Tears, Dreams, And Goodbye: How Ananya Joshi's American Dream Slipped Away

Times of India ^ | 10/3/2025 | Education Desk

[ckilmer]

Great point! Americans are illegitimate by definition— unlike everyone Elsa in the world

[kiryandil]

A very thoughtful post, and I agree with it completely.

You wrote: There are plenty of people who have a valid axe to grind with the H-1B process and how it has been used in the American economy.

And of the people I have worked with over the years in technology, I have worked with excellent people of Indian extraction, but it is true, I have also worked with some real duds.

Same can be said of whites, blacks, men, women, Russians, Vietnamese, Filipinos, the list goes on. I never asked their status, so I don’t know. But I will say I worked with a database engineer of Indian extraction who was the best I ever encountered. I would work with or for him any day, any time. Knowledgeable, hard working, congenial, sense of humor-saved my bacon more times than I can count.

Therefore, I am not willing to paint all people of Indian extraction with that same brush some people are, but then again, I have never been victimized by the terrible and anti-American abuses surrounding the use of H-1B visas. I have not walked in those shoes. But I am an American, and I abhor these abuses which must be rectified. And I can fully accept the assertion that these abuses have been used both to reduce IT costs at the expense of American workers AND have been used to fill the upper echelon ranks by Indians who preferentially hire other Indians.

My feeling is, if they are not American Citizens, I have no problem with these H-1B changes. It is all part of re-shoring American expertise and jobs.

We need a thoughtful national conversation on this issue and other related issues - not jingoistic bumper sticker slogans from instigating trolls like marcusmaximus, who is trying to get Free Republic to present itself in a bad light, like the old Democrat Know-Nothing Party.

And doing a good job of it, too...

[kiryandil]

Great point! Americans are illegitimate by definition— unlike everyone Elsa in the world

You forgot the /s. 😉😂😂

[virgil]

Since India has aligned itself with China, surely China will line up to hire Indian tech workers, yes?

[AppyPappy]

I did that for 44 years and I have a horrible memory. I had to tell people “I don’t know the answer but I know where to look it up”. Retiring helped tremendously.

[Cronos]

It is in a way a land of opportunities.

I visited there in the early 90s then in 2006, then 2017. It us changing.

The dirt poor in the villages have improved their lives. They have more opportunities.

The thing is that the next level up to super wealthy status is easier in the US due to flexible laws, etc

[Cronos]

She came on an opt student visa which then allows you to wirk fir 18 months. Then she has to get an h1-b visa. Only after a few years after studying, but while working and living in the USA only then can she apply for a green card.

Citizenship takes even longer

[dadgum]

A troll is a ‘sh*t poster’ who attempts to engage others by first offending them.

[55Ford]

[FLT-bird]

Nothing against her but the American Dream is for Americans. We have plenty of unemployed and underemployed Americans who could fill these roles. We never should have had a program that allowed companies to import hordes of cheap labor to undercut Americans’ wages. Indians in particular did not help themselves by being so clannish in hiring only other Indians and they made it very politically easy for Republicans to effectively end the H1B program the way its been by so consistently and overwhelmingly voting Democrat. Neither party wants to import hordes of voters for the other party.