India-US relations: News and Discussions III

Arjun · Post by **Arjun** » 02 Mar 2017 08:45

Interesting link: https://ucr.fbi.gov/hate-crime/2015/top ... tims_final These are for 2015. 2016 stats will come out towards end '17

Of the 1,402 victims of anti-religious hate crimes:

52.1 percent were victims of crimes motivated by their offenders’ anti-Jewish bias.

21.9 percent were victims of anti-Islamic (Muslim) bias.

4.3 percent were victims of anti-Catholic bias.

4.1 percent were victims of bias against groups of individuals of varying religions (anti-multiple religions, group).

3.6 percent were victims of anti-Eastern Orthodox (Russian, Greek, Other) bias.

3.4 percent were victims of anti-Protestant bias.

1.3 percent were victims of anti-Other Christian bias.

0.6 percent were victims of anti-Mormon bias.

0.4 percent were victims of anti-Hindu bias.

0.4 percent were victims of anti-Sikh bias.

0.1 percent were victims of anti-Jehovah’s Witness bias.

0.1 percent were victims of anti-Buddhist bias.

0.1 percent were victims of anti-Atheist/Agnostic bias.

7.6 percent were victims of bias against other religions (anti-other religion).

Among single-bias hate crime incidents in 2015, there were 4,216 victims of race/ethnicity/ancestry motivated hate crime.

52.2 percent were victims of crimes motivated by their offenders’ anti-Black or African American bias.

18.7 percent were victims of anti-White bias.

9.3 percent were victims of anti-Hispanic or Latino bias.

3.8 percent were victims of bias against a group of individuals in which more than one race was represented (anti-multiple races, group).

3.3 percent were victims of anti-American Indian or Alaska Native bias.

3.2 percent were victims of anti-Asian bias.

1.1 percent were victims of anti-Arab bias.

0.1 percent (6 individuals) were victims of anti-Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander bias.

8.1 percent were victims of anti-Other Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry bias.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Mar 2017 08:58

it seems Jaishankar sir has met the US NSA and put forth our concerns for the safety of temp workers and GCs (ie indian citizens over there). not that this is a magic pill, but 'powers' need to make their concerns known at highest level rather than telling people to 'adjust maadi' like not speaking mother tongue or wearing indic dress in public - thats the start of ghettoisation and cultural demonization not a solution in any shape or form.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Mar 2017 09:09

pravula wrote:Coding tests at port of entry.

“Your visa says you are a software engineer. Is that correct?” the officer asked Omin in a tone the engineer described as accusatory. When Omin said it was right, the officer presented him with a piece of paper and a pen and told him to answer the following questions:

“Write a function to check if a Binary Search Tree is balanced.”
“What is an abstract class, and why do you need it?”

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/software ... -fairchild

while I am far from being a code interview guru, would this work? please saar let me into the promised land

- keep a global var C=0
- do a postorder( Left, Right, Root) traversal of the BST using recursion.
- store the value C in temp at each level before crawling into the left subtree
- every time you go down to the left child C++
- every time you go down to the right child C--
- so at each level when one checks the node value(the then root) as the last step, after doing the left and right subtrees, check that C=temp if the subtree below that root is balanced. C!=temp its not balanced.

--
Abstract class are there in OOP language which are not directly instantiated into objects but useful to define some inheritance hierarchy cleanly and reuse the upper parts of the object tree for common fields, which derived leaf node classes can add their specific stuff to before instantiation?
(I sound like CxO here, throwing arrows in the air)

OmkarC · Post by **OmkarC** » 02 Mar 2017 09:36

^^ How about assimilating perfectly and carrying a gun ? Even those w/ legal visas can carry weapons, though the process is lengthy. Here is the process for H1-B visa holders to arm themselves:

https://www.hooyou.com/news/news070408gun.html

In general, nonimmigrants (such as those who hold F, H, J, O, L status in the US) cannot purchase or possess firearms (including handguns and long guns) in the United States. However, some exceptions apply that allow nonimmigrants to purchase and own guns.

To qualify for an exception, an alien must first establish that he/she is in valid status and has an “A” number or Admission number (I-94 number) issued by USCIS. A nonimmigrant alien must also prove that he/she has been a resident of his/her home state in the U.S. for at least 90 days and will continue to live in that state. Nonimmigrants who wish to purchase handguns will also be required to purchase their firearm in their home state. Nonimmigrants who would like to purchase long guns may do so in any state, provided they meet the local regulations where he/she purchases the long gun.

Once these qualifications have been fulfilled, aliens must prove that they fall within one of the following categories:

An individual who was admitted to the U.S. for lawful hunting or sporting
To satisfy this category, the alien must show an invitation to a competitive target shooting event or sports or hunting trade show sponsored by a national, state, or local firearms trade organization devoted to the competitive use or other sporting use of firearms.

An individual who has been issued a valid hunting license or permit in the U.S.
The hunting license may be from any state, not necessary from the home state in the U.S. Most states in the U.S. sell hunting permits to nonimmigrant aliens.

An individual who has been designated by the Department of State and will possess the firearm in their official capacity;

A foreign law enforcement officer of a friendly foreign government who is in the U.S. on official law enforcement business;
If the above criteria are met, an alien is eligible under federal law to purchase and possess a firearm in the U.S and can submit ATF Form 4473, Firearms Transaction Record with supporting documentation to a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) for firearms purchase.

GShankar · Post by **GShankar** » 02 Mar 2017 09:48

Singha wrote:
pravula wrote:Coding tests at port of entry.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/software ... -fairchild
while I am far from being a code interview guru, would this work? please saar let me into the promised land

- keep a global var C=0
- do a postorder( Left, Right, Root) traversal of the BST using recursion.
- store the value C in temp at each level before crawling into the left subtree
- every time you go down to the left child C++
- every time you go down to the right child C--
- so at each level when one checks the node value(the then root) as the last step, after doing the left and right subtrees, check that C=temp if the subtree below that root is balanced. C!=temp its not balanced.

--
Abstract class are there in OOP language which are not directly instantiated into objects but useful to define some inheritance hierarchy cleanly and reuse the upper parts of the object tree for common fields, which derived leaf node classes can add their specific stuff to before instantiation?
(I sound like CxO here, throwing arrows in the air)

Me thinks, the customs and border officer at desk has no way to understand the code because BST balancing could be done in many languages with different constructs. He may have someone in the background (screenshare, chat, etc.) to verify what might have been submitted.

May be the answer for the definition of Abstract class could be interpreted from the standard definition on file.

abhik · Post by **abhik** » 02 Mar 2017 10:10

May be KJo can suggest a test for WebSphere server administration

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 02 Mar 2017 10:13

abhik wrote:May be KJo can suggest a test for WebSphere server administration

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Mar 2017 10:41

its going to be a tough one if KJo is setting the paper for FOBs

study up boys!

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 02 Mar 2017 11:00

^^^Then we'll make sure to open a KJo-USA coaching centre.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 02 Mar 2017 11:05

^^ It will be like that sergeant in the film Lakshya: "phail, ek dum phail"

(or)

"WebSphere, aur TCS? Kabhi nahi..."

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 02 Mar 2017 11:07

On a serious note, all these shenanigans are bound to impact tourist and genuine business traffic. Any reports on numbers??

Zynda · Post by **Zynda** » 02 Mar 2017 11:12

Are these tests onlee for saaftware immigrants or do other STEM folks also get to enjoy giving another test just before entry in to actual US soil?

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 02 Mar 2017 11:24

^^^Well, Trumpanzee did say he wanted qualified immigrants like Australia and Canada. No worries, coaching centres will pop-up everywhere in India and young kids will have their pictures plastered on large hoardings saying "USA GC ENTRY GOLD MEDAL TOPPER".

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Mar 2017 11:48

in the past I have heard of cobol and C++ tests being given on entry to first time h1 entrants and even in the chennai consulate on visa application!! (not sure how far its true)

ArmenT · Post by **ArmenT** » 02 Mar 2017 12:19

Singha wrote: while I am far from being a code interview guru, would this work? please saar let me into the promised land

- keep a global var C=0
- do a postorder( Left, Right, Root) traversal of the BST using recursion.
- store the value C in temp at each level before crawling into the left subtree
- every time you go down to the left child C++
- every time you go down to the right child C--
- so at each level when one checks the node value(the then root) as the last step, after doing the left and right subtrees, check that C=temp if the subtree below that root is balanced. C!=temp its not balanced.

--
Abstract class are there in OOP language which are not directly instantiated into objects but useful to define some inheritance hierarchy cleanly and reuse the upper parts of the object tree for common fields, which derived leaf node classes can add their specific stuff to before instantiation?
(I sound like CxO here, throwing arrows in the air)

Close saar. A balanced tree can be imbalanced by up to 1 level between the left and right subtrees.

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 02 Mar 2017 14:30

OmkarC wrote: Whether RW whites are right on hating Jews or not, is debatable.

hating another group of people simply for being of that group...? how can that be right?

But have seen the propensity of Jews to cleverly align themselves w/ any victim minority group

and i have seen much worse in terms of stereotypical behaviour (from jewish people) but that does not mean you have to hate the group as a whole

More than a misunderstanding blowing over,

i was being sarcastic

in reality what they want to say is "you are brown and living a better life than me having come to this country after me and so I hate you".

experienced it myself in the US, even if it was done politely

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 02 Mar 2017 14:32

anyone taking bets on jeff sessions politically surviving through this week?

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Mar 2017 15:04

his defence is sound - did not discuss sanctions. who can prove otherwise unless FBI prints that transcript also?

people in congress meet diplomats all the time.

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 02 Mar 2017 15:23

the charge is perjury not talking per se...

vina · Post by **vina** » 02 Mar 2017 15:53

Zynda wrote:Are these tests onlee for saaftware immigrants or do other STEM folks also get to enjoy giving another test just before entry in to actual US soil?

Long long long ago, maybe when many of the Saaftware children here in this Dhaaga were just born and wet behind the ear babies, one of the then "most venerable companies" (the now most venerable company was just about a bachha) in India had spent a huge amount of money in their plant modernisation and had imported a large number of A/C drives for their electrical machines (back then it was all cutting edge stuff.. very chi-chi) from a US major. One of the folks I knew was supposed to be trained as in the ac drives in the US as part of agreement with the vendor. He goes to the US Consulate for the interview with all the papers in order, all triplicated, laminated etc.

The question he is asked at the embassy .

1. What is your designation ?
ans : Senior Engineer

2. Describe what you do ?
ans : I install and maintain power electronics and electrical machines in the company

3. Oh ! Is that so ? In that case, your designation should be "maintenance engineer" . You shouldn't be called Senior Engineer. I am going to change that in your application form.
ans : Ok. (cringing internally)
4. What do YOU know about engineering ? And what is this AC drive thing and why is it needed. Explain it to me in Layman's terms.
ans: Well, I have an Electrical Engg degree from IIT- X . I am not sure if this is easy for a layman to understand. See, what we have is something called alternating current, and speed control an induction motor is a very tough problem, so .. etc.. variable frequency etc.. etc..

I am sure the dingbat in the visa interview counter must have been having a hell of a time hazing that poor guy (she gave him the visa though).

Another point. Class of 1984 thereabouts IIT-M. Out of some 250 students (B.Tech) , close to 190 students had admissions with full aid and assistantship from US univs. No of visa rejects.. 189! No of visa given, ONE . Why ? He got an offer from MIT. The visa officer told him (a then notorious woman with last name Bach , who rejected close to 90%) aww.. thats a great school, I don't have the heart to ding you !

This dear children was HOW the US visas were always were until the mid 90s or so , when they started being liberal and handing out visas by the buckets to IT/Vity munnas and folks who financed their own edu via loans in 2nd ,3rd and 4th tier colleges. If you said, you were financing your edu via a loan , immediate ding! (coz, you were possibly looking to stay back and work to pay back the loan).

So, all in all, back to mid 80s onree. Don't worry. Have Curry. This is how life was, and we still managed to do what needed to be done. And so will the present set. Grow up and stop whining. Suck it up and get on with it.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Mar 2017 16:13

>>when they started being liberal and handing out visas by the buckets to IT/Vity munnas and folks who financed their own edu via loans in 2nd ,3rd and 4th tier colleges. If you said, you were financing your edu via a loan , immediate ding! (coz, you were possibly looking to stay back and work to pay back the loan).

isnt your statement contradictory in part? first part says they became liberal...to folks financing own edu via loans in 2-3-4th tier colleges. second part says taking loan was a instant ding.

i had heard of one sadistic visa officer a woman in kolkata consulate who smacked a lot of iit-kgp hopefuls...my roommates elder bro a chemical engr got rejected. he joined nocil and later iim i believe. maybe this same woman txfered to CCU because this was around mid to late 90s.

I do not think the "toughness" of getting a F1 visa has changed much barring outliers like this woman. if you were from a good instt & going to a good place, chances were high. rest were a hit and miss.

vina · Post by **vina** » 02 Mar 2017 16:48

BACK THEN if you said, you were financing your edu via a loan , immediate ding! (coz, you were possibly looking to stay back and work to pay back the loan).

symontk · Post by **symontk** » 02 Mar 2017 17:21

when I went to visa interview in Chennai 3 months back, they were asking questions for few folks. I believe they ask questions if they are doubting the candidate or finds some kind of discrepancy in the records

One fellow was asked what he knows about project management

Another was asked to pay some k dollars immediately (they came in a family group)

Once your application is vetted by top legal firms of massa, you will get approvals anyway. My interview lasted less than 5 mts and they barely asked any questions

Primus · Post by **Primus** » 02 Mar 2017 17:46

Gus wrote:Sunayana, the unfortunate wife, wrote a FB post that is doing the rounds. Srini seems like a regular brfite.

A very poignant piece. We have all been there. My heart goes out to the widow. May she find comfort and solace and may Srinu's soul rest in peace.

Primus · Post by **Primus** » 02 Mar 2017 18:03

^^^^

I had the 'good fortune' of being asked on arrival at Heathrow by a Brishit Yahoo - 'why do you people come here?'. He said this in an undertone but it was meant to be audible to me. This was in the era before visas were required for entry into UK. He could not stop me as all the paperwork was in order (PLAB exam ticket etc).

What was horrifying was the subsequent experience in the UK of the early 80s. I never knew what 'Paki' meant until then. Racism was overt on the streets and subtle on hospital campuses.

In contrast, I felt I could breathe freely in the US. The contrast was very obvious. Ironic, since one always hears about how the US has always been the most racist nation in the world.

komal · Post by **komal** » 02 Mar 2017 19:57

Singha wrote:his defence is sound - did not discuss sanctions. who can prove otherwise unless FBI prints that transcript also?

people in congress meet diplomats all the time.

He lied under oath. He said he didn't speak with the Russians. He did. All he had to say under oath was that he met with the Russians, etc. He didn't want to admit that.

By rights he should be removed from office and tried.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 02 Mar 2017 20:10

symontk wrote:when I went to visa interview in Chennai 3 months back, they were asking questions for few folks. I believe they ask questions if they are doubting the candidate or finds some kind of discrepancy in the records

One fellow was asked what he knows about project management

Another was asked to pay some k dollars immediately (they came in a family group)

Once your application is vetted by top legal firms of massa, you will get approvals anyway. My interview lasted less than 5 mts and they barely asked any questions

long back in early noughts this one burqa lady at chennai was so notorious for F1 rejections that folks in line would be muttering prayers not to get to her when line moves. She had like 1 or 2 approvals for 10 and the folks would be walking away crying and the rest in line would be shivering

Then there was a period when 221g were issued en masse to spouses for what I guess as extra vetting, running names on databases etc.

Last couple times I went, it was a breeze..hardly 5 minutes. But I did notice some extra questions for blanket L1s and body shop type places.

ranjbe · Post by **ranjbe** » 02 Mar 2017 21:06

Primus wrote:^^^^

I had the 'good fortune' of being asked on arrival at Heathrow by a Brishit Yahoo - 'why do you people come here?'. He said this in an undertone but it was meant to be audible to me. This was in the era before visas were required for entry into UK. He could not stop me as all the paperwork was in order (PLAB exam ticket etc).

What was horrifying was the subsequent experience in the UK of the early 80s. I never knew what 'Paki' meant until then. Racism was overt on the streets and subtle on hospital campuses.

In contrast, I felt I could breathe freely in the US. The contrast was very obvious. Ironic, since one always hears about how the US has always been the most racist nation in the world.

Similar thing happened to my cousin in late 1960's at Heathrow. He had planned to stay in London for a few days, and had a green card by then. When asked if he wanted to stay in England for ever, he replied "Good God no! Why should I want to stay here, I live in good old US of SA!"

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 02 Mar 2017 21:39

Or like my pitashree asked a customs and border patrol gent (Hindi speaking gora) at SFO - when I was on visitor's visa, you asked 'kab jaa rahe ho?' and now when I am on GC, you ask "kahan jaa rahe ho?'.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 02 Mar 2017 21:41

pravula wrote:Coding tests at port of entry.

“Your visa says you are a software engineer. Is that correct?” the officer asked Omin in a tone the engineer described as accusatory. When Omin said it was right, the officer presented him with a piece of paper and a pen and told him to answer the following questions:

“Write a function to check if a Binary Search Tree is balanced.”
“What is an abstract class, and why do you need it?”

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/software ... -fairchild

America has a degree of cockiness and people who get past that are made to feel that they are the best of the best. And that is why so many people who go to the US "find themselves" and feel part of the "Leader of the free world". This, in past years (much less so now) resulted in my own relatives acting cocky and uppity and disdainful of the useless country they left behind and its good for nothing people.

National pride is something that is only now being displayed in India, but that is OT for this thread.

saip · Post by **saip** » 02 Mar 2017 21:48

Lalmohan wrote:the charge is perjury not talking per se...

But the question was 'Anyone in Trump's campaign..." or something like that. He can always say he did not think about himself as part of the campaign even though he said people refer to him as Trump's proxy. 50/50 chance. Now the 'head clown' (Schumer) is asking him to resign. Waiting for Trump's tweet.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Mar 2017 21:50

Ultimately the only place indians need not be mildly apologetic of their colour religion and culture is india itself.

Rest range various shades of grey

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 02 Mar 2017 21:53

How about we come back to topic after these visa reminisces?

komal · Post by **komal** » 02 Mar 2017 22:32

saip wrote:
Lalmohan wrote:the charge is perjury not talking per se...
But the question was 'Anyone in Trump's campaign..." or something like that. He can always say he did not think about himself as part of the campaign even though he said people refer to him as Trump's proxy. 50/50 chance. Now the 'head clown' (Schumer) is asking him to resign. Waiting for Trump's tweet.

He lied under oath. He misled the Senate. He was talking to the Rooskies. But what does truth matter, Schumer is a 'head clown' -- unlike our Dear Leader.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 02 Mar 2017 22:57

New Yorker has a very long article about the Russian hacking into DNC servers.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/ ... w-cold-war

NPR Fresh Air had an interview with the authors last night.

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 02 Mar 2017 23:26

shiv wrote:
pravula wrote:Coding tests at port of entry.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/software ... -fairchild
America has a degree of cockiness and people who get past that are made to feel that they are the best of the best. And that is why so many people who go to the US "find themselves" and feel part of the "Leader of the free world". This, in past years (much less so now) resulted in my own relatives acting cocky and uppity and disdainful of the useless country they left behind and its good for nothing people.

National pride is something that is only now being displayed in India, but that is OT for this thread.

I can't imagine going to live in a country that is so completely racist and dead set against me. Yet so many millions want to do exactly that.

I can only attribute this to the money.

Greed is an extremely powerful emotion.

Still, it must be awful.

I could have have gone to Saudi Arabia for the oil money but screw that, second class resident I am most definitely NOT.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 02 Mar 2017 23:43

TSJones wrote:.....

I can't imagine going to live in a country that is so completely racist and dead set against me. Yet so many millions want to do exactly that.

I can only attribute this to the money.

Greed is an extremely powerful emotion.

Still, it must be awful.

I could have have gone to Saudi Arabia for the oil money but screw that, second class resident I am most definitely NOT.

TSJ, Avoid flame baits.
Caution.

GShankar · Post by **GShankar** » 02 Mar 2017 23:46

TSJones wrote: I can't imagine going to live in a country that is so completely racist and dead set against me. Yet so many millions want to do exactly that.

I can only attribute this to the money.

Greed is an extremely powerful emotion.

Still, it must be awful.

I could have have gone to Saudi Arabia for the oil money but screw that, second class resident I am most definitely NOT.

Bolded line 1: Well, that is misleading smoke coming from the posterior because the status quo is set.

Bolded line 2: Tru dat.

Bolded line 3: It is, though there are different levels of tolerance. It bothers some and other's it doesn't.

Bolded line 4: There is a lot of lies in that. Every war, freedom mission, liberation, etc. are for oil and it's money. For one to say, they want to go back again after the war is, what is the word - rich?

PS: Sorry, just seeing the warning for TSJ. Please remove this post if not relevant

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 02 Mar 2017 23:54

Samir Saran, VP of ORF has an article in TOIlet about why Putin is not fit for 21st Century.

Lot of FUD and not worthy of being published.
Please post a link if anyone can.

And excerpts.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 03 Mar 2017 00:17

there are about 3 mill indians in US? that looks big, but actually really small compared to total population of India. This segment is over represented in brf though.