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Living The American Dream

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Re: Living The American Dream

#21

Post by trustfundbaby »

micahgoulart wrote: post #15
noonespecial wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a fascinating idea I've been kicking around for a while now. What if a country recruited citizens? The US almost did in a way at the end of WW2 and we more or less got a space program out of it.

Canada does that. They actively seek out highly skilled foreigners and offer them opportunity to immigrate to Canada. It's out of necessity since there is a shortage of highly skilled professionals in Canada. Here's a recent article about new initiatives the Canadian government is taking: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Feds+plan+hand+pick+ski...

They've scaled back the Federal program drastically, there are only very few skills which are eligible for immigration and IT/software dev is not one of them

Re: Living The American Dream

#22

Post by throawa »

ebiester wrote: post #18
throawa wrote: post #16

Just wanted to share my story too (throwaway account). I first came to the US when I was 16 on a high-school "exchange" program, which was actually a one-way "exchange" (nobody went to my country from the US), sponsored by the US government in order by promote democracy, American way of life and thinking, etc., across the world, and especially in the former Soviet Union, where I was from. The American plan was to imm…

The J-1, right? I'm frankly surprised you were able to transition away from the H1-B from the F-1. (My partner is in a similar boat, but still on the F-1. I'm currently in his country, and we're hoping that despite him being on the F-1, the accumulated time that he spent in his country totalling two years will be enough to count for the requirement, despite it not being contiguous. The problem is it seems to be all u…

Yes, J-1. :) It's such an obscure corner of the US immigration law chaos, that barely anybody knows about it, except for those that have to live with it. The transition to H-1B from F-1 under J-1 cloud is even more obscure -- it's actually a legal loophole in the law that I think only a few know about. Basically, it's illegal to apply for H-1B visa without first satisfying the requirement, but it's OK to apply for H-1B status while remaining in the country.

Re: Living The American Dream

#24

Post by rdtsc »

throawa wrote: post #16

Just wanted to share my story too (throwaway account). I first came to the US when I was 16 on a high-school "exchange" program, which was actually a one-way "exchange" (nobody went to my country from the US), sponsored by the US government in order by promote democracy, American way of life and thinking, etc., across the world, and especially in the former Soviet Union, where I was from. The American plan was to imm…

Thanks for sharing. Yeah the program was called Freedom Support Act. And you probably had a J-1 visa. That was a great program and I wish there were more of those kind of programs that would bring in kids from other regions of the world.

It is unfortunate about the 2 year requirement for your particular case. Since it was a US govt. sponsored program they paid for your stay, travel and allowance while here. It was not just a program to benefit you personally and to eventually help you integrate into the American society, but rather it was to create future leaders in your country that would support and follow "Western" ideals, and to have you spread your knowledge about the American culture in your own country. As they see it, you have failed that task since you came right back for college.

Re: Living The American Dream

#27

Post by Volpe »

jacques_chester wrote: post #19
noonespecial wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a fascinating idea I've been kicking around for a while now. What if a country recruited citizens? The US almost did in a way at the end of WW2 and we more or less got a space program out of it.

Immigration to Australia is based on a points system. Your chances are substantially improved if you have certain qualifications or experience.

One type of immigration (aka Student/Skilled migration) is based on points.

The rest are a mixture of bribery, and racism. (See parent-contributory, english requirements, etc).

All of the above only get you Permanent residency (You can't vote, or receive non-health related welfare).

Once you can speak and read english fluently you can apply for citizenship.

Hardly a 'points based system'.

Re: Living The American Dream

#28

Post by chives »

throawa wrote: post #22
ebiester wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The J-1, right? I'm frankly surprised you were able to transition away from the H1-B from the F-1. (My partner is in a similar boat, but still on the F-1. I'm currently in his country, and we're hoping that despite him being on the F-1, the accumulated time that he spent in his country totalling two years will be enough to count for the requirement, despite it not being contiguous. The problem is it seems to be all u…

Yes, J-1. :) It's such an obscure corner of the US immigration law chaos, that barely anybody knows about it, except for those that have to live with it. The transition to H-1B from F-1 under J-1 cloud is even more obscure -- it's actually a legal loophole in the law that I think only a few know about. Basically, it's illegal to apply for H-1B visa without first satisfying the requirement, but it's OK to apply for H-…

Nah people know about it, I know at least a hand full of companies (personally, there are certainly others) that use said law to get workers into the U.S. and working for them.

Re: Living The American Dream

#29

Post by jacques_chester »

Volpe wrote: post #27
jacques_chester wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Immigration to Australia is based on a points system. Your chances are substantially improved if you have certain qualifications or experience.

One type of immigration (aka Student/Skilled migration) is based on points. The rest are a mixture of bribery, and racism. (See parent-contributory, english requirements, etc). All of the above only get you Permanent residency (You can't vote, or receive non-health related welfare). Once you can speak and read english fluently you can apply for citizenship. Hardly a 'points based system'.

Granted; but skilled migration is still an excellent pathway to Australian citizenship via permanent residency if you've got desirable skills.

That said, Australians in turn have access to the E-3 visa in the USA, which is a pretty sweet ticket.

Re: Living The American Dream

#30

Post by joe_the_user »

autarch wrote: post #7

This seems like a good example of how screwed up immigration policies are in this country. We should be running out to other countries and actively recruiting people like her to immigrate here. She's smart, she's hard-working, and she's obviously incredibly motivated. But despite all this, the process of even getting a green card took a ridiculously long time. I really don't understand people knee jerk stance against…

Maybe...

But given that she was really motivated to master a challenge that was really hard, perhaps, just perhaps she justified her efforts by convincing herself that the results were really worthwhile.

So perhaps the policy is just, exactly right. After all, you don't see a lot of fat happy native born talking about living the American Dream (I hear them saying "you have to asleep to believe it" but as we see, there are other alternatives)

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cialdini#Influence

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