“A Custom Lungi” - a literary review

Looks like you are new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Over the years, we’ve watched with great interest the evolution, or rather the lack of it, of desi literature based in the U.S. The following is based on some common trends/threads in desi lit novels - bright [...]

The Macaca Effect

“The Macaca Effect” as I understand it, refers to the George Allen Macaca controversy and the possibility that were it not for that slip, Allen could be 2008 GOP Presidential nominee instead of John McCain. [Wash. Post]
Since we’re on the topic of H1B visas today and the backlash in certain quarters, which often borders on [...]

American jobs being taken by lower paid workers ….

….. lower-paid, highly qualified American (a.k.a not foreign, not Indian, but American) workers, that is. [WSJ]
For long, anti H1B propagandists like Lou Dobbs and Ron Hira (no link love for either) have complained about highly qualified tech workers from India accepting positions in the U.S., for perhaps, a marginally lower pay than their American counterparts.
WSJ [...]

Think H1B. Think Alberta???

Immigration, business and economics work in weird ways. Point in case, Alberta (in Canada for the geographically challenged) is trying to woo H1B holders, while the US immigration policy makers are doing their best to cut down on the number of H1Bs. [Philly.com] [via]
Alberta is wooing H1B holders with cheesy shots of its picturesque downtownimg: [...]

Indian Americans cutting down on basmati?

Indians in India are consuming more rice, while Indian-Americans are cutting down.
More Indians in India are driving, while Indian-Americans are cutting down on their driving habits.
The comparisons between Indians of the des and Indian Americans are strictly anecdotal and may or may not be related but certainly indicative of the times. Personally, over the last [...]

Immigration Update: Premium processing for some I140s, desis held in scam

Premium processing for some I140s
Potential good news for those who’re labor certified but approaching the end of their 6 year quota for H1B visas. Starting today (June 16th 2008), USCIS has announced plans for premium processing for I140 (permanent work permit). [USCIS]
The I140 will be processed within 15 days for a fee of $1000.
Desis [...]

Catwalkers share H1B quota

Trivia question: What does a nerdy pot bellied software engineer from India have in common with a lithe nubile hottie from Eastern Europe who walks the ramps of NYC?
A: Both are here on a H1B visa. [Information Week]
Apparently it’s not just software engineers who’re “stealing American jobs”. Shame on you, oh 5 foot 11 busty [...]

Über Desi follows up

Browsekid Sidhu sent us a tip to this post on the TechRepublic Blogs, that talks about the lawsuit filed by some anti H1B activists in a NJ court. [UD post]
The article written by Toni Bowers, Head Blogs Editor of TechRepublic Blogs had a technicality out of place, unnoticeable to most but significant enough to affect [...]

OPT extension challenged in court

The recent USCIS decision to extend OPTs from 12 months to 29 months is being challenged in court by the anti-H1B lobby. [ComputerWorld]

Share this postDiggdel.icio.usFacebookRedditStumbleUponTechnorati

Openings

Update: Currently, all our positions are full. However, if you’re still interested, submit your request and we will get back in touch with you as openings become available.

We @ Über Desi are always looking for talented and motivated people to join our team. We’re currently opening our positions for guest contributors/bloggers for a short period [...]

H1B rejected? H3 maybe?

At their wits end, faced with the fiasco that is the H1B visa quota and the subsequent random lottery, employers and immigration attorneys are trying to come up with creative alternatives. One of these includes the H3 visa, which has a separate quota and will allow the applicant enter the US as a trainee instead [...]

Million Dollar Baba: 19 year old in India wins baseball pitching competition, to train in US

Rinku Singh, 19 year old son of an Indian truck driver, in India, has won the ‘Million Dollar Arm Hunt’, a talent event to find the fastest baseball pitcher in India, and a trip to train in the US. [TOI Sports] (tip Runa via email)
Roger Clemens who?Make room for winner Rinku Bhramdeen Singh, left, and [...]

H1B applicants to be selected ….. randomly??

Remember the great H1b gold rush from last year? The number of applicants exceeded the allocated quota in less than 48 hours after the USCIS started taking applications. [Über Desi story from 2007]
This year is no different. [NYT]
USCIS had the proverbial application window open for 5 days and received nearly twice the number of applications [...]

17 Month OPT extension for F1 students (Update: Current Information is vague)

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the ridiculously short OPT timeline for students on a F1 visa from 12 months to 29 months. [link] [Press Release] (Sai -> Karthik via email)
“This rule will enable businesses to attract and retain highly skilled foreign workers, giving U.S. companies a competitive advantage in the world economy,” said [...]

The Nanny Diaries

So, sometime during the workday , I get this story emailed to me from a list that I subscribe to (link) .The facts of the story are as under:
A 69 -year-old woman Vilma Serralta is suing her ex-employers, a Bay Area couple who live in the pricey suburb of Atherton. Ms.Serralta claims that they violated [...]

Tancredo quits

Republican presidential candidate, Tom Tancredo, who among other things famously called for an end to the H1B visa program, has quit the presidential race. [link]
While we @ Über Desi are not in the business of (openly) lobbying for any single candidate (except Sanjaya Malakar), keeping in mind the fact that most of us are products [...]

Asok 2.0

Were reports of Asok’s demise greatly exaggerated? Well, yes, if you believe in the ancient Hindu principles of karma and reincarnation. So it seems that he is back from his seemingly temporary stay in heaven. His cloners really did “Make it happen with Snickers” and now he has been reborn in Amreeka with a piece [...]

Flower Power: Techie legal immigrants win a reprieve

Remember when immigrants on a high-tech visa, including a large number of Indians protested against the USCIS by bombarding them with flowers? Well, that seems to have paid off.
Flowers, not brickbatsimg: via TouchdownUSA.org
Before we proceed, please bear with me as I pull a Daunte Culpepper and quote Gandhi again, this time in elation .
“First they [...]

Protesting with flowers

H1B and other legal skilled workers have a fight on their hands for their future in the United States.
Flowers, not brickbatsimg: via TouchdownUSA.org
Faced with a bleak future after the USCIS stopped taking applications for pemanent residency to legal skilled workers in the US, the immigrants are fighting back by sending flowers to the USCIS - [...]

Anatomy of a H1B fraud

via Rediff.
Note: Agent is a H1B pimp and Us denotes the Rediff staff.
Agent: We will get you a fake employer. He’ll file for your H-1B. He will have a proper company and will be a US citizen.
Us: So what happens once we get there?
Agent: The fake employer who files for your H-1B will give you [...]

Amrika, Canada, all the same

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
-Alexander Graham Bell
Immigration desi ishtyle - If you cannot get a US green card, get a Canadian green cardbanner ad from Sulekha.com
Having gone through the [...]

Desi Couple charged with slavery

One of us evil NRIs no less.
Things have come a full circle. Gone are the days when Indians were enslaved by the British and other European powers. Today, Indians are at the forefront of the IT Revolution. Also, these days with the power of Al Gore’s creation at their fingertips, slavemasters can shop for slaves [...]

Desi-crats: Making sense of Elephants and Donkeys

I came across this interesting topic of discussion on Rediff: Why do Indian Americans mostly vote Democrat?
Broadening this question to: “Who do Indian Americans favor Democrats, irrespective of whether they can vote or not?”.

Indian Americans, refers to the second (or later) generation people of Indian origin who were born or raised in the US and [...]

The H1B Saga: Students affected most

As previously reported on this blog, the H1B applications for highly skilled technical workers opened up and the quotas were exceeded in less than a day. The kicker to this story - not all of those visas may go to highly qualified professionals (link via DesiPundit).
From Scaling New Heights blog:
“You know what. This girl who [...]

Good news on the way? Some relief in a recently introduced immigration bill.

You should have seen the recent post on the H1B visa quota expiring in a day and a half. The frustrating part for most applicants is that even if they got their application to the USCIS within the one and a half day limit, their visa is not guaranteed.
But on March 23rd 2007 a [...]