Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses ...Unless There Are A Lot of Them

As if hating the government weren't easy enough...

So I'm here in D.C. with a few of my old students (who now, joyfully, are actually just known as people) and I've been keeping in touch with them here and there. Most of them are international students (for reasons that are obvious to some) and therefore have particularly interesting stories. Let's take one friend for instance, we'll call him Apu, because if you knew who he was, it'd be funny.

Apu has had a rough year; aside from the general senior year wastedness and I.S. trgedies, he's had to deal with a very sick mother who recently passed away after several months of touch-and-go. Because of the family's religion, she had to be buried within 24 hours, making a trip from D.C. to Pakistan in time for a funeral out of the question. Not only that, but had he been able to afford the ticket and make it there in time to be with his family, there was a chance that he would not be allowed back in the country. You may find this absurd, but it's entirely possible that at any moment Condosleeza Rice (or whoever's actually in charge of this) could determine that we cannot allow any more foreign nationals from a country like Pakistan into the states, regardless of whether or not they were already there before. On top of all of this, Apu was reduced to dealing with the death of his mother (the most important person in a young Pakisani man's life) thousands of miles from home and completely alone.

Several days later, things began to look up for him when he was offered a job with a major company, let's call it Blackboard, Inc., because that's actually the company and I'd like to smear their name now. Blackboard was going to offer him a fantastic salary and benefits (way WAY more than what one would make, in say, Student Affairs, their first year out) and not only that but they would sponsor his H1 Visa application. [An H1 Visa would grant a nonresident alien (for example, an international student who just graduated from college) work status, allowing him or her to work in the U.S. for three years. After three years, the nonresident alien may apply for a different type of Visa (for example an F1 or student Visa) or reapply for H1 status. Having a Visa is different than getting your greencard, as Visas are for temporary things and greencards grant you permanent residence status. You can apply for your greencard under a number of conditions which remain confusing to me. You can get more about greencards and Visas off the Wikipedia, and I can move on with the story.]

This of course, was a wonderful turn of events for Apu and he rounded out his temporary position with some random company, and headed off for a short vacation visiting family in the country, a welcome repreive, I am certain. Apu returned this morning to the news that as of August 12, 2005 the H1 Visas had reached their cap. Meaning there are no more. Fucking hell. The application and $1000 fee were returned to Blackboard and Apu was politely (?) told to try again next year. Which he may do, but will still have to return home during the time his current status (also known as his Optional Practical Training) ends and the H1 begins. This amounts to about 3 months. Not so long unless you are the company who is waiting on your brand new hire to come back from a (seemingly) 3-month vacation. Needless to say, Blackboard's interest in Apu waned, and they rescinded his offer. Apu sits home now, in Prince George's County weighing his options: marrying an American or going to college in Canada. I don't know which is worse.