Thread by @kaidi_wu

Americans have no idea how difficult legal immigration is for "high-skilled immigrants".

I have 4 degrees incl a PhD. Einstein visa. 250K salary at FAANG. Lived in this country since I was a teenager.

I won't be able to obtain citizenship until middle age

Guide for Intl PhDs🧵

1️⃣ For as much as 🍊decried about undocumented immigrants, he has repeatedly taken restrictive measures on legal immigration, and succeeded in reducing it.

If you're an international PhD who wants to stay in the U.S. for work, brace for a painful road in 2025:

There are 2 major hurdles:

🕳️To work, you need your employer to sponsor your visa.

🕳️To work long-term, you need a green card.

2️⃣ The most common work visa is H1B.

If you get offered a job at a for-profit company, you'll likely need to go through the H1B lottery.

Last year, the chance of being selected was <20%.

If you didn't win, you'd have to say sayorana to your offer and LEAVE the country.

The H1B lottery is just as it sounds. A lottery.

If you won’t bank on a lottery ticket to feed your family, don’t bank on the visa lottery to work in the U.S.

After🍊takes office, expect tighter H1B restrictions and your chance to be even more abysmal than now.

I entered into the H1B lottery 3 times.

Lucked out 1 time, but got laid off shortly after.

If I wasn't applying every single day (while I was employed) and got another job in a month, I would have been deported.

3️⃣ What to do instead?

First alternative to H1B: apply for academic positions or non-profits that grant cap-exempt H1Bs (no lottery).

Caveat: Some non-profits don't like to hire immigrants.

It is unfortunately LEGAL in the U.S. to openly discriminate based on visa status.

I had an editor offer from a prominent scientific magazine.

They withdrew the offer upon learning my nationality:
"if we knew you aren't American, we wouldn't have interviewed you in the first place!"

If I didn't find another job immediately, I would have been deported.

4️⃣ There is a second alternative to the H1B, if you go for private companies:

O-1 "extraordinary ability" visa (no lottery)

If you have a PhD and have been publishing, it's not difficult to hit the O-1 approval criteria.

I've had 3 O-1 approvals.

Living an O-1 doesn't make your immigration experience less stressful.

If your company lays you off, you still have to leave the U.S. in 60 days if you can't find another job.

Here's @iamjohnoliver (lived on an O-1) on his constant worry about not being able to come back:

@iamjohnoliver 5️⃣ H1Bs and O1s are short-term solutions.

To stay long-term without constant fear of deportation, you need a green card.

If you're a PhD, I highly recommend EB1A or NIW:

@RazMarinescu and Andrey Solovyev have excellent tips on DIY-ing without shelling out 10K+ on an attorney.

@iamjohnoliver @RazMarinescu These are self-sponsored green cards, where your livelihood isn't tied to the company.

If you don't, companies will hold your immigration status over your head to extract every ounce of your labor.

@iamjohnoliver @RazMarinescu 5 yrs ago, a Chinese employee at FB unalived himself:

He was repeatedly threatened with losing his visa + deportation if he spoke up against the bullying he endured.

@iamjohnoliver @RazMarinescu 6️⃣ I have an approved EB1A (Einstein Visa/Green Card).

But, there aren't enough green cards for Chinese and Indians.

Even if you've been approved, you can't "get" your green card until it's your place in line.

The "line" has been stuck for years.

@iamjohnoliver @RazMarinescu If you're on a lower-tier green card, it's not unheard of to wait until you're *100+ years old* to get your green card.

2025: Expect the wait to get much, much worse, according to the DOS update last week.

@iamjohnoliver @RazMarinescu 7️⃣ All else fails. Go back to school.

Look up credible "Day 1 CPT" universities.

You'll hemorrhage💰 for a useless degree, but this is your last chance to stay in the country.

If the visa for your new student status gets denied (very likely), you'd have to leave the country.

@iamjohnoliver @RazMarinescu 8️⃣ For immigrants out there: the American Dream is dying

German philosopher Oswald Spengler argued history repeats its cycles of glory:
creation -> growth -> maturity -> demise

Ancient Egypt, China, Roman Empire...

@iamjohnoliver @RazMarinescu @nfergus has long argued the West is on its decline.

I'm starting to think he might be right.

Expect declines in innovation and scientific breakthroughs when you drive away high-skilled immigration. @JoHenrich @mmuthukrishna

@iamjohnoliver @RazMarinescu @nfergus @JoHenrich @mmuthukrishna In the past, immigration attorneys have suggested Canada as a less hostile place for highly skilled immigrants.

Unfortunately, Canada too has tightened its immigration policy.

@iamjohnoliver @RazMarinescu @nfergus @JoHenrich @mmuthukrishna International PhDs: 

North America isn't the only place to realize your talent.

But if you choose to stay in the U.S., expect more delays, more hostility, more headaches in the new year.

It's going to suck ❤️‍🩹 Sorry.

@iamjohnoliver @RazMarinescu @nfergus @JoHenrich @mmuthukrishna Thank you for reading 🙏

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