I find this stuff so funny after i left. I am a white American in his 40's, and at my new company i work with both American, Indian and Serbian engineers. Believe it or not, they are all competent! Reason why? We don't do H1B, no sponsoring whatsoever. Anyone from another country is kept offshore. Also, we check if the degrees are from a real university and make them take a practical test before we hire them. Not a test like finding if a word is a palindrome, we give random questions that you would deal with on a daily basis.
Suddenly i am surrounded by qualified engineers all over the world!!!! Why? No Indian managers and no one looking for an H1B.
I left Cisco on my own, I saw what it has turned into the past 8 years. Horrible work environment and unqualified engineers with fake degrees from foreign countries are ruining what was once a forward thinking company. I just come here to laugh at everyone now, the salt in this board is beyond compare. If you stay there have fun, but realize the grass is greener on the other side. Not to mention, you can spit and find a job in the valley right now if your skills are up to date. If you are one of those who are looking to find a company to have a career at, those times ended 15 years ago. It took a lot of explaining on my end when they asked me why i was at Cisco for 8 years, nowadays they look for 5 years max at companies in your resume. If you have been at Cisco, or any legacy company for more then 10 years, might as well try to figure out if you can qualify for disability, cause you won't get hired.
Bouncing around is the new name of the game, take a layoff as a gift. Never stay anywhere for more then 5 years, and never, ever think a company cares about you. CA is an at work state, use that to your advantage