I am in the same boat. Planning to move to Canada next year. I have worked in the Valley for 10 years. Had a great time, but unfortunately the wait for GC is over 20 years now and the administration has signaled that we are not welcome (my H1 was denied for some BS reasons).
H-1B: As immigration furor roils Silicon Valley, Canada smooths way for techies
21–30 of 378 posts
Re: H-1B: As immigration furor roils Silicon Valley, Canada smooths way for techies
#22As horrible as it sounds, in this specific respect, the current US administration has been really fantastic for Canada. More and more new grads are choosing to stay in the country and work with local tech companies, and we're experiencing a reverse brain-drain like never before.
You're saying the brain drain has reversed and now there are more Americans going to Canada than vice versa? Source?
I believe he's making two claims:
1. The magnitude of the Canada -> US migration flow has lowered
2. The magnitude of the US -> Canada migration flow has raised.
Re: H-1B: As immigration furor roils Silicon Valley, Canada smooths way for techies
#23I suppose my comments from yesterdays thread about "Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere" is relevant: I did the math for Toronto(which is more expensive than Montreal, and about the same as Vancouver). For a typical software engineer, taxes take away 25% of gross pay in Ontario while it's over 30% in California and New York. Cost of living is much less(by 30-40% if you rent) in Toronto compared t…
data, groceries and restaurants are 20% cheaper(adjusted for currency)
Why would you adjust for currency when you're paid in Canadian dollars?
Re: H-1B: As immigration furor roils Silicon Valley, Canada smooths way for techies
#24Isn't compensation, even after adjusting for cost of living and health insurance, much lower in Canada than anywhere in the U.S.?
Re: H-1B: As immigration furor roils Silicon Valley, Canada smooths way for techies
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
A friend of mine tells me that one of his biggest regrets from the past handful of years is not having applied for and received citizenship when President Obama was president. He has a misdemeanor (for something that almost every US citizen would consider trivial) from when he was a teenager but because of when it happened and what it is, naturalizing would require a waiver from USCIS in order to proceed (and to not…
Are there any downsides to getting one, outside of perhaps having to let go of one's other citizenships for countries that don't allow it?
The US has tax on all income regardless of residency.
Re: H-1B: As immigration furor roils Silicon Valley, Canada smooths way for techies
#26Isn't compensation, even after adjusting for cost of living and health insurance, much lower in Canada than anywhere in the U.S.?
Yes, though some of that could be a matter of a lack of companies which generate enough market confidence to employ people at the same rates. Even at Shopify or the skunkworks (software architect team) of a major Canadian bank, you're still not going to be compensated at nearly the going U.S. rate.
Re: H-1B: As immigration furor roils Silicon Valley, Canada smooths way for techies
#27I suppose my comments from yesterdays thread about "Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere" is relevant: I did the math for Toronto(which is more expensive than Montreal, and about the same as Vancouver). For a typical software engineer, taxes take away 25% of gross pay in Ontario while it's over 30% in California and New York. Cost of living is much less(by 30-40% if you rent) in Toronto compared t…
Yes and no. For a new grad its still not hard to get an initial job offer in the excess of 200k TC in the Bay. If you're a DINK that's 400k. There are simply no jobs that a fresh grad can get paid that much in Canada. And thats not even factoring in future cash flow from working in the Bay (better prospects, prestige etc).
Also currency, it sucks. Everything is more expensive. You can't get anywhere without 1-2 stops if you're flying.
I'm finishing up my last year at University of Alberta, and there is literally nothing that will keep me here.
Re: H-1B: As immigration furor roils Silicon Valley, Canada smooths way for techies
#28While many in the comments are throwing salary/cost of living/taxes numbers left and right but no one is making a case for extreme winters in Canada vs the Bay Area. I can understand that it might not mean a lot to some but for me it can be a deal breaker.
Re: H-1B: As immigration furor roils Silicon Valley, Canada smooths way for techies
#29I can attest to this. I have three friends who are preparing to migrate to Canada or Australia. Mind you, these are not the typical H1B workers from Infosys. These are smart legitimate people with a masters degree who work at top tech companies. They have no hopes to get a permanent residency in US because of long queues. Renewing H1B is a big hassle. Surely its a big change to pick up your life up and move to a diff…
For first time ever I think - my Employer (again not an outsourcing firm) has started holding immigration Towh hall meetings for all employees on H1Bs. Its like getting called to principal office and you don't know why.
The fear, uncertainty and doubt is very real among all immigrants afaict.
Re: H-1B: As immigration furor roils Silicon Valley, Canada smooths way for techies
#30Canada's aggressively merit based immigration policy has clear advantages in terms of allowing talent in. That said Canadian tech firms still pay way too little.
Some might draw a connection between Canada's open doors policy for skilled immigrants, and the low salaries paid.