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Comment by JackPoach | Hacker News Reader

I think this is quite good in a strange way. Nobody was happy about H1-B. Tech companies were complaining that quotas were too low. Skilled workers complained that this is a ploy to keep costs down, especially in academia. I've once heard an American PhD say 'I am not afraid of competing with very smart Chinese or Indian scientists. But they are making me compete with 10 mediocre Chinese or Indian PhDs and nobody can win this competition.' So, why not blow the entire H1-B system up and maybe in 3-5 years, once the crisis is over, something better emerges.

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I am one of those Indian PhDs. Many of my friends are. I suppose it's easy for you and your friend (let's not get into an argument about who's stupider) to sip some coffee and say let's blow it up and wait for a few years when you have no personal effect.

Meanwhile I'm back in India, and completely lost in my mind on where and how I should proceed with my career.

I'm of the view that a country can choose whatever the hell they want about who to let in. Just stick to some rules with some consistency though. I came to America believing that there was a path that works a certain way, and that I could Hope for a better life in America if I follow it and work hard. Clearly your country hasn't kept your side of a gentleman's agreement there.

I suppose your friend is right, we Indian abd Chinese PhDs are idiots to think America is a fairer country than wherever we come from.

You are assuming that I am a US citizen, but I am not. I was once an immigrant too, lived in California for 6 years and ironically wasn't able to get an immigrant visa, because while on J1 visa I was sponsored by US State Department. I had to apply for an immigrant visa in Canada and was just one point short. So I returned to my home country. I was bummed too, my life was totally turned upside down. That was 20 years ago. So I feel you. BUT I am happy my life turned out the way it did. I am 40+ years old. I own my own home. I have zero debt. I have family and two kids. My medical expenses are next to zero (whatever they take out in my taxes). American political leaders, including presidents turned out to be more batshit crazy than the mediocre idiots that are running my home country (and less corrupt, too). So NOT getting a green card was the best thing that happened to me. It turns out that American dream is more dream that American for many people, and living in Eastern Europe is quite good. Sorry for sharing my personal story, but so that you know where I am personally coming from.

I'm definitely glad it worked out for you, I hope you do agree you wasted a lot of time as well though.

I spent a decade doing things in the US and am stuck knowing more about how the system works in the US than how it does in India. All my twenties have been wasted a bit because of this. And India is not the greatest of places to deal with either, though at this point it's up in the air which ones worse! Perhaps that's the state of the entire world as well.

For what it's worth though, in spite of the inequality, healthcare, partisan politics and things, I will much rather still work in the US - it's a more exciting place to be than anywhere else I have ever been

I do, but I am always careful to distinguish my personal situation with the bigger picture. And you kind of have to train yourself to do this. Also, I don't feel that I wasted a single day while living in US. Or, actually wasted a single day I lived in Turkmenistan (lived there for three years as well). Those were totally different experiences, but immensely valuable to me. Either way, I hope your life, personal and professional, turns out to be good whereever you end up living.

It's not really fair, nor professional, to insult someone for having a different viewpoint than you.

Your situation is like many others, and obviously not ideal. The system that you were using was/is blatantly rife with abuse, please don't think everyone who hates H1B is stupid/evil. If there's anyone worth lashing out at, it's all of the 'consultancy' services that have given the program a big black eye.

I agree that this whole thing could end up being good for people stuck in the current system. Personally, US immigration path has become so much less reasonable comparing to Canada's. Hostility is the word I'd describe the system in US.

On another topic, the American PhD's quote doesn't make sense without context. Why "mediocre" scientists are the issue for scientific "competition"? The proportion of top people is always low, scientist or not. It's the system's fault that the whole scientific process becomes a "competition" in my opinion.

Well, you can google Eric Weinstein and read his opinion on H1B as far as academia goes. This Eric Weinstein - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Weinstein

Thanks. Seems like he himself tweeted this document. I'll start with this: https://www.ineteconomics.org/uploads/papers/Weinstein-GUI_N...

This isn't a logical argument. The companies that hire H1-Bs are obviously going to be even less happy now that the quota is down to ZERO.

My argument is not this. My argument is that NEITHER party was happy with the current system. So, in a way, getting rid of it entirely and starting with scratch might be a good thing. I do realize that there's HUGE human costs to people on H1-B visas who will have their lives totally destroyed by this decision. My sympathies are with them.

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