I am working currently on F1 OPT and have two more chances left to get an H1B during my STEM OPT extension. (The first attempt was with my previous employer and I did not get picked up). I have seen people who did not get an H1B in all the three chances they had during their OPT. Is it worth worth applying for H1B and then GC, knowing that there is a high likelihood that I won't get picked in the lottery and that GC will take forever (70 years! Who are you kidding!) for Indians? Shouldn't I just get out of the country now, perhaps to Canada or Australia (Have enough points for PR in both places), where there aren't these many uncertainties surrounding PR or citizenship? PS: I don't want to go back to India... Ever. The country has gone to the dogs. Thanks. TC- 200 K YOE - 5 #h1b
Why don’t you like it in India? Whenever I went there for business trips, my first concern was water related issues and finding a place that’s at most half as clean as I can find here to 💩
I visited India for friend’s wedding and the stink starts right at the airport. I been to other Asian and African countries and India definitely ranks at the bottom for lack of hygiene and chaos
I have lived in India for most part of my life. I can live with the stink and the lack of basic infrastructure. I can't live with the regressive social outlook though.
Your pay in the US will be higher, so my advice would be stick around as long as you can, and if you don't get picked move on. The only things you need to verify is that you would still be eligible for PR elsewhere in 2 years and what happens to any retirement savings you may accrue in the US
India is Corrupt Country can’t live there.
Yes try for Canada before gates get closed. Volume of Canada 🇨🇦 PR applications is going higher every year.
Any signs of it getting closed?
Get Canadian citizenship and work in either 🇨🇦 or USA 🇺🇸 on TN visa. I have seen many people doing this. Signs like processing time for PR applications is increasing every year.
Why don't you marry a US citizen and get a citizenship that way? People do it all the time. I hear the rate is only $20-$25k
Because I don't want to?
rate for what?
Few options to secure a green card without the long wait in the US. 1. Become a manager, move outside the US to manage teams there for a year and come back on EB1C. 2. Publish research papers, if you get enough citations you might be eligible for EB1. 3. If you’re rich invest a million dollars for an EB5 visa. 4. Hope that s386 passes. 5. Marry a US citizen. 6. Marry someone not born in India (their PR process would be much faster). Note this also applies to Indian citizens not born in India since green card cap is based on country of birth and not country of citizenship.
Lot of people get H1b picked up in the three attempts, don’t know the stats but knowing people around me I think it should be close to 80-90%. Once the H1b gets picked and green card gets filed, there will lesser restrictions compared to what you have on H1b, though greencard will take 15 odd years. On the other side, Canada and Australia have far fewer career options, and lack the exposure that US tech ecosystem provides. So I would not suggest taking that route.
For regular quota the probability is 65k/200k. For masters it is slightly more because of the 20k reserved spots. 3 chances increases the probability but is still not cent percent.
Definitely more than 15 years. More like 30+ years going by the speed at which it's currently moving. Unless something changes drastically, that timeline is not going to change. Agree about the tech scene in US v Canada/Australia. @OP: I know currently your main priority is getting picked in the lottery but the stress doesn't end there. Extensions and H-1B transfers have become difficult. Shouldn't be your main worry right now but keep in mind that the stress never ends. You'll just learn to live with that stress.
Always keep your options open. US Is not the perfect country on this planet. Every country has pros and cons. If you want to settle in next 3 years, then choose immigration friendly countries
Why not considering going back to India? It’s the biggest democratic country, and it’s soon becoming a superpower.
Modi will make India great again!