“We all have applied for a green card and it has been approved. Only thing is, we need to wait 150 years to get a green card.”
Akhilesh Malavalli
The thirty-odd people who marched in San Jose on December 18 were not immigrants demanding to enter this country. They were regular immigrants — some for decades. They were recruited from India to work in the Silicon Valley tech industry using H1B visas. Using H1Bs, employers can legally hire foreign workers who have specific skills and, once here, they usually qualify for a permanent green card within a year or two. Unless, that is, they come from India…
“We all have applied for a green card and it has been approved. Only thing is, we need to wait 150 years to get a green card,” said Akhilesh Malavalli. “A hundred fifty years! I’ll be dead. I’ll be dead by the time we see a green card,” reported cbsnews.com.
There is a cap on the number of skills-based green cards that can be issued to any one country of origin and there are so many workers from India, getting one has become practically impossible.
Even if they maintain their jobs, under H1B children of workers must leave the country when they turn 21 even if they’ve lived here their entire lives. Unlike green-card status — which also covers dependents — if an H1B worker should die, their entire family must leave the country
The workers protested in front of the San Jose home of Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, demanding that she fulfill a promise to bring a bill to the House floor for a vote. HR 3648 would remove national origin as a consideration for getting a skilled-worker green card. “What we are fighting for is basic equality,” Malivalli said. “Treat us based on what skills we bring to this nation and not necessarily based on where we were born.”
That’s vital to the protesters because, with H1B visas, workers who lose their jobs for any reason have only two months to find a new employer who would be willing to apply for a new H1B on their behalf. “You know, there will be layoffs and suddenly you’re lost,” said Prashant Prasad. “You have 60 days to find another job and stay in the U.S. and otherwise you become illegal.”
Even if they maintain their jobs, under H1B children of workers must leave the country when they turn 21 even if they’ve lived here their entire lives. Unlike green-card status — which also covers dependents — if an H1B worker should die, their entire family must leave the country.
“Every month, there’s someone who passes away,” Prasad said, “And their dependents are now suddenly — their lives are in disarray because, legally, they cannot stay here. So, they have to go back.”
It doesn’t sound like the proper way to treat an invited guest, the report said.
******************************************************************
Readers
These are extraordinary times. All of us have to rely on high-impact, trustworthy journalism. And this is especially true of the Indian Diaspora. Members of the Indian community overseas cannot be fed with inaccurate news.
Pravasi Samwad is a venture that has no shareholders. It is the result of an impassioned initiative of a handful of Indian journalists spread around the world. We have taken the small step forward with the pledge to provide news with accuracy, free from political and commercial influence. Our aim is to keep you, our readers, informed about developments at ‘home’ and across the world that affect you.
Please help us to keep our journalism independent and free.
In these difficult times, to run a news website requires finances. While every contribution, big or small, will makes a difference, we request our readers to put us in touch with advertisers worldwide. It will be a great help.
For more information: pravasisamwad00@gmail.com