U.S. is still the best country for immigrants

Let me just start by saying this:

Trump is temporary, immigration is forever.

On Jan 20, 2017, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. He has openly criticized Mexican immigrants, promised to make a wall on the south border, proposed bans on Muslims, and wants to limit legal immigration. He clearly doesn’t like them. As he assembles his team, they are proposing changes to make it harder for skilled workers to get H-1B Visas (largely by increasing the minimum salary from $60,000 to $100,000). The idea is that this visa is being abused by outside consultancy firms and higher salaries will make employees costly to these employers and hence they will hire more people locally.

These are some of the high level views that Trump and his team have about immigrants and their proposals reflect the same.

Many immigrants in the U.S. are afraid of Trump’s stance and if he acts on the promises he made during the elections, it’ll be difficult for immigrants (legal and illegal) to stay in the country. Illegal immigrants face fear of deportation, Muslims are afraid of racial profiling/being added to a ‘registry’, and skilled workers are worried about losing their jobs.

Immigrants are now more uncertain of the future than ever before. They don’t know how their lives will be changed under the new administration. A lot of immigrants who were previously thinking of moving to the U.S. are second guessing their decisions. I have started receiving messages from friends in India asking me if they should come to the U.S. They are scared about policies related to education, work, and establishing citizenship in the future.

There have been reports of Trump supporters attacking immigrants. Minorities, people of color, and immigrants are worried if their kids will be harmed or this behavior will increase in the future. It will become less safe for them to be in the U.S.

There are other problems too, the most important of them being insufficient medical care. U.S. has the world’s most expensive healthcare system. The minimum wage is not enough for parents to raise their kids on, there isn’t enough social security policy and whole bunch of other reasons why U.S. may not be suitable for immigrants anymore.

In spite of all this, I strongly believe that U.S. is still one of the best countries in the world for hard-working immigrants. I can say this because I have lived in other countries including England and Germany.

I strongly believe that U.S. is still one of the best countries in the world for hard-working immigrants.

About a million immigrants move to the U.S. every year. They still believe in the “American Dream”. According to PEW Research Center, immigrants believe more in making it in the U.S. than American citizens. They see themselves moving to and living in the U.S. for a long time.

Here are some of the reasons why I am bullish on the U.S.

• Innovative DNA — There is something different about U.S. and I think that it’s their risk taking and innovative culture. It’s not just in the Bay Area (where I am) but in general, people in the U.S. are fairly open to risk. They use and adopt new products much faster than people in other countries, new trends start here, they are not shy of moving on to something better. I found it to be one of the most positive things about this country. It is fairly difficult to replicate and it’ll be decades before other countries come anywhere close.
• Visa Regulations — I have tried to live in other countries. I’ve tried to get long-term employment visas in England and Germany. Compared to the U.S., their process was a lot more difficult. It’s difficult to find employers who’ll sponsor and if you do, there are a ton of restrictions. For e.g. In England, there are 5 tiers of work visas — Tier 1 to Tier 5. These visas are either extremely difficult to get, have a lot of government intervention, or restrictions that make it difficult to work in the country for long term. My company in Germany required my employment to be approved by their employee union before they could send a request to the government and guess what, union didn’t approve a person who wasn’t a German citizen or a European Union citizen. Even though there are caps, the process in the U.S. is a lot more straightforward.
• Employment Opportunities — If you are a hard working individual who wants to make a better life, then U.S. is THE country for you. U.S. offers incredible opportunities for people who want to hustle, work hard, and achieve their goals. There are opportunities for many sectors especially technology, healthcare, consulting, and construction. There are a huge number of jobs for you if can show that you can deliver. U.S. has less hierarchy than a lot of other countries and practical experience is valued over academic certifications.
• Entrepreneurship — U.S. thrives on small businesses and immigrants are increasingly starting more of them. 18% of small businesses in the U.S. are owned by immigrants (even though they are 13% of the population). These businesses employed more than 4.7 million people and accounted for 30% of the growth in small businesses. If you want to start a grocery stores, retail, or construction business, U.S. is a much better option than other countries. This is especially good for less educated immigrants who may have some savings and wouldn’t qualify for most professional jobs. Immigrants also start a large number of venture backed companies. 51% of companies worth $1 Billion or more were started by immigrants.
• Cultural Melting Pot — U.S. has people from almost every country in the world. Most big cities are filled with immigrants. New York City is a prime example of that. It has people from 180 countries and people speak more than 800 languages in the 5 boroughs. This is unprecedented compare to any other country in the world. The most important part is that with such a high concentration of immigrants, people are more accepting of new cultures.

These are just some of the major reasons why I am still bullish on moving and living in the U.S. as an immigrant. I know and acknowledge that people value different things in life, but for someone who shares the same values I described above, U.S. definitely comes at the top of the list.

There are many unresolved issues and things to improve, but that’s also the good part. People are constantly working to make things better. There may be some setbacks or pauses to this incredible mish-mash of people from around the world building something together, but it is far from over. No force in the world can stop increased immigration, not just in the U.S. but everywhere.

And remember:

Trump is temporary, immigration is forever.