Lack of support for H1B visa holders from Indian community in US
The status of the H1B programmer has eroded rapidly in recent months. The situation of IT businesses in the US is even more pitiable. Basically it is a case of taxation without representation. Since the H1B programmer is not part of the vote bank, they have been dispensed with summarily. It is plain and simple - some one needs to be blamed for the loss of jobs in the current recession. Well, one can not touch China - they own a huge chunk of the T-bills, and US real estate. The Illegal Alien supporter vote bank can get you into power. so please don't go there. So the winning formula for the job loss blame game is the H1B programmer. One would expect support for this pitiable H1B group from the Larger diaspora of Indian settlers - GCs and Citizens. After all most of the Indians landed here on some visa or the other- F1, L1, H1,B1 J1 anyone and then entered the GC process and further applied for US citizenship. Or they came on some kind of family reunification visa. One would hope that the collective mindset of the noveau Indian Permanent resident/citizen and the old guard would be one of sympathy and of genuine help. So many of our Desis are prominent contributors to the Parties and also important functionaries in the New administration. However they don't see it as their problem. No Indian has said a word. No official of Indian origin has said a word - Action would be too much to ask. The larger Indian community in the US has adopted a "Don't know, Don't care" attitude as far as the H1B person is concerned. Largely, the attitude is 'I am not touched. Why should I bother?...I got my GC about six years back and am applying for US citizenship?", so on and so forth. There are a few associations like TIE that promote entrepreneurship in the US among Asians. They hold meetings on biotech, nanotech and silicon tech...It remains to be seen if they can bring relief to the H1B programmer/company. I believe it was the English poet John Donne who said, 'Ask not for whom the bell tolls...It tolls for thee.' Yes - I believe that the bell of the current H1 crisis is tolling for all of us NRIs in the US, all two to three million of us. Let us not forget our common roots and our shared heritage irrespective of our immigration status - That can not seperate us - Remember, united we stand, divided we fall.
Posted at 09:42PM May 08, 2009 by Ivar Raknahs in General | Comments[0]