The American Dream

In 2022-2023, there were more than 1 million international students in the US. International students pay three times more fees than what the US citizens pay. It is a $40 billion industry. Lately, this trend has been the fastest growing in India. Everyone wants to go to America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand on the pretext of being a student but the real intentions are to find employment and permanently live there. 

There's a proverb in Gujarati, where there are greedy people, cons don't sleep hungry. This greed of foreign lifestyle, countries like America capitalize on this greed. They make you pay three times more money. You spend your father's lifetime of saving and take a huge loan in the hope that you'll live the American dream, find an American job, maybe an American spouse and you'll leave your sucky life in India behind. And when you reach America, you realize they gave student visa to 10 lakh people, but they have a limit on work visa. 

Every year, they give work visa to only 85,000 people. This 85,000 are not just for Indians, for the entire world. Also, this 85,000 is not just for students. A lot of the work visas are used by the MNCs to send their employees from India to America. So, at the end of the day, very few work visas are left for students who paid tons of money to the US universities. More than 90% of the Indian students are not going to find a job in the US. It's simple math. 

It's not your fault. It is foolish to be optimistic that you'll work hard and put yourself in the top 10%. This is not JEE. Top 10% doesn't mean top 10% talented people. H1B visas are given through a lottery system. They receive lakhs of applications every year and they are all valid. Every one of the applicants is qualified to get the visa, but because they only give visas to 85000, they randomly select these 85000 people, through a lottery system. So no, no matter how hard you work, you can't crack it like JEE. 

It's mere luck. It is ridiculous to have a pile of debt on your head and leave it to chance. If you really want to go to America, your best bet is to get a job in an MNC. Work hard and be their top performer. They might select you for an onshore position. However, even in this case, there's a lot to ponder over before making this switch. 

If your company selects you for an onshore position, it usually means that you are a talented and hard-working person. You are already at a good position in your company and making decent money, which means you're already accustomed to a certain standard of living. When you decide to take an onshore position, your standard of living will go down inevitably. You don't know what you're getting into. 

Most people have this optimistic view about America. A job in America! What more do you need in life? I'll tell you what. The chances are you'll get paid half of what an American is getting paid in the same position and/or you'll need to work twice as hard as an American in that position. Let's say you're ready to do that. 

When you land in America, you'll realize what you've gotten into. I'll just summarize it in bullet points. 

1. 1/3 to 1/2 of your salary will go to rent your apartment. 

2. You'll not be able to afford a maid and a cook. 

3. You'll not be able to afford ordering food and groceries online. 

4. You'll not be able to walk in to any specialist doctor or even a general practitioner's clinic. You have to follow strict health insurance rules. 

5. You'll not be able to afford Uber, so you'll have to buy a car or use public transport. 

6. You'll always have a sword of visa hanging over your head. It can drop anytime. 

7. You can't work for a second job to make more money. 

These are the privileges we enjoy in India that we take for granted. 

Last year, when I filed my IT return, I had a total of six sources of income. In America, you can have only one source of income on the work visa, no matter how talented you are. All the laws are designed to stop you from getting rich.

You'll understand the value of your Indian citizenship and India when you go there. This is your country. In India, you have the full freedom to reach your highest potential. Your country doesn't stop you from growing. In America, wherever you go, you'll find closed doors and red tapes because you're not their citizen. They don't want to take their citizens' right and give it to you. I don't blame them.

Imagine if people from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka migrated to India as students, and then took our jobs in the big MNCs. It's the same logic. Just think about it. Despite so many restrictions, Indians have managed to become the CEO of every large tech company in the US, and soon they'll have their first Indian-origin president. If they gave us a free reign, within fifty years, we'd colonize America. 

Indians are way smarter and way more perseverant than Americans. They have to stop us the same way we are trying to stop AI. 

So the point is, think logically before making this decision. Life is hard everywhere and the grass always looks greener on the other side.