Red tape over green cards drives talent away from US
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Many H1B holders don't go back to their home country to visit their family until they get green cards, because of the risk of not being allowed back into the US.
And the wait can be as long as six to 10 years because of the backlog of employment-based green card applications.
During this time, one can not even change jobs without jeopardizing the outcome of the application. Many workers keep silent even when they are mistreated by their employers. The liberty H1B holders can enjoy in the land of freedom is a mirage in many ways.
When compared with the situation of many illegal immigrants, the more highly skilled H1B holders can feel very bitter. Many of the former pay little tax because of their underground status and can sometimes get green card status quickly through claiming political asylum.
This unfairness has been highlighted by a new report released recently by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The report pointed out how highly skilled foreign born workers are overlooked by immigration policy. Employment-based green cards only make up 15 percent of all green cards granted annually.
The cost has already been shown in recent years when many Chinese and Indians, who make up a significant portion of the labor force in the high-tech industry in the US, have grown tired of the waiting and decided to take their skills back to their home countries.
Wang Yingwu, the cinematographer on Dream in Between, a recent Internet movie about Chinese educated in the US returning to China, told me, "Everyone knows some people who have returned to China because the green card requires such a long wait."
Wang graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 2006, majoring in Electronic Engineering. He is still waiting for his green card and is also looking at the possibility of going back to China.
All this comes at a time when many US company and government officials are worried about the lack of home-grown electronic engineering graduates.
With foreign talent flocking home, can US industry manage?
The author is a New York-based journalist. rong_xiaoqing@hotmail.com
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