[JoeAltmaier]

Hurt the sender countries? Maybe in some cases. But in many, opportunities were limited there. They come here, not just for money, but for meaningful work that engages their skills at a challenging level. Good for everybody.

[ha292]

This used to be true in the old days. These days both India and China are extremely hot markets for good software engineers. Europe always had a shortage of developers. They are also not markets where people from other countries can go and work.

So, that means all things being equal, when really good developers leave their countries they are depriving the local market of their talent.

If you think of the equation this way -- when engineers immigrate to the US they are bringing with them the investments that their own countries had made. Outside the US many countries subsidize higher education, especially engineering.

It used to be that the money that these engineers sent back would more than offset the local productivity gains. Given the growth in China and India and the salaries there it is hard to argue that the remittance is a good compensation for this "brain drain".

[grinnbearit]

Being one of those Indian developers, I'd happily switch with you (assuming you're one of those US devs)

Morally we'd both be better off, I would like a better quality of life (subjective I know) and you'd be able to contribute to Indian development.