Visa and its stages man !!!

Thought of writing this post just as an update to the previous one .. My finace's H1B made it through the lottery process !! Whoosh !! Thanks to all of your best wishes and prayers ... However, job is just half done yet !

why you ask ? well the application is stuck in whats called the 'RFE' (Request for Evidence) stage.. To sum up, this is the step where in the USCIS requests additional information from either you or the company you have applied H1 from. Its a long process and still ongoing ... The company we have applied through, is still working on it and hopefully we should know something within a couple of weeks !!

Hopefully will get to post the 'H1B mission impossible - successful !!" soon !!! :)

Play to win an H1B Visa !

Yes ! Starting this year every April 1st, you can play the all new USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immegration Services) Lottery ! And yes, its totally different from the normal lotteries ... If you are the chosen one, you get an H1B visa but even if you lose, you get all your money back !! Do you have it in you ? Do you have what it takes ?

Seriously, this could very well be a new ad for USCIS H1B visa process !! Ok, enough of fun ! But, seriously, isnt this the state of the current H1B application process ? Ok, let me start from the beginning... H1B is the work visa USCIS offers to a US non-resident which allows one to work in US for a period of 3 years at a time. However, you can only apply for a new H1B visa during the period of April 1st - October 1st. Not only that, the total H1B visas given every year is also fixed and called as the 'H1B cap'. This cap is currently set to 65K (This was initially 195K and was changed to 65K in 2004) This appplies for ANY international student and NOT just for Indians.

Well, as most of you might be aware of (if not, read this), this year USCIS received 150K applications on April 2nd itself for the H1B visa. This quota of 65K, the cap was reached on day 1 of the allotted 6 months period !!! And USCIS was expecting another 150K applications to be made on April 3rd. Thats 300K applications, 5 times the quota !! So, USCIS announced that it will reject (!!) all applications made after April 3rd onwards. But that does NOT solve the real problem, does it ?

The real problem is choosing those lucky (!!) 65K candidates out of the 300K !! So, USCIS has decided on a 'random' selection process. All those chosen will get H1B this year and those who are not so lucky (at least) get their money back ...

So what went wrong ? Suddenly how come there are so many applicants ? Well, the market is much better right now ! All the companies are hiring big time !! So, all the Masters students are graduating as early and as fast as they can ... The offshoring is going on but I think its close to its saturation level and hence, the hiring here has accelerated ... Also, already working people are getting married and trying to get their spouses to US on H1 (including me :) ) ... All those who missed out on the opportunity last year are trying it now ... also there are the visa conversions ... H4 to H1, F1 to H1, L1 to H1 and so on ...

You will ask so what ? well, a hard limit of 65k was never gonna be enough .. As more and more people come to US (and there is no limit on the number of F1(student), L1 (exchange work) visas issued), one day 65K was gonna seem like just a small drop of water in front of ocean of thursty people ... Its just that that day is here already !! Sooner that expected ... So, all of the applicants have to play this lottery ... Appplying for premium processing helps in a way as the processing is done faster and you get to know the result faster ! At least, you are informed earlier - accepted or not ! So at least you can act accordingly on your backup plans !

So, hang in there in guys and gals ! My full sympathy is with you ... Will you make it in the 20% ? Unless, USCIS decides to change it back to 195K or more, its gonna be the story every year ... This is funny ... On a normal day, I would never think like this but now I just hope this 'random' selection is as 'random' as the selection for 'bag security check' at the airports !! I am almost confident of getting selected every year - let them make the chances down to 5% :) !!

Well, jokes apart, I myself am trying for my fiance' ! so wish us luck :) ...

Where are we headed ?

It is a world of quickness & swiftness ... 'slow and steady wins the race' just doesnt cut it anymore ... its more like 'fast and accelerating has a chance to win the race ' ... everything around you is about being ahead of time, ahead of everyone around you and if thats not enough, its about being ahead of yourself ! And as they say, this is just the beginning ... Though all this sounds very energizing and very happening, you really need to take a break and ask yourself, where is this going ? Where am I going with this ? Am I making the right decisions or just making quick decisions .. worse enough hasty decisions ?

They tell you, this current world is about you and you only ... whole world centered around you .. its the so-called 'individualism' that matters and nothing else ... while following and creating an identity for yourself, dont you think we are losing our identities altogether ? Identity is merely how many pages of results does google return when your name is typed ... right ? Tell me, how difficult is it for someone to steal your identity these days ? Take any way of communication, emails, phones, letters, online services like orkut ... anything and everything is full with scams and people hacking profiles and stealing identities ... So its NOT about individualism then ... right ? Its more like saving your identity than to make a new one ... thats why you shouldnt put your snaps on orkut .. thats why you shouldnt chat with a stranger ... and the list of dont's just goes on ... If this is just the beginning, then where are we headed ?

They tell you, its about advancement ... Its about moving ahead ... is it really ? Finding new weapons to threaten each other, kill each other and better (rather worse) ways of mass destruction ... is that what the development is all about ? Is it about providing a safe world to everyone or is it about a world filled with fear ? Are we entering the new era of development or destruction ? Why do we still have the hanging sword of global warming then ? I have touched this topic in one of my recent posts as well ! again, where are we headed ?

They tell you, its about being a winner ... and how does one define the term 'winner' ? is it someone who just goes ahead in his life at the cost of his/ her loved ones or by pressing everyone else down ? Or is winner a person, whos good at everything and not just one thing ? Gone are the days of 'jack of all and master of none ' ... you need to be a 'master of all' or if not, 'jack of all' at least to get some kind of recognition ! 'Master of one' is a complete loser ... A winner is someone who has achieved all the wealth at a young age or is it someone who faces life happily and is satisfied ? Do you know what you are ? which category you are in ? again, where are we headed ?

Who cares if you are a good friend, a good person, a good son, a good father, a good mother, a good person overall ? No one has time for that ! Relationships is whats better known as 'networking' these days ! Its about your network and who you know these days than who you care for and who care for you in return ... 'uski pahuch bahut lambi hai bhai, usse bach ke rehna' tells us something .. doesnt it ?

Dont get me wrong... Its not like I am against this whole advancement and this happening age.. I like it too but then I would like to pause for a bit ... think it over .. take some baby steps for a while, give it a rest and then get back in the game with a definite plan ... based on the previous experiences ... I do understand, when there is something positive figured out by 10 ppl after years and years of research, a thousand minds think about how to use it negatively ... there are always dangers while crossing road but we dont stop walking on roads... I am aware of that .. but then if we all become good drivers and pedestrians, we can walk safely ... without fear .. isnt it ? It has to start from one person .. power of one is beyond imagination ...

Life is funny and it gets at you fast .. Its better to be prepared for the rainy day !! You need to be fast for the world and steady for yourself to not outrun yourself .. your thoughts ... your goals .. your life ! As far as I think, thats when you will be a winner !

and yes, I never said its easy ! :)

Trigger: Orkut - Storm Warning by Selma

To Fix or Not to Fix ?

Well, as I said in my previous post, I just love playing Badminton .. If I am not playing Cricket, then I must be on the badminton court ... 3 times a week is pretty good an exercise and its a lot of fun !

But this post is NOT about my love for this game .. rather its about my knack of breaking the racquets every couple of weeks in special situations ... i know, u must be like, what special situations ? right ? Well, when initially I started playing it, I just had one racquet ... and I was really totally fine with it ... then one day, my opponent (who also had just a single racquet with him) broke his racquet during the game and so we had to leave the game halfway ... That was the time when it dawn on me that its not a such a bad idea to have a spare racquet with me ... so the next day I bought one spare racquet and took with me the next time onwards ...

The very next time, I broke my first racquet and got a chance to use the spare one and continue the game without any interruption ... I was sooo very happy that I thought ahead of time !! I got my first racquet restringed within a week and now that became a spare racquet ... within another couple of weeks, I broke the second racquet ... I dont know how it happened. I was really surprised ! but then again I had one more racquet ... so I was happy ...

This time, I wanted to get the broken racquet fixed soon but due to some reasons/busy schedule, I didnt get a chance to do so. Everytime I went to Badminton courts with just one racquet fearing that this only-racquet can break anytime and I will be handicapped ! But thankfully that never happened ... Soon after a couple of months, I got the broken racquet fixed and within the next 2 weeks the first racquet broke !! Again, I didnt get a chance for some time ... Just before leaving for India, I got it restringed ... Now, after coming back, I resumed Badminton and the first day I broke the racquet ...

This time, I was psyched !! I have never broken my 'only' playable racquet so far ... never .. Its only when I had 2 racquets ... only when I had a backup, I 'had to' make use of it ... Whenever I didnt have a backup, It was never needed ! So, I have decided, I am not going to have a backup at all ... I am not going to fix that broken racquet ... let me see if I 'manage-to' break this only good racquet ... I dont know if my decision is right or wrong but I am all ready to find out ...

what do you think ? Should I base my decision based on the experience or common-sense ?

Update 03/06/07: btw, that racquet has not yet broken even after more than 6 weeks of continuous play !! see, thats what I am talking about !!

India and ....

Its been quite sometime since I blogged anything ... the excuse on my end ? 'I am in India' and I am trying to be away from my US-robot-friend 'computer' (hum use pyaar se 'comp' kehete hai :) ) as much as possible ... also the blogspot is more than just 'slow' from my place here in Dombivli ! so anyway, all in all, I havent blogged for more than a month now ... so what was I doing ?

I am in India since Jan 3rd .. and apart from enjoying the 'king-like' stay here, I am watching / following the life here in India ... trying to see whats changed since august 2002 (thats when I left India for US) and no matter how many times I have visited India in last 4+ years, the image thats recorded in my mind is still that of the year 2002... so everytime I visit India, I find it different .. to say the least :) !

The post title 'India and ...' does not mean to add to my excuse list of not being able to blog ... instead I was planning on reviewing a few major things I have seen in the last 20 odd (btw, why do they call 'xx odd' always 'even' if the figure xx is 'even' ? ) days ..there is more to it than whats mentioned below ... before I start, a disclaimer : The following observations are based on parts of India I have visited this time in the timeframe of 25 days ...

1. India and 'FM' : I remember the only thing you could listen to in a car, bus etc in 2002, was songs using personal cd / casette players ... In 2002, 'radio mirchi' was an experiement in its 'infant' stages ... in fact many youngsters (including me) had considered 'radio' as the old-man's only entertainment device .. my parents used to tell me stories of 'binaca geet mala' and all ... but I never came close to listening to radio when I was in India ... but these days, 'radio' is everywhere ... radio mirchi, radio city, red fm etc etc and the list is unending .. and the whole of the young generation listens to it with complete concentration ... girls do 'aaye haye' along with 'anirudh' on radio city or sometimes boys have a 'muskaan' to make them smile ...

2. India and Mobiles : I never had a mobile in India .. it was only after a year's stay in US, I was introduced to the world of mobiles. However, nowadays starting from a high class businessman to a roadside bhajiwali - everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) carries a mobile phone and not just any mobile phone- one with a camera, mms, radio, mp3 player, bluetooth / IR and what not ...

3. India and Traffic : The world-infamous indian driving and indian traffic has been getting worse and worse day by day ... More and more imported cars are getting introduced here with honda, toyora, ford, chevrolet already in Indian markets and as of today, 'nissan' also making its way in ... the traffic is not only because of the cars, but also due to the increasing two-wheelers. Have you been to 'Pune' recently ? just try driving around 10 - 10.30 am there ... its a hell .. as my 'mama' says, 'if you take your hand out to indicate a turn signal, there is every possibility that someone will take that hand along' ! jokes apart but the traffic is just horrible these days ! The traffic was bad then but current state is becoming worse with the increasing vehicles and absence of rules/regulations ...

4. India and Internet : The Internet always meant 'dial-up' and most people didnt even know of any other method of going online. Things have improved drastically. Dial up has been pretty much wiped out and 'broadband' or at least 'high speed' such as cable internet has taken its place. Many things such as bank accounts, reservations, shares etc are available online these days (though with a extra nominal fee). Things are improving and India is getting connected to the whole world in a whole new way.

5. India and Lifestyle : The Indian lifestyle overall has changed quite a bit with the offshoring of US based industries .. also the youth these days does not believe in 'savings' .. its becoming more of a 'spending' economy like the US... youngsters earn enough money these days to live a luxury life including the daily travel via AC buses, spending 1000s rupees on lunch and dinner and discos ... its changing and changing very very fast ... More and more people are interested in show-off work than the actual earnings .. All have mobiles and ipods and what not ... The phrase 'can I afford this ' meant could you buy that thing and have some money left as savings ? and now all it means is whether you can buy it ... and moreover, can you take some money from somewhere (loan etc) and buy it ? feel the change ?

I am sure there are more things to add here and the list is just unending ... I am stopping here for now ... if you feel anything else needs to come in these first five things that changed, do let me know !

Happy New Year 2007 !!

Wish you all a very very happy new year 2007 !!

To Be or Not To Be !

It was a two lane road and I was in the car waiting in the left lane at this red signal - The road was gonna become a one-way road in the opposite direction after this signal and so left turn was only for turning left and right lane for turning right ... In fact the light in front of me clearly said 'Left Only' for my left lane ...

The problem was that I wanted to take a 'U turn ... I mean there was enough space for me to take a 'U' turn ! and especially my small & cute 350z didnt need much space, it could fit anywhere very easily ... so my point was that I would quickly take a 'U' turna and no one would notice ... plus normally in US, if the 'U' turn at some point is NOT allowed, they put a board right there saying 'NO U TURN' ... there was no such board ! so according to that logic, 'U-turn' was plausible ...

Right when the signal was about to turn green, I noticed a 'cop' car standing right in front of me in the opposite direction facing me for their signal to turn green - and I was like, well in general circumstances, I would not even think twice before taking a U turn here but now, why invite trouble right ? I mean, its just plain stupid to take a U turn in front of the cop !! Who knows, may be it is legal, maybe its not !! why find it out the hard way right ? Also, its the end of thr year time ... I have heard, cops also have certain money-quotas to fill up per year and if they are far from that quota, they are on high-alert around the year-end time ! With a sportscar, I am anyway their favourite target !

so I took a left turn instead, went into a shopping complex and took one more left turn then right turn and I accomplished exactly the same thing ... of course wasted(?) a few extra minutes in doing that but definitely saved some bucks ... then I started thinking, just a mere presence of a cop made all that difference in my thinking ... I mean, I should be responsible driver enough to do the right thing irrespective of whether there is a cop or not ! right ? why was cop's presence, just a mere thought that I am being watched changed my thinking ? I was with a friend that time and discussed with him and he also accepted that he'z done similar things many times ... and I am pretty sure we bend the laws or should I say we interprete them the way we like them ... its like we see/hear what we want to see/hear ... but its not the right approach ... definitely not .. we may get away with it a few times but not always ... and its not just for the cop - its about for being a better driver & a better person ...

I think I am a better driver now - not only in terms of driving abilities (I think I always did well on that front ;) ) but in terms of being a law abiding driver ... are you ?

p.s. But believe me it is a kind of a shame to abide by every law (especially the speed limits) with a sports car with 300 hp !! Its tough but I am trying hard :) lets see how far I go !