On Sat, 4 Apr 2009 10:06:07 -0700, Dimitri wrote:

> "sf" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> Watching Fox News at the moment.... another crazy person in Pittsburgh
>> kills.
>> http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/04/...5941238857750/
>> Three officers killed, people say he was a nice guy.
>>
>>
>> --
>> I love cooking with wine.
>> Sometimes I even put it in the food.
>
> :-(
>
> My largest fear is that it is going to get worse much worse before it gets
> better.
>
> I wonder what is going to happen when all the Hi-Tec Visa holders start
> getting laid off - how many are going to want to go back to wherever and
> find a job.
>
> Dimitri

i think a lot are going back voluntarily because the job situation is so
lousy he

March 2, 2009, 12:01 am
The Real High-Tech Immigrant Problem: They¡¦re Leaving
By Steve Lohr

The hiring of immigrant high-tech workers was a heated issue well before
the economy went into a tailspin. So it¡¦s no real surprise that the bank
bailout legislation includes language to discourage banks from recruiting
skilled foreigners on work visas.

It seems to be a political gesture, understandable and probably empty.
¡§Citibank and the others aren¡¦t hiring, they¡¦re firing,¡¨ Vivek Wadhwa, a
former technology entrepreneur who is an adjunct professor at Duke
University, said in an interview Sunday. ¡§It has no practical effect, other
than to make a couple of senators feel good. But it¡¦s a stupid message to
send.¡¨

The real worry should not be smart foreigners coming to take jobs in
America, said Mr. Wadhwa, but all the bright, ambitious immigrants who are
leaving the United States and returning home, especially to India and
China. That is the topic of a report, ¡§America¡¦s Loss Is the World¡¦s Gain,¡¨
to be released Monday, with Mr. Wadhwa as its principal author and the
Kauffman Foundation as the funder.

In the last two decades, Mr. Wadhwa estimates, 50,000 immigrants left the
United States and returned to India and China. In the next five years, he
projects that 100,000 more will make the return trip. ¡§A trickle is turning
into a flood,¡¨ he said.

Economics, not visa headaches, is the main engine of the shift, according
to the two-year research project, which surveyed 1,203 Indian and Chinese
workers who had studied or worked in the United States for a year or more
before returning home. Growing demand for their skills and shining career
opportunities back home were cited by 87 percent of the Chinese and 79
percent of the Indians as the major professional reason for returning. Most
also cited the lure of being close to family and friends.

Most of the returnees were young ¡V- in their early 30s -¡V and nearly 90
percent had master¡¦s or doctorate degrees. And 66 percent said that visa
considerations were not a reason for returning home. ¡§Addressing this issue
is going to entail more than solving the visa problem,¡¨ said Mr. Wadhwa,
referring to the waiting list of 1 million H-1B visa holders and their
families who are seeking longer-term work visas.

<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/02/the-real-high-tech-immigrant-problem-theyre-leaving/?pagemode=print>

your pal,
blake