Another article on H1B visa on CNN yesterday

[TampaChinnodu]

A few hours later, I get a call from an Indian man whom Palmer has been helping. He tells me he is from Hyderabad, another technology hub in India, and was sponsored for an H-1B visa by Tata Consultancy Services.

He fears repercussions at his job in New York and speaks with me only after I agree to withhold his identity.

He says he worked in India for a decade before he came to America on an H-1B and was "body-shopped." He was placed in a job with a published salary of $45 an hour, but after the body shoppers and the outsourcing companies take their share, he only makes about $29.

The man is 45 and has a wife and two children -- 8 and 12. His expenses amount to about $5,000 a month, about $1,000 more than what he takes home. He has fallen into debt and no longer has the ability to climb out of it.

"We cannot save any money," he says. "I have $20,000 in credit card debt, and I owe $15,000 for my car."

"Why don't you go back home to India?" I ask him.

"I do not even have money to buy tickets," he says.

He says he feels lucky, though. At least he is not in a "guest house" waiting for work.

Life, he says, goes on in limbo.

He says he was promised sponsorship for a green card but was asked to pay a $25,000 fee he couldn't afford. I spoke with another Indian H-1B worker in Atlanta who has applied for a green card, but the backlog is so great for Indian citizens that it can take up to 10 years or more. Until then, H-1B workers remain tethered to their employers.

"My dream was to come to America, but I don't want to stay here with this kind of life," the man in New York says. "But I have no choice. I replaced American workers, but I am a victim, too."

[TampaChinnodu]

Just now, TampaChinnodu said:

A few hours later, I get a call from an Indian man whom Palmer has been helping. He tells me he is from Hyderabad, another technology hub in India, and was sponsored for an H-1B visa by Tata Consultancy Services.

He fears repercussions at his job in New York and speaks with me only after I agree to withhold his identity.

He says he worked in India for a decade before he came to America on an H-1B and was "body-shopped." He was placed in a job with a published salary of $45 an hour, but after the body shoppers and the outsourcing companies take their share, he only makes about $29.

The man is 45 and has a wife and two children -- 8 and 12. His expenses amount to about $5,000 a month, about $1,000 more than what he takes home. He has fallen into debt and no longer has the ability to climb out of it.

"We cannot save any money," he says. "I have $20,000 in credit card debt, and I owe $15,000 for my car."

"Why don't you go back home to India?" I ask him.

"I do not even have money to buy tickets," he says.

He says he feels lucky, though. At least he is not in a "guest house" waiting for work.

Life, he says, goes on in limbo.

He says he was promised sponsorship for a green card but was asked to pay a $25,000 fee he couldn't afford. I spoke with another Indian H-1B worker in Atlanta who has applied for a green card, but the backlog is so great for Indian citizens that it can take up to 10 years or more. Until then, H-1B workers remain tethered to their employers.

"My dream was to come to America, but I don't want to stay here with this kind of life," the man in New York says. "But I have no choice. I replaced American workers, but I am a victim, too."

Hyderabad lo full gaa properties konte appu kaaka inka em vuntadi. 

nijam gaa 20k appu vunte evadu ikkada vundadu. ventane back pothadu. veedu veedi pake stories. malli guest house ani mention sesi mesthri gallaki kooda bokka peduthunnadu.