Re:H1-B visa and the need for reform
by djsumdog on Monday January 30, 2017 @12:37PM
(#13523212)
I can speak for NZ. I originally got a Holiday Work visa (if you're under 30, America has several agreements. You can live and work in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland if you just graduated and a few other countries. I highly recommend them).
My holiday work visa ran out and I switched to an Essential Skills visa. I wish I had ticked the other box and gotten "Work to Residence." It cost more but you get a residence without travel restrictions after a few years. You can also apply for a full resident (a few thousand dollars) visa and you become a resident, but with travel restrictions. If you leave for more than six months, you lose it. If you stay past a certain point (I think it was 2 years or something like that), you can apply for a permanent resident without travel restrictions.
The US doesn't have the concept of "Resident without travel restrictions." If a customs agent asks you questions and thinks you don't actually live in the US (e.g. you only visit once a year), you can potentially lose that green card. It's arbitrary though, because the US is only of the only countries that doesn't do a customs check on exit (it's impossible to determine if someone overstays in America, unlike every other developed country in the world).
For most countries, to immigrate you must be on their essential skills list. I've considered getting another Australian visa (I lived there too; holiday work visa only), and the process involves putting in a letter of intent. If you're selected, you can apply. The fees are steep (usually a few thousand dollars), but if you're selected, you get residence and a window which you must arrive by. After a few years of holding a job or being able to support yourself in your field, you can apply for permanent residence.
Immigration without an essential skill is extremely difficult, for all countries. This is a stark contrast to immigration only a few decades ago, when countries like the US and Australia were in desperate need of all types of workers.
My holiday work visa ran out and I switched to an Essential Skills visa. I wish I had ticked the other box and gotten "Work to Residence." It cost more but you get a residence without travel restrictions after a few years. You can also apply for a full resident (a few thousand dollars) visa and you become a resident, but with travel restrictions. If you leave for more than six months, you lose it. If you stay past a certain point (I think it was 2 years or something like that), you can apply for a permanent resident without travel restrictions.
The US doesn't have the concept of "Resident without travel restrictions." If a customs agent asks you questions and thinks you don't actually live in the US (e.g. you only visit once a year), you can potentially lose that green card. It's arbitrary though, because the US is only of the only countries that doesn't do a customs check on exit (it's impossible to determine if someone overstays in America, unlike every other developed country in the world).
For most countries, to immigrate you must be on their essential skills list. I've considered getting another Australian visa (I lived there too; holiday work visa only), and the process involves putting in a letter of intent. If you're selected, you can apply. The fees are steep (usually a few thousand dollars), but if you're selected, you get residence and a window which you must arrive by. After a few years of holding a job or being able to support yourself in your field, you can apply for permanent residence.
Immigration without an essential skill is extremely difficult, for all countries. This is a stark contrast to immigration only a few decades ago, when countries like the US and Australia were in desperate need of all types of workers.