Comment by zem
1 year ago
some of us are on work visas, so "take some time off" would also mean "wind up your current life and leave the country"
1 year ago
some of us are on work visas, so "take some time off" would also mean "wind up your current life and leave the country"
while i'm sympathetic, it still means you had a great deal going. if/when it ends you shouldn't get pissed off you got the opportunity in the first place - a visa isn't permanent.
to be clear - what i was reacting to was the author's idea that he should reject capitalism and/or start a trade union, after having been a very, very, lucky player of the capitalism game indeed. it pisses me off when people making N multiples of 6 figure incomes start forgetting how lucky they are and how much they personally benefited from that exact system. a laid off googler's worst day is many, many times better than the average guys daily life. in this country, let alone somewhere else.
A visa is not permanent, but it might as well be for Indian and Chinese citizens. The green card lottery can easily take decades. You could have gone to college, got married, had kids, bought a house, and maybe even see your kids graduate college and have kids of their own before you get guaranteed residency in the US.
"Oh you should be happy you had a good thing going" is not something I'd find especially comforting if I was told I needed to rapidly uproot my entire life and leave a country I've spent decades in.
> got married, had kids, bought a house
I lived in the US on a temporary visa and it's wild to me that people would put down roots in any country without a clear path to permanent residency.
When you read the conditions attached to your employer-sponsored non-immigrant visa it makes it pretty clear that you're not in the country to settle permanently, you're there to work for the duration of your visa and that's all.
Some people seem to ignore that and just trust that neither their employer nor the US government will screw them over.
3 replies →
thanks, glad someone understands! (i'm indian and stuck in just that situation)
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>"wind up your current life and leave the country"
Isn't that what so many people do in their own country in order to come to the US on a work visa to begin with?
yes, and trust me, it makes a big difference when it's voluntary and you are in full control the time frame.