An American citizen named Nathan Platter has sharply criticised the H-1B visa system — essential for a career path for Indians in the United States — as the system forced his friend, an Indian woman, to leave the USA after she lost her job and could not find another in the stipulated 60-day period.
Platter, a senior data analyst, according to his LinkedIn profile, wrote an anguished post on the online professional network, starting with: “We let her study here. Work here. Pay taxes here. And now we’re kicking her out? My friend is moving back to India after 8 years in the U.S. (4 undergrad + 2 grad school + 2 working) because she couldn’t land a new job in the arbitrary 60-day grace period for H1B visa holders.”
Platter pointed out that his Indian friend did 14-hour workdays; had a STEM degree; and brought value “to her team and her city”.
Despite all this, “she has to uproot her life in Austin, say goodbye to her community, and take all that talent out of the U.S. economy. BACK TO INDIA!” he wrote in the post that got many sympathetic comments.
“This [H-1B visa] policy is ridiculous,” wrote Platter. “We’re educating brilliant minds and then handing them to our global competitors. Startups lose. Landlords lose. Cities lose. America loses. We need better ways to retain international talent. H1B needs a complete overhaul. Not next year. NOW.”
He finished by asking: “What would YOU change about the visa system?”
In response to Platter’s post, commenter Prshant Batra, who described himself as a “fintech operator and angel investor”, took a more moderate view of the H-1B visa system. He said that this was a case of “unfortunate timing”, resulting from an “overflow of talent compared to jobs available in certain industries”.
Batra wrote: “It’s just unfortunate timing. My brother went through the same thing after 2 years of grad school and 9 years of working (and building an entire ecosystem around him). It’s not just the taxes you pay, it’s the time you invest in building your life that you may have to start all over again because you are not the same when you go back after 10 plus years.”
However, he also felt: “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the visa policies as they have been well thought through over the years. It’s the timing and overflow of talent compared to jobs available in certain industries.”
India is no longer the ‘backup plan’
Lakshmi, a “backend developer”, was almost as upset as Platter about the current H-1B visa policy. Upon reading his original post, she commented: “This is exactly why so many talented Indians are packing up and leaving. We’re good enough to pay U.S. tuition, grind through 14-hour days, and pay American taxes… but not good enough to stay?”
About her home country, she said: “India is no longer the ‘backup plan’. It’s one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune are exploding with opportunities. If the U.S. doesn’t want to retain us, fine — India will.”
She added that “for every brilliant mind forced out” by the H-1B visa system, the United States was losing “innovation, startups, and tax revenue” and India was gaining “highly educated, globally experienced talent ready to build the next unicorns”.
Seemingly unfazed by the visa-related departures of Indians in the United States, she wrote: “So yes, the U.S. needs to fix the H1B system. But if it doesn’t, don’t worry. We’ll just take that brainpower back home and let America compete with what it lost.”
