Sharing a lesser-seen picture of the United States which is all about an agonising years-long wait to secure a green card and win the H-1B lottery, a Reddit user red-flagged the US job market scene earlier this week. Divulging “it’s worse than it looks,” the Indian-origin individual claiming to be an “Undergrad in law from India and a Masters of Law in the US,” shared his insights in the wake of the turbulent conversation surrounding the US and its current tumultuous relationship with international students.
User Severe-East8200 shared how many foreign nationals’ American dream was falling apart at a time when President Donald Trump not only endlessly continues to double down on his promise of mass deportations but is also acting on it. Although his initial campaign vow revolved around illegal immigrants, his recent executive orders have equally threatened the security of international students with legal permanent residency status.
The Indian lawyer on Reddit said that he came to the US for his Masters in Law and only continued to pursue the course because he received a “very hefty scholarship at Top 5 law school.” Although he always intended to come back to Indian after gaining some international experience, many of his classmates were “fixated on getting jobs” in America. Alas, the Indian Redditor now slams the once-extolled American dream as an impossibility.
“There are people with an upward of 10 years of work experience who cannot land a job and it’s extremely concerning,” he wrote online, listing several pointers detailing the harsh truths associated with the experience.
Indian lawyer on Reddit deals out bitter reality check about the US job market
The list begins with claims of “increased racism,” as the Reddit user pointed out how noticeable the “increased hate toward Indian” is. “It’s everything from seemingly harmless reels that casually mock us for being ‘smelly’ or calling us ‘uncultured’ and this has only been on the rise,” he added.
Moving on to the increasing cost of living, he noted that within just a year he has seen the prices of basic essentials sky-rocket. “It really makes everything from planning meals to essentials incredibly difficult and you have to be on your toes.” he said.
Thirdly, hiring freeze for international students. The Indian lawyer highlighted that amid the ongoing mass deportations, “a lot of companies are very hesitant to hire international students with clean backgrounds and stellar resumes.”
He continued, “Study abroad Instagram pages will lure you by pushing new softwares and websites to “land a job in 30 days” but it’s all nonsense.” Having observed a “trend across all field,” he shed light on how even if one does hear back, “it’s likely people telling you that they do not have opportunities.” Additionally, he shattered the popular notion of “I earn in dollars and hence I make more,” saying that most people live “paycheck to paycheck.” Detailing how one doesn’t ‘live’ here, rather ‘survives,’ he also noted “most people on modest salaries only save by making huge cost-cuttings and compromises.”
On the healthcare front, the Indian user also made it a point to share that while one may get free healthcare depending on one’s insurance, “nothing is instantaneous.” He continued, “Good luck if you have to get an X ray or tests done. You may have to wait weeks before finding an appointment. Healthcare quality isn’t the best either and anything out of insurance coverage is going to break your bank.”
Difficult conversation surrounding H-1B visa for foreign workers, F-1 student visa, green cards
But even more importantly, he drew attention to the ‘H1B / green card debacle,’ which he branded a “nightmare.” Informing others that the wait period for a green card is more than 70 years, he disseminated the hard-to-digest reality check: “Not everyone wins the H1B lottery.” Moving past the romanticised vision of living in America – as recorded by influencers online – he shared the whole process was not only very expensive as one would inevitably have to get lawyers involved, but it was also “very very time consuming.” Lastly, he lifted the lid on how things Indians often take for granted, such as food and grocery deliveries, are a “luxury” in the US, and especially unaffordable for most students.
On top of all that, the Indian diaspora, especially those on an H-1B visa and students on F-1 visa, recently suffered a major blow as the Trump administration dissolved multiple oversight bodies, including the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman.
CIS Ombudsman was a problem-solving hub for a variety of issues, “ranging from erroneous rejections of filings and denials to typographical errors on secure documents (such as Green Cards and Employment Authorisation Documents and even mailing issues,” Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, senior director for government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) told TOI. She also noted that the Ombudsman’s office assisted approximately 30,000 applicants last year.
Similarly, Rajiv S Khanna, an Arlington-based immigration attorney disclosed that F-1 and H-1B visa holders often turned to the recently shot down office “when they hit bureaucratic roadblocks within US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that threatened their legal status and livelihoods.”
Trump admin making matters worse for international students
The ongoing narrative in the US surrounding the Trump admin’s crackdown on foreign students has also seen international students being stripped of their visas. AP previously reported that students across leading US institutions, including Arizona State, Cornell, North Carolina State, the University of Oregon and the University of Texas, lost their legal residency status without any significant intimation beforehand. As more and more international students lose their legal status, they’re being exposed to the fears of being arrested and deported. The report further argued that amid these growing anxieties, federal agencies have even deleted student records without consulting universities.
Trump signing a late January executive order resulted in countless students with pro-Palestinian views being smeared as antisemitic or “pro-jihadist.” Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian recipient of the Fullbright scholarship who was pursuing a doctoral degree in urban planning at Columbia University, instantly comes to mind as she was clubbed in the same group of international students at risk of deportation. She eventually fled to Canada after her student visa was revoked.
Student visas revoked
In the same breath, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently announced that the State Department had revoked more than 300 student visas (and counting). Consequently, many received the bitter notification without any warning. Although the Trump admin’s efforts to cancel student visas have revolved around targeting pro-Palestinian protests, the reasons for the continued mass visa cancellations otherwise remain unclear.
“Every country in the world has a right to decide who comes in and who doesn’t,” Marco Rubio said at a press conference. “We’re looking every day for these lunatics that are tearing things up.” When asked to confirm reports of the hundreds of student visas being revoked, the Secretary of State said, “Maybe more — it might be more than 300 at this point. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa.”
In light of the pro-Palestinian campus protests that started last year and the subsequent student arrests that followed, Rubio said, “Why would any country in the world allow people to come and disrupt. We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses.”