Indian tech workers in Silicon Valley have protested immigration discrimination

SAN JOSE — As thousands of Central American migrants converge on America’s southern border, the issue of immigration is heating up this week. It’s a fight that often centers on Americans’ fear of losing their jobs. But some immigrants who have been invited here say their skills are in demand and are even resentful of the system.

The thirty or so people who were transferred in San Jose on Sunday were not immigrants seeking entry into this country. They’ve already lived here — some for decades. They are recruited from India to work in the Silicon Valley tech industry using H1B visas. Using H1Bs, employers can legally hire foreign workers with certain skills and once here, they often qualify for a permanent green card within a year or two. Unless you are from India…

“We all applied for a green card and it was approved. The only thing is that we have to wait 150 years to get a green card,” said Akhilesh Malavali. “One hundred and fifty years! I’m going to die. I’m going to be dead when we see a green card.”

There is a cap on the number of skill-based green cards per country of origin and there are so many workers from India, getting one has become practically impossible.

On Sunday, workers protested in front of Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren’s home in San Jose, demanding that she keep her promise to vote for the House. HR 3648 Removes national origin from consideration for a skilled worker’s green card.

“What we are fighting for is basic equality,” Malivali said. “It’s not about where we were born, it’s about what skills we bring to this nation.”

This is important to opponents because with H1B visas, workers who lose their jobs for any reason only have two months to find a new employer willing to apply for a new H1B on their behalf.

“You know, you get fired and suddenly you disappear. You have 60 days to find another job and stay in the U.S. or you’re going to be illegal,” Prashant Prasad said.

Children of workers under H1B must leave the country when they turn 21 even if they continue to work, even if they live here all their lives. As with the green-card situation — which also covers dependents — if an H1B worker dies, their entire family must leave the country.

“Every month there’s a person who passes by,” Prasad said, “and their dependents now all of a sudden – their lives are in chaos because they can’t stay here legally. So, they have to go back.”

It doesn’t seem like the right way to treat an invited guest.

“You do everything right to be here. You are probably among the best in the industry in terms of skill sets,” Prasad said. “But when it comes down to it, they’re stuck.”

Representative Lofgren is the lead sponsor of HR 3648 and Chair of the House Subcommittee on Immigration. The opposition said they wanted the bill to be put to a vote next week.