Judging by reports in the Indian media, recession has claimed a victim, the great American H1B1 dream is dead. [BBC]

It’s true. You see, most Indians, your truly included, are notoriously unimaginative when it comes to career choices, tending to go with the “in thing” in traditional fields. Consequently, interest in the professions of choice, and consequently, the great Indian student and professional immigration, has ebbed and flowed with the economy and the impact of the economy on the traditional fields. Right now, faced with the worst recession in the last 50 years or so, Indian student and professional immigration is at it’s nadir.

Besides, lack of job opportunities, other contributing factors include a hostile political environment, tough immigration laws, Lou Dobbs, and the protracted green card process.

But what news reports miss, is the fact that the seeds of the demise of the American H1B1 dream were sown much earlier this decade by outsourcing of non-tech jobs and the booming Indian economy. As home became more attractive to budding professionals, more and more chose to stay back than chase the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the American rainbow.

Most large corporations have stopped hiring. Those covered under TARP even if they’re hiring cannot sponsor H1B visas. Consultants are finding consulting assignments tough to come by. But there are those thriving in the current atmosphere – entrepreneurs and smaller employers. For years, these smaller companies had to compete with the Microsofts and the Infosyses for a limited number of H1B visas. But now with the bigger corporations scaling back, the smaller companies are finding H1B visas easier to come by for their employees.

The good news is for the first time in years, H1B visas are easy to obtain. Good luck finding an employer who’ll sponsor yours.

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