$9,500 Per Application And Job Restrictions: This H1B Visa Holder Reveals It's Not All That Rosy

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Pune-based climate-tech startup Respirer Living Sciences' founder and chief executive officer, Rounak Sutaria, in a social media post on LinkedIn, weighed the pros and cons of the United States H-1B visa issues to employees.

Sutaria, who has six years of experience with the US-offered H-1B visa, shared some of the pros and cons of the same with young engineers through his post.

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“H-1B visas, being heavily debated right now, are a double-edged sword, more so for the employees than the employer ,” said the startup founder and CEO.

US H-1B visa Pros and Cons

The executive highlighted how the US work visa is employer, location, and job profile specific, and an employee cannot change employers or their job description for the duration of the H-1B visa period.

The US work visa or H-1B visa is valid for three years and is extendable up to six years at the maximum. Highlighting the timeframe of the visa, Sutaria also focused on the costs involved in the application process for both fresh applicants and transfer applicants.

“Both fresh and H-1B transfer applications are expensive. Typical costs involved are ~ $9,500 per application. This is non-trivial fees and can limit the kind of roles that are available to eligible candidates,” he said.

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For all the engineers aspiring to become startup founders in the US, the executive highlighted that people under the H-1B visa scheme will not be allowed to hold a“controlling stake in a company”, so the growth of an entrepreneur will be a long journey rather than a quick one.

Adding to the downsides of the US H-1B visa , the employee will have to leave the country within 60 days of their last day of employment. Sutaria highlighted this point, citing the layoffs in America, which can happen within a day's notice.

“H-1B visa holders have to leave the country within 60 days of their last day of employment. Layoffs in the US happen at a days notice (5pm same day), even if you are employed for several years in the firm,” said Sutaria in his post.

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For the pros, the CEO accepted that in the case of a fresh engineering graduate, the H1B visa option is a“good entry point” for experiencing the American“meritocratic culture, with most iconic CEOs - Elon Musk, Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai and others having started off their journeys via this visa.”

Indians on US H-1B visa

Sutaria also highlighted that every year, nearly 85,000 H-1B are issued, of which 72 per cent are issued to Indians. According to his post, visa fees are a“billion-dollar industry.”

The startup founder advised engineers to consider working in India instead of taking an H-1B visa and moving to America. However, he also acknowledged that America still offers access to“high-risk capital” with the best work culture and a meritocratic society.

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