My journey through the American immigration system as a computer engineer

A really good in depth take on how the U.S. immigration system works for a highly skilled technology worker (Intel,Google,Amazon,Startup) from the point of view of that person.

I think it's really eye opening to me that he still only got a green card so far after 18 years. He's been going thru immigration hoops in the US for as long as it would take to raise an adult.

This is a really good account of the immigration system. I've gone through this myself. My path was significantly easier. As an Australian citizen, I got an E3 instead of an H1B. This is both easier to get and has no uncertainty with a lottery. Technically, there's a quota (10,000 per year) but that cap has never been hit. Also, I'm not born in one of the countries that has a ridiculous long wait like the author.

Still, my green card was delayed by a random audit. They do this deliberately so people don't learn to game the system. At that time, an audit added 18 months to the petition processing so overall my green process took almost 3 years.

The author accurate describes just how arbitrary, uncertain and punitive this process is. His example of having to go get a visa stamp in the Bahamas and potentially not being allowed to reenter the country. It's also worth noting that H1Bs have different reentry permissions based on your country of origin. IIRC a mainland Chinese born coworker told me he could only renenter the US on his H1B for the first year of each 3 year H1B.

The author also portrays the necessity that you need to learn an awful lot about how the immigration system works. All of what he said rang true and I only had one issue with one thing he said.

His move of resigning right when getting his green card is a dangerous one. He mentions this and also mentions how you can be subject to claims of immigration fraud. In his case it was for potentially extending his stay at Amazon. This is true. But immediately leaving a job after getting a green card can come back to haunt you if you ever apply for US citizenship because at that time, possibly years later, they can still view this as visa fraud.

So how long do you need to stay in a job to avoid this? Like so many things in the immigration system, it's unclear. Many lawyers will give you advice to stay for at least six months to demonstrate your intent but this is a discretionary test so there's no hard-and-fast minimum.

Even looking to change jobs (including founding a startup) while your petition is being processed can be a red flag as far as visa fraud goes.

So if anyone is in a similar boat, here's my advice to you: don't even look for jobs in this stage. Get your green card in your hands, celebrate the end of probably a long journey, give it a few months and then consider your options.

Well, I would prefer them to come from the US instead of allowing companies to import cheaper workers from abroad.

What doesn't make sense is putting limits whatsoever.