Improving US development but forced to live in Canada.

by Clara G. | April 17, 2009 at 08:36 pm

106 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments

[ Sanjay G. Mavinkurve's] case highlights the technology industry’s argument that the United States will struggle to compete if it cannot more easily hire foreign-born engineers.

Normal 0 21 false false false FR X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tableau Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

In the middle of what is considered as the rough economic crisis since 1929, this article takes this opposite view to the common discourse that blames immigration of hurting US economy.

The article tells the story of Sanjay Mavinkurve, a brilliant engineer working for Google, graduated from Harvard, in love with everything that represent the American culture and values but Indian immigrant and married with an Indian immigrant too. The problem comes when US immigration law did not get her wife a visa to work or even live in the country with Mavinkurve. The couple therefore moved in Canada but Mavinkurve has been doing incessant roundtrips weekly to keep working in Silicon Valley and produce wealth for the US. For how long will he be able to handle such a situation?

In Silicon Valley, immigrant technologists are at the heart of the wealth production. But more and more groups complain about increasingly restrictive visa rules that prevent them from hiring the most qualified engineers in the world. Instead of protecting US economy and job market, are the immigration laws actually harming the American development?

To be honest, this is a really, really long article. But the portrait of Sanjay Mavinkurve is really worth it and leads anyone who read his story to question the current immigration laws. And Mavinkurve is not the only Indian expatriate to face numerous and unbelievable administrative complications even when being a tremendous asset for the US competitiveness. This is not only his story but the one of thousand other immigrants. And that is why this article should be read and spread.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon