Indian manager on H-1B opens up about bias and growing resentment at work: 'I feel hated for things I didn’t do'

Hindustan Times ^ | 11.6.2025 | Bhavya Sukheja

[libh8er]

I am guessing he is a Google employee since Google follows the L1, L2, L3... nomenclature.

[V_TWIN]

Honestly I don’t get the blowback the Indians are getting......of all immigrants, they seem to fly under the radar the most.

If they’re illegals sure, but I just don’t get it.

[ClearCase_guy]

“I don’t know when being Indian in tech turned into something people resent,” he concluded.

Mid-1990s for me. Thanks for asking.

[Brian Griffin]

Keep your boss happy for cause, and be happy.

[FreedomPoster]

Go talk to a white guy who has been in tech for the last 25-30 years about it.

[Zathras]

The anger has been there for 25 years.
Clearly he wasn’t paying attention to anyone but Indian engineers.

[SJSAMPLE]

“Recently, I see so much anger toward Indians in tech. Online, people say we only hire our own, or that we bring the caste system here.”

Yes. I’ve seen this firsthand. I’ve even had other Indian employees complain about caste hiring practices.

[FLT-bird]

Plenty of the H1B Indians I've worked with and met have been good people. I have no doubt there is definitely some of the caste system they brought here and there I've seen how much they favor other Indians over anybody else. That's undeniable. Yes, some are unqualified and scammed their way in too. For many of them though, I don't blame them for wanting to move to a more civilized/clean/nice country and get paid more than they're used to getting paid back home. If I were in their shoes, I'd probably feel the same way.

That said....I'm an American and hell yes I resent that companies and corporate interests were allowed to run this scam for 35 years to steal jobs from Americans and depress White Collar wages with cheap foreign indentured servants. I'm disgusted this was ever allowed. It definitely should not have been.

Its like when somebody said to me that if I were some poor dirt farmer in central America I'd want to illegally enter the US and get paid more than I could back home too. I agree I probably would if I were in their position. But I'm not in their position. I'm in my position and I don't want my country invaded nor do I want corporations being allowed to screw American workers over by flooding the market with cheap foreign labor. That's good for the company but terrible for workers and ultimately terrible for the country.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

One mulls over the American laws which created these classes of visas, and then reviews how many politicians supported this, and, now that the wind blows in another direction, will start chattering on in an opposite manner. None of these quoted in various media would be here, without having gone through a very normal and lengthy naturalization process, were it not for all those decades of politicians’ backsides in politicians’ elected seats creating and supporting the system.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Poor baby.

“I still feel like I live in India as my social circle is mostly Indians” — and whose fault is that?

I see Mexicans hanging around with Mexicans, blacks with blacks, Chinese with Chinese, Indians with Indians all the time. When I was working, they all hung around together and didn’t make much effort to mingle or assimilate.

[cuban leaf]

Back in the 90’s I was a COBOL programmer. A friend from COBOL school (back in 1982) was a manager at the same company. Yeah, he moved through the ranks faster than me. Anyway, after I became a contractor and moved on to greener pastures in contracting, we had lunch one day and he told me something interesting.

He told me about looking at a row of desks all occupied by contractors. He told me that some were Americans and some were Indians on visa. The Indians were actually somewhat more productive and “hungry”. But here was the amazing part: He said the americans billed at $75 an hour, while the indians billed at $17.50.

So, what did that mean for me? It meant that by the late 2000’s I had migrated to Project management and Business analysis. The reason is simple: They were both communication intensive, and I knew Indians would have a hard time migrating to that role. And it served me well until my retirement four years ago.

But in the “FWIW” lane: I really enjoyed programming and was DAMNED GOOD AT IT! I hated project management and business analysis...but it paid the bills. Also, by the last few years of my career I was doing what they now have a name for: I was quiet quitting.

[FLT-bird]

Honestly I don’t get the blowback the Indians are getting......of all immigrants, they seem to fly under the radar the most. If they’re illegals sure, but I just don’t get it.

Those in the H1B program are legal at least. There is definitely a certain arrogance on their part though and voting overwhelmingly Democrat means I don't have any sympathy. I want them gone.

[steel_resolve]

Because you never had to work under one

[escapefromboston]

The hate is going to have to increase before we get real action from politicians to remove Indian invaders from America.

[AZJeep]

I’ve even had other Indian employees complain about caste hiring practices.
________________

I even remember there was some lawsuit, claiming job discrimination of lower caste Indians (Dalits?) in the US companies.
The Indians I knew, were almost all from the highest caste (brahmins), few from the second highest caste.
Nobody below that!

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Unable to care.

[dfwgator]

I am guessing he is a Google employee since Google follows the L1, L2, L3... nomenclature.

---

Let’s not be L7.

[dfwgator]

And now with AI, in essence, prompts are the new code. Proficiency in English is more important than ever.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

You are sitting at your desk when your boss calls you in to tell you that you are being replaced by a person from India who you will have to train to do your job if you want severance and unemployment.

The company CEO who is, strangely enough, also Indian wants more "diversity".