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I'm a recent graduate and visa holder in the US. The H-1B debate is making me question my decision to stay here.

20 January 2025 at 07:47
Pooja Asuri in a college campus
Pooja Asuri was advised to cancel travel plans because of recent debates on new H1B restrictions.

Pooja Asuri

  • Pooja Asuri is a recent graduate and OPT visa holder in the US.
  • The uncertainty of being on a visa under President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration has affected her attitude at work and at home.
  • Asuri said she has started to question her decision to move to the US.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Pooja Asuri, a recent college graduate and an Optional Practical Training visa holder who works at a research laboratory in Maine. It has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified her visa and employment history.

I graduated from San Jose State University with a bachelor's in science in December 2023. I was born and raised in Singapore but hold Indian citizenship, and I moved to the US for college in 2019.

After graduation, I landed a job as a lab technologist at The Jackson Laboratory, a nonprofit research organization. As an international student who only had 90 days to find work, I applied to hundreds of jobs and felt extremely lucky to land this role.

It meant moving from California to a remote town in Maine where I didn't know anyone, but I was grateful. My parents had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars so I could study in the US, and part of me felt embarrassed if I could not find a job here after graduation. It would also make me question if my degree was worth it.

Missing out on family

Last year, I started planning a trip to India in January to meet my parents, who had recently moved there from Singapore, and my extended family.

As a Science-Technology-Engineering-Math graduate, I am allowed a two-year extension on my Optional Practical Training visa, which is seen as a pathway to securing an H-1B โ€” a visa for highly skilled foreign workers.

Recent debates in the US about stricter immigration rules spooked me and the company's legal team. Late last year, I was advised to apply for my two-year extension as soon as possible. My legal advisor was worried that President-elect Donald Trump's administration might suspend the OPT pathway, as they threatened to do in 2020.

I was stressed, and earlier this month, I paid almost $1,700 for a fast-tracked version of the application. My application was approved last week, days before Trump's inauguration.

I also canceled all my international travel plans until the summer.

It was heartbreaking โ€” I have been desperate to visit India because there are family members there, including my aging grandparents, who I have not met in six years.

Constant uncertainty

I've spent every Thursday for the past five to six weeks meeting the legal team at my company.

The uncertainty of being on a visa has also affected my attitude at work, especially with the constant threat of layoffs. I don't speak up strongly even when we're asked for opinions because I don't want to upset anyone. I've become quieter and more compliant.

Outside of work, I'm worried about the smallest mistakes, like getting a parking ticket. I'm anxious that it'll go on my permanent record and hold me back down the line.

I never imagined facing any of these challenges when I first applied to universities in the US. Before university, I had only been exposed to Asia, and I was excited to live in a Western country and see the American Dream for myself.

Looking back, I'm not sure if moving here was worth it. Every week, I question whether I should be here, if I should change my job, and if I even want to apply for an H-1B and eventually pursue citizenship.

My dad has spent his adult life in Singapore, one of the world's most developed countries. He still talks to me as if I'm in the best place on the planet. I think there has been a huge shift in sentiment towards migration since his generation, which moved out of India in the early 2000s for better career opportunities.

I've come to realize that I crave stability and family more than anything. If I can find a job in India, where I'm a citizen, I would not mind relocating even though I've never lived there. I'd be relieved knowing that nobody can deport me, I can move jobs, and I can be close to family.

Editors note: The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider for this story.

Read the original article on Business Insider

I'm a startup CTO and the H-1B Visa helped launch my career. It's not perfect — but there are a lot of misconceptions about it.

15 January 2025 at 01:07
Portrait of Arun Prasad Jaganathan
I have been in the US for almost 14 years. So it would be tough for me to shift back to India and build something from there again.

Arun Prasad Jaganathan

  • Startup CTO Arun Prasad Jaganathan has been in the US for almost 14 years, mainly on an H-1B Visa.
  • He said the application process isn't easy and companies don't sponsor applicants to fill spaces.
  • The system has flaws, but there are misconceptions about H-1B employees contributing to the economy.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with
Arun Prasad Jaganathan
, CTO of workforce platform Jugl. He is from Coimbatore, India, and now lives in Prosper, Texas. His identity, work experience, and visa status have been verified by Business Insider. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I have been in the US for almost 14 years. I built most of my career here. I have my family here. I have my home here. So it would be tough for me to shift back to India and build something from there.

I wanted to come to the US to experience the technology innovation firsthand. The US adapts technology faster than anywhere in the world.

I completed my computer science and engineering degree in India and got an offshore position at global tech services company Cognizant. Eventually, they wanted me to come to New York because they felt like my presence in the US would help them build a better product and train them to scale their processes. So I came in on an L-1B visa, which is for an intra-company transfer to help on a project. Then, I applied for the H-1B Visa.

H-1B is mainly for high-skilled workers. It helped me gain more product and business knowledge because it gave me first-hand experience working with US businesses.

I'm in the process of acquiring permanent residency now, but the H1-B visa has helped me grow from my role at Cognizant to lead and architect at nThrive to managing advanced technology projects at KPMG. Now, I am leading technology and product for the startup Jugl.

It's not easy to get

To get the H-1B Visa, I needed to show a lot of documentation, including my degree, rรฉsumรฉ, and job offer. I also needed a very good support letter from the client my company served, arguing the need for me to be placed in that location. The first time, I also had to go for an interview with a US Citizenship and Immigration Services officer once the documents were submitted.

Every three years, you have to go through the same process. If there was no premium processing, which costs more, it took around three to six months to get my renewal. With premium processing, it takes about two weeks.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services scrutinizes every application. Companies don't hire H1-B talent just to fill spaces. They are very cautious about whom they sponsor for H-1B and they make sure that it's the top talent.

There are also regular audits from USCIS. They come and visit the companies and interview them. They audit employees. They ask questions to make sure they are placed in the same roles that they were submitted in the application.

The system has flaws โ€” but there are misconceptions

The H-1B Visa system isn't perfect. However, I would not agree with the misconception I've heard that the H-1B visa is causing job losses. Any process will have loopholes, and they're working toward fixing them, but how fast they are going to do it is a question of the administration and other government functions.

Another argument is that H-1B employees don't contribute to the economy because they don't pay taxes. H-1 B employees pay taxes and insurance, have 401Ks and IRAs, and contribute back to the economy because they buy homes and cars and invest here in the US. I have a home, wife, and kids. I trained people already in the US. I helped them gain knowledge, build teams, develop products, and grow companies.

USCIS is making adjustments. The lottery system is little bit more difficult now because it's not just about skill level, it's more about luck. Now, because there is a lottery system, people with better skills might be frustrated.

In the last couple of years, many people were applying through different companies for a higher chance of getting picked in the H-1B lottery. USCIS understood this was happening, so they updated their system.

There is still room for improvement. For example, USCIS increased wages H-1B employees have to make and also increased sponsorship fees. The downside to it is companies have less incentive to hire.

With the startup I work for now, if we cannot find the talent we are looking for in the US, we have to hire H-1B candidates. But at the early stages of startup, it is a higher cost for us to hire H-1B workers. The H-1B process involves paying the attorney and legal fees as overhead, in addition to the high salary we need to pay compared to local talent.

Now other countries are catching up, like China and India. If H-1B is becoming tougher for workers they're going to open startups where they can build those products. Or, multinational corporates are going to open centers in locations where they can find people like in India, Mexico, Canada, and many other places.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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