifestyle (that means my 5 years in usa will be equal to 40 years in india..)

my plan is, i am going to wait till i get my gc, keep saving, but i still dont know what to do when my employer starts exploiting me, i work with an american consulting company, so far its been good.

one plan i have is to start my own body shopping company with help of my GC holder friends and other 20 H1 holders, and we will sponsor our visa and file GC through our own company, that way we wont be exploited
 
You may be wrong Prasad.

Careerwise you are in a dead end job. Let me ask you frankly, by how much has your resume changed since you came here in 2000. Compare that to someone who worked in Infosys since 2000. You would see that you are way behind the guy.
Secondly, when you go back to India as developer you will find it hard to find work. Being a developer you would be in race with millions of college kids who can just program fine like you.
Savings wise, wait till you have kids or they start to grow up. All that saving you had will vanish in thin air.
About opening up company and then getting sponsored, well those are all dreams. If you are dreaming why not dream of winning a power ball lottery that way you won't have to work at all.
 
Alhindi,

you can have your opinion, i have my plans....they are dreams or reality only time will tell.

i am more interested to hear from people like me waiting for their GC, so please spare us..
 
I am in EB3 and my 485 pending , PD Jan 2003. I am flying this weekend to India and hopefully be engaged/married. I have stopped worrying about the job and visa status as this situation seems unpredictible.

I might have my spouse come over , spend a year or so, see where things are. If GC is near well and good else have a kid and move back. Its said " Life is what happens while we make plans "




krprasad said:
Alhindi,

you can have your opinion, i have my plans....they are dreams or reality only time will tell.

i am more interested to hear from people like me waiting for their GC, so please spare us..
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pasting from thread strange question

vsaksena
Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 16

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chicago Desi
Let me give you the straight precise and bitter answer. Most of us are not happy with H1 b/c our employers abuse us in terms of lower pay, they keep the threat of lay offs and lack of career growth. We want freedom of choice, better working conditions and ability to start our our own businesses. Is what this country is all about? And worst, a lot many of us have been waiting many years for this GC process to finish (some waited many years just to begin it), NOW is the time we get our right.


"Is that true" (employer's paying less?) for a particular industry sector/smaller consulting companies? Have forum members employed by Fortune 500 companies faced the same?
Curious because in my organization our IT/MIS group is primarily made of non-immigrants, and they are making the same if not more (in a few instances) than the citizens/residents... There are actually a couple of folks (Indians) who are one of the highest compensated in their pay-grade.
I have heard the same feelings from many of my friends from school or otherwise who have gone down the GC road.. It is not so much about compensation, more about the mobility both from a geographical as well as career perspective...
__________________
................................................................................................................................................

I-140 AD 4/21/04 (PD 8/1/02); EB2

I-485 RD 06/25/03 VSC;
Expedite request approved 09/20/05
Transferred to Boston 09/27/05

Fingerprint Nov/2004; Recieved by USCIS 12/01/04

3rd AP valid till Apr 2005
 
i agree with vsaksena, as long as we find good employers, it does not matters much in terms of exploitation.

but it does matter when we are stuck with the same company, with a fear,that if anything goes wrong its all over.

and of course we want to be free from this bond of h1 sponsor or gc sponsor
 
Trying to Sugar coat the poison.. Sharam kar. kutta billi.

ppk_walther said:
He has no right of telling us what to do?
But I have to agree what he is saying is right.
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hey krprasad i completely agree with your thoughts and i am in the same boat.
What next yaar.....in fact i posted a similar message.
 
On H1 waiting for GC

Prasad,

As long as you are earning for your employer, everything would be beautiful. It only starts after your project ends and before you could find another. I was working for a consulting company( non desi company which is supposedly one of the top 10 in the world) and was getting paid real good, fully covered medical insurance and handsome savings. No complaints with the company for almost 4 yrs that I was on a project.

My Labor was filed and everything was peachy-fine. Problems started when my project got over and I had to look for other project. My company had limited resources to place me in my area of expertise in the northwest. They also told me that the max bench time is 2 wks and that I should get a job by then. With the fear of losing the Labor, I moved to a different state. Everything was back to normal. Good pay, huge savings etc. This project was cut-short owing to some expenditure issues at the client and I was jobless again. Next thing I know, I get a letter from my employer terminating my visa and employment and I had a week to pack my bags and leave the country.

In a hurry I had to look for a desi company that could file for H1 transfer. Although I'm getting paid less than half of what I used to get, there's atleast some peace of mind.

I hope you take all the precautions while dealing with such companies.
 
Yours is a sad story dearus

Unfortunately, its what happens with most. In the end, why would you want to put up with all the insecurity?. Just for a GC?.
Think about it, this will continue for atleast 6-7 years. With desi employer, you will soon find yourself working at miminmum age.
Don't waste your primetime on that mirage called "GC". Let people like Akbari or Neha_Wal chase after the GC and get burned. You can and should go and join Infosys or Wipro and build your career, rather than destroying it by chasing a ghost.
 
Hey Alhindi,
R u Hiring Manager for Wipro/TCS/Infosys. You seem to be always talking about them. I know approx 20 people here in Mineapolis who work for Wipro/TCS and they are all un happy because they don't apply for their GC. They live in more incertainity then all of us here on H1b with some desi or US firms. I know one guy who works for TCS here and he was sent back to India 3 times in two years with his family(there are many like him). It is all $$ game buddy. Instead of discussing this here lets join our hands on www.isnamerica.org and fight against retrogression.
 
You have still not understood my message.

Why I was comparing is not between two H1bs but between "H1b endlessly chasing ghost called GC V/S moving back to India and making the best of it".
Some people are in complete denial. Why can't you understand that lobbying won't take you anywhere as making life better for you serves no purpose at all for both politicians and corporations. There is no real reason why a senator/congressman would take up your case?.
Lets say I am a senator. I ask you this very simple question "Why should I devote my energy and time for issue like retrogession?".
What will you answer?.
 
I disagree with what AlHindi is saying. Not all of us are here just for the money. Some are here for the quality of life, some are here because of the potential opportunities that exists. We want to make out dreams come true, we want to be able to make our voices heard and other greater goals in life. I personally know that in my company have my boss's and his boss's ear. I get all the training i need, all the opportunity to ready myself for when i do get my GC.

True waiting in line for the GC is a pain in the rear but once we get past that a whole new world of opportunities presents itself. I think while we are waiting for this retrogression issue to resolve, the least we can do is prepare for when we get past this hurdle.

In my situation, i choose to be here because my son needs serious medical attention and he has access to the best pediatric doctors in the world whereas back in India that would almost be impossible.

So i have a more personal reason to wait for 5 or 7 or 10 years.. however long it takes to get my GC. If i dont get it due to whatever reason i will always be able to return to my home country and start over.

Just my .02c :)
 
Sunny Days

Be ready all GC waiters ... Our sunny days are not that far away....Be cool and patient... Let’s try to get this retrogression out and support banning Labor substitution... which makes USCIS gets only small %age of applications from BECs lot of them moved out... All this retrogression game is by DOL and DOS to eliminate illegal market and screw greedy employers ....
 
anil..sorry but thats called as wishful thinking

I think instead of day dreaming that dates will become current start thinking about your future. You might want to check out job prospects in Shining India rather than continuing to work in slavery for GC.
 
Abe O Gaddha.. Tu kyun Adrak khake hamarein piche pada hai...

AlHindi said:
I think instead of day dreaming that dates will become current start thinking about your future. You might want to check out job prospects in Shining India rather than continuing to work in slavery for GC.
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