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Foreign-born scientists and engineers are increasingly present in technology companies in the United States. Some of them are immigrants, that is, aliens admitted to the US for lawful permanent residence; others are non-immigrants, that is, aliens admitted to the US for a specific period of time for temporary work. Whether immigrant or non-immigrant, an overwhelming majority of foreign-born scientists and engineers enter the US technology sector through one single H-1B visa program. Using a case study of Indian engineers, this article shows different sub-paths of the H-1B visa program, which leads to significant differences in their immigration, work, and socio-economic experiences. The article is based on the secondary sources and 40 in-depth interviews conducted with Indian engineers working in US technology companies. 

Under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, the H-1B visa allows technology companies to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. This paper presents a case study of Asian Indian engineers on H-1B visas working in technology companies in the United States. They enter the U.S. technology sector through one single H-1B visa program, yet they follow different sub-paths of H-1B visa. Depending on how they enter the U.S. technology sector, Asian Indian engineers differ significantly in their working conditions and socio-economic experiences. The paper is based on both primary data and secondary sources. Primary data comes from a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded study on return migration of Asian Indian engineers from the United States. 

This article presents findings on international research collaboration from a National Science Foundation-funded study with 83 faculty in science and engineering (S&E) who returned to India after studying and working in the United States. These faculty members were brought up in the Indian socio-cultural context, but they were professionalized in the scientific culture of Western academia. When they returned to India to take a faculty position, they knew collaborators in the US with desired skills, including their advisors. Yet, returned Indian migrant faculty face significant challenges in establishing successful international research collaboration with their American peers. Interestingly, this is not the case with collaborators from Europe and other parts of the world with whom they had little connection before moving to India. Findings show some inequities that exist between scientists and engineers in the US and India that pertain to resources and attitudes towards collaboration.