If you immigrate, you emigrate. If you successfully immigrate (let's say in the U.S.), you have skills sought there. Those skills are probably also in demand in your origin country. You'd stand even more of a chance to be one of a few in your home country, gaining status, gaining visibility, turning the tide.
I know I'll probably be flagged for this question, but still: why do this? Why not help your origin country with your knowledge?
Genuine question, since I had the same decision to make and chose to return, in order to help locally.
> Those skills are probably also in demand in your origin country.
That's not guaranteed to be true. Take finance - if you want a career in this field there's only a handful of cities where it makes sense to live and work: London, Singapore, New York, maybe Tokyo.
An exotic derivatives quant won't find much demand for their skills in, say, Almaty.
Similarly, tech workers benefit from being in tech hubs (SV being one example). Oil engineers need to be around oil rigs and so on.
Moreover, standards of living are different in different parts of the world. Levels of corruption, infrastructure development, civic engagement etc are much worse in some places than others. You may have had the foresight of choosing to be born in a well developed country, but many have not.
My priority is providing for myself and my family, not some abstract entity to which I'm linked only through an accident of birth.
If a country offers better work conditions, a better salary, less risk of economic turmoil, better health care, etc. then I'll take the opportunity if it presents itself. I've done it twice and would do it again.
It's not any different to taking a better job offer, whatever that means to you.
> Why not help your origin country with your knowledge?
I moved from Canada to the US in 2007. Things were different then, and the opportunities in the US were unique (I joined Amazon). The longer you stay, the harder it is to return: your network changes, you get used to life in the new place, etc.
I will say that I’ve pondered the question of moving home nearly continuously since moving here and there always seems to be a compromise that we’re not ready to make yet. In the case of Canada, it was often the housing prices in the places where we’d like to live.
You can't think of a single reason why somebody might choose to leave the country they live in, aside from the most obvious one which would be because they could be earning more and be able to obtain a much higher quality of life?
Here are a few others:
- being in a persecuted group that is at-risk or discriminated against in their country of origin (due to religion, race, sexuality, gender, etc.)
- being from a country with a high homicide rate, or some other high risk of violence or danger
- wanting to provide a better education and quality of life for their family
- escaping abusive family or relationships
- Wanting to access companies or institutions where the skilled worker feels they can have a much larger impact through their work
What knowledge? The knowledge people gain by working at a foreign software company? Let Albert Einstein work as a delivery driver in Mumbai and he's going to accomplish nothing. Everything is relative and depends on the given situation.
Because most of the world does not have the infrastructure that the US has, and so they wouldn't be able to benefit society (as a whole) nearly as much.
Because some people are queer or from other minority communities within their home country (e.g. Dalit in India), and would be subject to discrimination, including and up to murder, in their home countries. Asylum only covers the most extreme cases and not the day-to-day discrimination that minorities face worldwide.
Because freedom of movement is an inalienable right that comes with being a human, and borders are inherently oppressive.
Because most of the world is a harsh, dangerous place, and supporting the decisions individuals have made to stay or get out, given the circumstances they're in, is inherently a moral good.
I know I'll probably be flagged for this question, but still: why do this? Why not help your origin country with your knowledge?
Genuine question, since I had the same decision to make and chose to return, in order to help locally.