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Don’t waste your time and money trying to keep up with U.S. immigration.

Unshackled #11: All your options if H-1B does't come through.

Published about 1 year agoΒ β€’Β 4 min read

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Hi [FORMATTED_FIRST_NAME GOES HERE],

Happy Wednesday. ✨

Soundarya here, from Unshackled. :)

In case you were thinking of applying, the H-1B lottery ends in a day, and you should know the results by the end of this month. As a reminder, check out Formally which helps you apply for the H-1B lottery for $1.

Also, a big welcome to the 75 new members who joined our newsletter since last week. It’s great to have you. Thank you if you forwarded this to a friend last week. πŸ’š

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This week's TL;DR

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πŸ“Œ Stories you should know about


​How the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank could affect immigrants​

Last Friday, California’s banking regulators closed SVB Financial group, marking the largest bank failure since the Great Recession. Besides SVB employing more than 4000 employees, this collapse also affects other startups that employ immigrants. Further, the effects of its collapse could also impact the overall job market, especially in the venture capital sector.

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​Could the 60-day grace period be extended? ​

A presidential advisory sub-committee met yesterday to discuss many topics, one of which was the 60-day grace period. The 60-day grace period was introduced in 2015 by the Obama administration to give immigrants some leeway between jobs. But, it's not enough, especially when the entire tech industry is suffering layoffs. Ajay Bhutoria, who is part of this committee, recommended that the government extend this 60-day period to 180-days. I'll keep you posted based on new developments in this!

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​A brief history of H-1B lotteries since electronic registration​

The electronic registration process went into effect in 2020. In March 2020, there were 274,000 registrations. In the first lottery drawing in March 2020, 106,100 cases selected. In the second lottery drawing in August 2020, an additional 18,315 cases selected. In March 2021, there were 308,000 registrations. There were three lottery selections in March, July, and November. In March 2022, there were 483,000 registrations. In the first (and only) lottery selection, there were 127,600 cases selected. Given the history, it's very likely that there will only be one selection this year.

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🎁 Resources curated for you


​All your options if you don't get picked in the 2023 lottery​

As the lottery season is creeping up, it's a good time to begin thinking of options other than the H-1B to be prepared, since your chances could very well be 1 in 5 this year. In this guest post by Legalpad, we've laid out all of your options if you don't get the H-1B. This includes the cap-exempt H-1B, O-1, L-1, F-1, and more. Check it out! If you're thinking of beginning your O-1 process, feel free to use this referral link to book a free 30-min consult with Legalpad!​

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​Is EB-1A still the best option for Indians with recent retrogression?​

The short answer: yes! As per the FY 2023 visa bulletin, folks born in India looking to apply for adjustment of status through the EB-2 and EB-3 categories are facing significant delays. An EB-2 green card in India’s cut-off date is May 1, 2012. While for EB-3, India’s cut-off is August 1, 2012. While these dates suggest 10-11 years, the actual wait time for a green card may take much longer. So despite the recent retrogression, an EB-1 is still the best option for you, if you're willing to put in the effort to build a compelling profile!
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πŸ’‘ None of the information shared in this newsletter is meant to be legal advice. If you're looking for legal advice, speak to a lawyer, or hit reply and let me know so I can connect you with one.

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πŸ“• What's the latest on Unshackled?


I got sick yesterday, and it's only been getting worse (writing this newsletter took a lot longer since I had to take rest in between looking at a screen!). But, I'm trying to not freak out or feel guilty about falling behind further.

The past week has been a mix of editing and research. My friend, Rishabh, is helping me write the first and last chapter in the book, where we touch on some meta questions, such as: "Is immigrating worth it?", "Why do most immigration bills die?", "Is there a framework to think about immigration?", etc. In the meantime, the designers are on track to finish the illustrations, infograhics, charts, graphs, etc, in the book. And my editor, Anaik, is working through Part 2 of the book which consists of all the pathways.

The last mile seems to extend indefinitely -- but it's been an excellent test in patience and learning to be kind to myself.

Hey, by the way, if you haven't yet, be the 805th person to pre-order the book below. πŸ‘‡

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Thank you so much for reading till here, [FORMATTED_FIRST_NAME GOES HERE]!

Got a burning question? Did you come across a resource that seemed useful? Want to say hi?

Whatever it is, hit reply and tell me more. I read and respond to every email.

And, if you enjoyed reading this email, forward it to one friend. It helps more than you know.

Until next week, stay awesome.

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Yours truly,

Soundarya πŸ’š


πŸ‘€ Fun corners of the internet


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