Why Indian h1b people not moving to Canada ?

Dec 11, 2020 195 Comments

Two things first:
1. I am only referring to Indian employees on h1b
2. Mostly interested in perspective of Indians on h1b

With the recent express entry from Canada, I was expecting an exodus of Indian people in gc backlog.
But so far I haven’t seen people working in big tech moving to Canada.

With the recent remote work options, will you take it over the uncertainty of the usa visa system?
If not, what stops you from moving to Canada.

Note: the s386 bill will likely never get passed, and if ur falling for that carrot, May peace be upon you ✋🏻

#workvisa #h1b #canada #remotework

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TOP 195 Comments
  • VMware
    breakupfb

    Go to company page VMware

    breakupfb
    tc, opportunities, talent — 🇺🇸

    tc in India is better than Canada for talented folks, so many people rather move to India.
    Dec 11, 2020 16
    • OP
      I guess younger people don’t think about these things and are more supportive of US (and India) irrespective of the visa issues. I recall being the same a few years ago.
      Middle aged folks understand that life happens and things change and root more for QOL and certainty, even if they take some TC hit.
      Every time I visit India, it gets even harder to imagine that one can settle down there.
      Dec 12, 2020
    • C2FO
      sudo fu

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      sudo fu
      vmware, why would you want India to become the same depressed cesspool high on pills and struggling with loneliness like US of A?
      Dec 13, 2020
  • Google
    rumntomic

    Go to company page Google

    rumntomic
    I moved after being on H1 for few years :
    1. The weather and cold is mad. Please do not underestimate this at all! It will wreak havoc on your social life, mental well-being etc
    2. Canadian cities are very very sparse on cultural activities IMO or just activities in general. Outside restaurants and bars there’s zero stuff to enjoy
    3. Only 2 cities you can actually think of living- Vancouver and Toronto
    4. There’s basically 10-15 companies here to roatate from.
    5. Healthcare and real estate are out of control. You will not find a family doctor in Toronto/Vancouver period.
    Moving here was an incredibly bad decision. I’m hoping to move back the next few months .
    Dec 11, 2020 11
  • Harsh winters, high taxes and low compensation in the Canada. Whatever you make snd save in US in 5 years in most of the tech jobs , it may take 15-20 years in the canada. Canada is more suitable for someone who is in non tech jobs or looking immediate for their own startup or business. Otherwise US is much better in every sense even with visa uncertainty.
    Dec 11, 2020 32
    • Snap
      Hfwh6

      Go to company page Snap

      Hfwh6
      "We know for a fact that Toronto and Vancouver rents (especially after converting for currency, since we're doing that) are much less."

      Uh no they are not without converting, my rent here is only $100 more than it was in Toronto, there were places available that were cheaper than I paid in Toronto too that I didn't like as much.

      "Dude, I'd actually like you to find someone that's paying 1%, let alone 0.75%. it doesn't happen in the bay area."

      I don't live in the bay area. I live in LA, where all of them nearby look like 0.75% according to the estimates, it is not rocket science to look at the estimate and divide it by the price. I don't know how the bay area differs.

      "I think I've already shown its nominal. You implied it's not nominal because you don't have to pay property taxes or health expenses, but you are paying higher rent. For everyone who pays property taxes, or has a family thus has higher health expenses, it evens out."

      You have in no way shape or form shown it's nominal, and even if you had that would still be the single highest tax state... I do not pay noticeably higher rent and even assuming 1% is more accurate for property taxes that is still only 0.4% over Toronto and Toronto has literally double the sales taxes. I just got my 2021 benefits guide today, the plan I am on is also free for spouse and kids! The most expensive plan Snap has with only $450 deductible (split among all family members) is $156 per month for spouse and kids. It sounds like you just have bad plans available at Oracle but maybe Snap has shockingly good plans even for tech idk...

      "1. Which numbers are being fudged? I am not talking about huge uncovered medical bills, literally just having a spouse and/or kids is enough to spend 3-10k in medical expenses. I am talking about deductibles, co-pays, saving for HSA, etc, all the usual stuff people do. Your insistance that property tax rate being only off by 0.15% is getting annoying. If you want to continue believing that, go ahead, especially after what I provided above."

      Lmao all of them. You are literally like 12k per year? Close enough! Your medical costs you are claiming are higher than if I hit the out of pocket maximum for the family plan every year. You are counting the property tax fully as if Canada has none and you have completely ignored Canada's double sales tax, literally almost double Ontario is 13% Quebec actually is more than double I think they're 15%. They also charge that sales tax on the new carbon tax, tax on a tax... Canada also has no tax deductions for mortgages (although there are tricks for that) and charges up to 5% of the home sale price (In Toronto if it is over 2 million, probably closer to 3.5% on the average house) up front as a tax. That could make up 10 years of the property tax differences right there. And if you ever want move you pay it again. I don't think California has a tax like that as far as I can tell. California is the closest state for sure but I really don't agree with it being "similar", it is not higher and it is literally the highest of all states.

      "2. Yes, "a lot of states" have similar taxes to Canada. I didn't qualify that with states where tech workers tend to live, but that's essentially it - it's the states where tech workers tend to live. Perhaps the only exception is WA and Texas, although from my understanding Texas property taxes are absurdly high."

      I mean Washington and Texas have the most tech jobs next to California and maybe New York as far as I know so... You are basically saying California and New York do and that's half of the major tech states so now it's a lot. I still don't agree with that but that's at least a lot better than just a lot of the states in general.

      "Affording houses in both Toronto and bay area is very difficult. In Toronto your combined family income probably needs to be 180k+, and in bay area probably 300k+."

      Yeah, 180k can afford an average Toronto house if you have 250k down which will take a good 5 years even as a careful saver on 180k income. Canada has much stricter mortgage rules and higher down payment requirements. The thing is though Toronto median income is like 60k lol. Bay area has around 100k median income, the pay to house cost ratio is a lot closer than it seems.
      Dec 16, 2020
    • Amazon / Eng
      VzWd31

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      VzWd31
      Unsubscribe :-/
      Dec 16, 2020
  • I mean Canada isn’t this utopia that everyone keeps talking about. I mean Canadians come to us to work for a reason. Less opportunity, lower comp, dead cold most of the year. If US kicks you out, the next best option is India (for H1Bs). Just like US, not everyone in Canada likes immigrants. Having worked in Canada, I can assure you people don’t want you there and make sure to spell it out.
    Dec 11, 2020 9
    • Workday
      bayrock

      Go to company page Workday

      bayrock
      1. With kids is my first point. Working as an adult is easy, see what your kids will face in school which is not in Bay Area especially if they’ve spent some years in India.
      2. Yes, Canada is just GTA and Vancouver. I’ve no clue about rural Canada. Will take your word on it.
      3. Bay Area can’t be compared to NYC. Bay Area is an outlier in terms of ethnicity.
      4. If comparing apples to apples, NYC can be compared to GTA and GTA is no different in its welcoming nature.
      Dec 11, 2020
    • Google
      rumntomic

      Go to company page Google

      rumntomic
      Workday- most of my viewpoints were as Single person in various American cities and Canada. I agree - it’s a different ball game when you have kids and I can’t comment about that
      Dec 11, 2020
  • 1. Lower salary
    2. Higher tax.
    3. Less opportunities
    4. Bad weather.

    Just PR is not enough for most folks.
    Dec 11, 2020 4
    • Amazon
      gujohu

      Go to company page Amazon

      gujohu
      Healthcare expenses for high income w2 earners are covered by their employers providing insurance though. Not sure why you'd compare it to Canada taxes.
      Dec 14, 2020
    • Oracle
      ByoE85

      Go to company page Oracle

      ByoE85
      In a some cases - it depends company to company and on personal situation. If you are single, on an HSA plan, and don't contribute to your HSA, your costs will be very low.

      In all other cases, you are looking at anywhere from 3-10k annually depending on company and personal situation.
      Dec 16, 2020