
Ask HN: H1/L1 folks, how are you coping with the hostile visa environment? - dmode
I am contemplating moving out of the US even though I have been here for 12 years and have an I-140 as my wife&#x27;s visa transfer got denied and my transfer is in trouble. We both work with leading tech companies but in non tech roles.
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6ak74rfy
_how are you coping with the hostile visa environment?_

I have stopped caring. I too work for a leading tech company. The way I see is
that if the US doesn't value my expertise or experience, there are plenty of
other countries that will. For e.g., I should be able to find opportunities in
Canada, Europe or Singapore. Of course, the pay there won't be as high as that
in the US. There could be racism too against me, but I guess that's not so
important because I've faced racial discrimination as a North Indian living in
South India! On the upside though, I'll have more peace of mind and possibly
better healthcare.

I know that moving to some other country from US isn't for everyone. It is
doable for me though, because I was recently married and don't have a lot of
responsibilities.

~~~
marcell
I’m a US citizen/resident and just wanted to say—despite what some people
believe a lot of us are really happy to have you here! With people like you we
wouldn’t have Silicon Valley, Google, Apple, etc. please stay :) if you like
it here.

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anteaters
I got a job in another country.

~~~
justaguyhere
which one?

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rgyco
There are many perspectives to deal with this situation or any other situation
in life. Here are a few. Simple/Practical take – Answer why staying or leaving
matters? Leaving a country after living for a decade can causes many
headaches; financial hardships (outstanding loans), logistic hardships
(Selling assets such as car or house) or disrupts your children’s or spouse’s
education or it significantly changes the work profile you get outside your
current role and social hardships (lower your status among your relatives
because you are back in your home country). There can be many such reasons but
I think these can be broadly classified into two buckets – type-1 – reasons of
habit – we get habituated to a certain lifestyle and friends that changes with
the move and type-2 – it causes certain unavoidable hardships. Bucket the
reasons. Try to proactively mitigate the ones that may cause hardships and
worry little about type-1 reasons – we form new habits and get a new
lifestyle. Historical take – If you read some good history books you will
realize that political and social turbulence in human life is a norm rather
than an exception. Everyone who lives through an elongated period of peaceful
time takes stability for granted. You can consider this as realism or
pessimism but the reality is that things change and we have to accept it. In
Czeslaw Miloszs’ words – “Let us admit that man is no more than an instrument
in an orchestra directed by the muse of History. It is only in this context
that the notes he produces have any significance. Otherwise even his most
brilliant solos become simply a highbrow's of diversions.” It is not a stretch
to always remember the provisional nature of the world. Comparative take – I
am not a big fan of comparing one life with another to lower the gravity of
one’s situation, but I am putting it here if it may help. People go through
hardships and come out better at the other end of it. Read Dostoevsky’s
biography. He was put through a fake execution and sent to exile and he is
still remembered decades after his death. Victor Frankel lived through a
holocaust. Put things in perspective – is moving between countries that bad?
Philosophical take – In Victor Frankel’s (Man’s search for meaning) words –
“They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that
everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human
freedoms— to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to
choose one’s own way.” In Albert Camus’ opinion (The Myth of Sisyphus) – Know
that life is absurd, remember that absurd cannot be reconciled, living with
the absurd is a matter of facing the fundamental contradiction and maintaining
an awareness of it, trying to escape it is struggling against it. Read
Mahabharata or The difficult of being good. This epic is very good in
reminding us that human life is vulnerable. Anxiety, despair, courage, envy
etc. are a part of life. Upholding a balance to be happy is one’s own
responsibility. My choice – I like Camus’/Eastern philosophical take on
dealing with hardships. Consciousness does not form the object of its
understanding, it merely focuses on it. Consciousness is what defines our
world and controlling it is the answer. All this can be condensed into one
simple answer – read books and broaden the perspective of life.

