Never deal with ‘ours'

There is a long-standing opinion in the H1B community that at any cost one shall avoid companies founded by ex-USSR people. Such firms are attributed with unhealthy work dynamics associated usually with perverted habits inculcated by the Commies into the previous generations. Well, I tend to believe in this rule (after all, why to leave the country only to come across the same stuff, not to mention my general suspicion of aboriginal inhabitants) but I had not experienced anything tangible to corroborate this theory yet… before the latest news from the company discussed in previous postings.

They kindly informed me that their immigration lawyer had found my diploma wanting in respect of H1B processing requirements. The quoted lawyer assured them that it would not be possible to justify an H1B application with a M.Sc. in EE. Never mind a couple of alternative offers I have had, 7 years in software development (5 of them deliberately in Anglo-Saxon companies) and the sheer number of people with EE and applied physics background in the software business.

Frankly speaking, I am not as much irritated as astonished. There are potential lame excuses for their decision (even if they intended to actually invite anyone in the first place, as opposed to filling their DB with contact info of good people) in abundance but they cited something truly unorthodox.

On the positive side, I will not have to entertain 5-month winters, which was a substantial argument against Chicago.