Can there be a German dream?
Laid-off H-1B workers face making yet another new home in a foreign country
BY CORDULA TUTT
Special to the Mercury News
Silicon Valley's laid-off foreign workers are being courted by countries around the world, maybe most notably by Germany with its tech industry jobs and a program similar to the H-1B visa.
While many workers here are intrigued by the country's job prospects, some worry about its anti-immigrant reputation.
Balaji Narayanaswamy, a laid-off software engineer from India, figures that moving to Germany might be a good idea, even if he earned less there.
``If I get $4,000 here, I have to spend $2,000 alone on rent,'' he says. ``If I get 4,000 deutsche marks there I probably pay less than 2,000 deutsche marks for rent.''
But the 27-year-old Narayanaswamy also admits: ``I do not know anybody who would prefer to go to another place after living here.''
Some here on the temporary H-1B visa might not have a choice. As many as 10,000 workers may have left the Bay Area and returned to India because of layoffs, according to the local Federation of Indo-American Associations.
Even though the European economy has slowed, German companies still are seeking tech workers for a $106 billion information technology industry.
Each week, about 150 foreign workers are granted a German-style ``green card'' that allows them to work for up to five years in the country. Nearly 9,000 foreign workers are employed under the 1-year-old program.
Although Germany is the largest economy in Europe -- making up nearly one-third of the European Union's gross domestic product -- it's facing a shrinking birth rate and a lack of skilled labor in several sectors.
The latest effort to entice skilled foreign workers is a wide-ranging immigration bill introduced earlier this month. It would offer permanent status to highly skilled workers, such as engineers or scientists, and estimates are the plan would attract tens of thousands of highly educated people annually.
Germany is competing with other countries in the global search for talent -- the United States, Britain, France and Canada among them.
Germany must overcome three obstacles in the minds of former Silicon Valley workers: reports from the media and friends about anti-immigrant feeling, the German language and the temporary status given under the current program.
``I feel there is institutionalized discrimination in Germany,'' says Soumik Sarkar, a 29-year-old Indian software engineer who worked in Germany for two years. ``At the same time, the reason that I was able to stay in Germany was because of my German colleagues. These were the best bunch of people that I ever met.''
Sarkar thinks German authorities are biased. ``My most embarrassing moments were when I was singled out from a group due to the color of my skin and asked by police, ``Ihr pass bitte.'' (Your passport, please.)
Stephan Pfisterer, labor expert for the German high-tech trade group Bitkom, says most ``green card'' holders would not be confronted with discrimination or racism, but he admits, ``Everybody who finds himself in such a situation is severely struck.''
Discrimination aside, some Indian tech workers who've spent time in Europe say it was hard to find stores or restaurants carrying Indian food. Some who've lived in Germany also say it was hard to speak to people, given that they knew no German and many Germans knew no English.
German telecom giant Deutsche Telekom, for example, has hired 100 green-card holders, mostly through agencies in India or Eastern Europe. The company would hire more, Telekom spokesman Ulrich Lissek says, ``but they should understand German, our working language.''
Narayanaswamy, however, didn't find language difficulties. He spent six months working for a software company in Mainz, near Frankfurt, in 1999.
``I was happy there and went everywhere,'' he says. ``If I asked people, `Sprechen Sie Englisch?' they smiled and would talk to me in English.''
Narayanaswamy -- who's ``on the bench'' with no customers at STS Software in San Ramon -- is eager to go to Germany. ``My goal is to settle down in Europe,'' he says.
``I liked the people,'' he says of his former colleagues. ``They valued me personally, and they had a professional attitude.''
Some laid-off workers here are reluctant to move from one temporary home in Silicon Valley to another in Germany -- especially since it's unclear whether Germany will adopt a more permanent immigration program. They could move and then be forced to leave Germany when their green card expires in five years.
``Many people from India and China look forward to the (U.S.) green card, not only because it allows you to stay but also to choose where you want to work and live later on,'' says Kun Gao. The 25-year-old Chinese computer engineer was laid off from Oracle in June.
Murali Krishna Devarakonda, a director at Immigrants Support Network in Santa Clara, thinks Canada is a better choice than Europe because it's closer in culture and in distance.
``Germany still has laws that are pretty exclusive,'' he says. To him, the German green card ``is more like a visa; it is marketing.''
German IT companies know about this disadvantage. They are pressing for a permanent solution to attract highly skilled professionals.
``This is as if you shot yourself in your leg,'' says Bitkom labor expert Pfisterer. Bitkom opposes the five-year green card limit.
Gao, who holds an H-1B visa and has lived in the United States for four years, discovered the longer you live in one place the more likely you'll want to stay. ``Now that I have lost everything, I discovered that I liked it here.''
The San Carlos resident is sending out hundreds of résumés to U.S. companies and has applied to a Ph.D. program at the University of Denver.
Her biggest fear about Germany used to be whether she would be accepted -- having in mind media reports on racist attacks -- but her German friends have allayed some concerns. The temporary nature of the German green card is another matter.
The five-year limit might fall if the ruling Social Democratic party succeeds with its bill, but the change would need backing from the conservative CDU/CSU party. Their politicians already have hinted at using the immigration issue against the Social Democrats in next year's election campaign. They argue the government shouldn't adopt an immigration law before solving the country's high unemployment rate.
Devarakonda points to another obstacle to Germany attracting Silicon Valley's H-1B workers: ``The American dream is strong -- have you ever heard of a German dream?''
Laid-off H-1B workers face making yet another new home in a foreign country
BY CORDULA TUTT
Special to the Mercury News
Silicon Valley's laid-off foreign workers are being courted by countries around the world, maybe most notably by Germany with its tech industry jobs and a program similar to the H-1B visa.
While many workers here are intrigued by the country's job prospects, some worry about its anti-immigrant reputation.
Balaji Narayanaswamy, a laid-off software engineer from India, figures that moving to Germany might be a good idea, even if he earned less there.
``If I get $4,000 here, I have to spend $2,000 alone on rent,'' he says. ``If I get 4,000 deutsche marks there I probably pay less than 2,000 deutsche marks for rent.''
But the 27-year-old Narayanaswamy also admits: ``I do not know anybody who would prefer to go to another place after living here.''
Some here on the temporary H-1B visa might not have a choice. As many as 10,000 workers may have left the Bay Area and returned to India because of layoffs, according to the local Federation of Indo-American Associations.
Even though the European economy has slowed, German companies still are seeking tech workers for a $106 billion information technology industry.
Each week, about 150 foreign workers are granted a German-style ``green card'' that allows them to work for up to five years in the country. Nearly 9,000 foreign workers are employed under the 1-year-old program.
Although Germany is the largest economy in Europe -- making up nearly one-third of the European Union's gross domestic product -- it's facing a shrinking birth rate and a lack of skilled labor in several sectors.
The latest effort to entice skilled foreign workers is a wide-ranging immigration bill introduced earlier this month. It would offer permanent status to highly skilled workers, such as engineers or scientists, and estimates are the plan would attract tens of thousands of highly educated people annually.
Germany is competing with other countries in the global search for talent -- the United States, Britain, France and Canada among them.
Germany must overcome three obstacles in the minds of former Silicon Valley workers: reports from the media and friends about anti-immigrant feeling, the German language and the temporary status given under the current program.
``I feel there is institutionalized discrimination in Germany,'' says Soumik Sarkar, a 29-year-old Indian software engineer who worked in Germany for two years. ``At the same time, the reason that I was able to stay in Germany was because of my German colleagues. These were the best bunch of people that I ever met.''
Sarkar thinks German authorities are biased. ``My most embarrassing moments were when I was singled out from a group due to the color of my skin and asked by police, ``Ihr pass bitte.'' (Your passport, please.)
Stephan Pfisterer, labor expert for the German high-tech trade group Bitkom, says most ``green card'' holders would not be confronted with discrimination or racism, but he admits, ``Everybody who finds himself in such a situation is severely struck.''
Discrimination aside, some Indian tech workers who've spent time in Europe say it was hard to find stores or restaurants carrying Indian food. Some who've lived in Germany also say it was hard to speak to people, given that they knew no German and many Germans knew no English.
German telecom giant Deutsche Telekom, for example, has hired 100 green-card holders, mostly through agencies in India or Eastern Europe. The company would hire more, Telekom spokesman Ulrich Lissek says, ``but they should understand German, our working language.''
Narayanaswamy, however, didn't find language difficulties. He spent six months working for a software company in Mainz, near Frankfurt, in 1999.
``I was happy there and went everywhere,'' he says. ``If I asked people, `Sprechen Sie Englisch?' they smiled and would talk to me in English.''
Narayanaswamy -- who's ``on the bench'' with no customers at STS Software in San Ramon -- is eager to go to Germany. ``My goal is to settle down in Europe,'' he says.
``I liked the people,'' he says of his former colleagues. ``They valued me personally, and they had a professional attitude.''
Some laid-off workers here are reluctant to move from one temporary home in Silicon Valley to another in Germany -- especially since it's unclear whether Germany will adopt a more permanent immigration program. They could move and then be forced to leave Germany when their green card expires in five years.
``Many people from India and China look forward to the (U.S.) green card, not only because it allows you to stay but also to choose where you want to work and live later on,'' says Kun Gao. The 25-year-old Chinese computer engineer was laid off from Oracle in June.
Murali Krishna Devarakonda, a director at Immigrants Support Network in Santa Clara, thinks Canada is a better choice than Europe because it's closer in culture and in distance.
``Germany still has laws that are pretty exclusive,'' he says. To him, the German green card ``is more like a visa; it is marketing.''
German IT companies know about this disadvantage. They are pressing for a permanent solution to attract highly skilled professionals.
``This is as if you shot yourself in your leg,'' says Bitkom labor expert Pfisterer. Bitkom opposes the five-year green card limit.
Gao, who holds an H-1B visa and has lived in the United States for four years, discovered the longer you live in one place the more likely you'll want to stay. ``Now that I have lost everything, I discovered that I liked it here.''
The San Carlos resident is sending out hundreds of résumés to U.S. companies and has applied to a Ph.D. program at the University of Denver.
Her biggest fear about Germany used to be whether she would be accepted -- having in mind media reports on racist attacks -- but her German friends have allayed some concerns. The temporary nature of the German green card is another matter.
The five-year limit might fall if the ruling Social Democratic party succeeds with its bill, but the change would need backing from the conservative CDU/CSU party. Their politicians already have hinted at using the immigration issue against the Social Democrats in next year's election campaign. They argue the government shouldn't adopt an immigration law before solving the country's high unemployment rate.
Devarakonda points to another obstacle to Germany attracting Silicon Valley's H-1B workers: ``The American dream is strong -- have you ever heard of a German dream?''
