U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications • Hacker News Board

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#461

Post by throwaway85825 » Thu, Aug 27, 2026, 2:52 AM UTC

wat10000 wrote: post #460

throwaway85825 wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many don't bother coming back but the ones the do are almost always very expensive.

How many, how expensive, and how much is this offset by others who come back and pay taxes? I have seen a lot of freakouts about birth tourism since the recent SCOTUS ruling and I haven’t seen anyone give even the most cursory overview of the actual scale of the supposed problem. It’s purely an emotional reaction.

Usually birth tourism is done by wealthier foreigners but that foreign wealth is not visible to the government so they end up qualifying for welfare.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#462

Post by refurb » Thu, Aug 27, 2026, 2:52 AM UTC

vjvjvjvjghv wrote: post #345

My company has a H-1B guy that travelled home to India a few months ago and since then can't come back because the next date he can get with the US embassy is next year. Seems he may get stuck even longer... I am to some degree on board with keeping a closer eye on immigration, but the way the current administration does it feels intentionally cruel. The guy at my company has a house, wife, and kids in the US; his vi…

Having the only appointment be a year or more out isn’t new. Anyone I knew wouldn’t take the risk of leaving the US if they didn’t have an appointment secured.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#463

Post by affyboi » Thu, Aug 27, 2026, 2:52 AM UTC

nekusar wrote: post #291

Well, for starters, good. We all know this whole H1-B situation was to cripple wages and to get an indentured workforce. Glad its being "paused". Would love to it being modified to not being tied to a company, or gottennrid of for good. Sorry about the people who were using it, but also not sorry. Maybe we Americans can get some of those jobs the companies were scamming the govt with.

I think the correct move would be to enforce wage parity for the H1Bs rather than throwing out the baby with the bath water. I don’t want to lose out on international talent for the sake of protecting employment for people whose only qualification is where their mother gave birth.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#464

Post by unselect5917 » Thu, Aug 27, 2026, 2:53 AM UTC

dasyatidprime wrote: post #263

dgellow wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, it really doesn’t matter that your job is paid in BTC, given that you could just convert your USD income to BTC whenever you want

That doesn't follow. I'm pretty sure they're talking about the effect of nominal wage stickiness: you're not constantly renegotiating your rate, so when there's fluctuations in relative value, it matters what unit the original number is denominated in. Compare with the case of a US expat being paid a steady salary in USD and converting to the local currency to make purchases, if you want an example with a similar mec…

You basically nailed it. USD crashed in the 1970s after the Nixon shock, and is basically a shambling corpse losing 3-8% of its value every single year while BTC is 600x the value of a 1913 dollar... and trending up: https://i.imgur.com/PJT01T8.png

Even if they don't give me a raise, I'll still have more purchasing power at the end of a year rather than less as the case with USD.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#465

Post by 15155 » Thu, Aug 27, 2026, 2:53 AM UTC

fn-mote wrote: post #364

dmix wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can’t think of any other rationale. Lack of real domestic enforcement would be an obvious one, so everything gets pushed to the border entry points.

They know who you are and where you work… how hard could it be to enforce rules? Wait, what’s getting enforced here, anyway? They are getting a new visa, no? I don’t believe this rationale at all.

> They know who you are and where you work

Most visas don't permit their holder to work.

> Wait, what’s getting enforced here, anyway?

The visa holder is forced to expend nominal financial resources and time in their home country (where they agreed they would return to.) Most people can't afford to maintain a facade of residency or two actual residences (and those who can aren't the intended targets of this type of restriction.)

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#466

Post by unselect5917 » Thu, Aug 27, 2026, 2:54 AM UTC

preg_match wrote: post #411

throwaway85825 wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't? Do citizens expire? Are you unaware of the concept of children?

I am aware of the concept of children, thank you. Not sure why we have to argue like we have a stick up our asses, but here we are. As you're well aware, the US is just barely meeting replacement birth rate. Most developed countries are under it. And the big picture: the US is all about growth . Economic growth, cultural growth. If you want more of that, you need immigrants. Sorry, that's how the US has always worked…

>As you're well aware, the US is just barely meeting replacement birth rate.

Oh no, they'll have to raise wages due to lack of labor. How terrible for the working class (everyone).

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#467

Post by throwaway85825 » Thu, Aug 27, 2026, 2:54 AM UTC

preg_match wrote: post #411

throwaway85825 wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't? Do citizens expire? Are you unaware of the concept of children?

I am aware of the concept of children, thank you. Not sure why we have to argue like we have a stick up our asses, but here we are. As you're well aware, the US is just barely meeting replacement birth rate. Most developed countries are under it. And the big picture: the US is all about growth . Economic growth, cultural growth. If you want more of that, you need immigrants. Sorry, that's how the US has always worked…

Without immigration lowering wages more citizens would be able to afford having children.

> Diversity is what makes the US the US.

Is this meant as a joke? I can't tell, but it is completely ahistorical. The foundera wrote about their demographic intention extensively.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#468

Post by wat10000 » Thu, Aug 27, 2026, 2:54 AM UTC

throwaway85825 wrote: post #461

wat10000 wrote: post #460

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many, how expensive, and how much is this offset by others who come back and pay taxes? I have seen a lot of freakouts about birth tourism since the recent SCOTUS ruling and I haven’t seen anyone give even the most cursory overview of the actual scale of the supposed problem. It’s purely an emotional reaction.

Usually birth tourism is done by wealthier foreigners but that foreign wealth is not visible to the government so they end up qualifying for welfare.

That doesn’t answer my questions at all.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#469

Post by krapp » Thu, Aug 27, 2026, 2:55 AM UTC

stale2002 wrote: post #430

krapp wrote: post #425

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most capitalist countries have 100% employment for their citizens and little to no immigration? No. "Every citizen who can work having a job" is not something capitalist countries do. They all take ample advantage of foreign labor, they all have corporations that prioritize their own profits and outsource.

> Most capitalist countries have 100% employment for their citizens and little to no immigration You must have responded to the wrong post as it has nothing to do with my statement. That statement is that there is nothing about capitalism that prevents a country from prioritizing its own citizens. That is a perfectly normal and rational thing to do. Additionally, the exact percentages of unemployement rates also has…

>You must have responded to the wrong post as it has nothing to do with my statement.

OK. You can't handle context, noted.

>That statement is that there is nothing about capitalism that prevents a country from prioritizing its own citizens.

The free market is what prevents it. The purpose of capitalism is the creation of capital and its transfer to the capitalist class, and the purpose of corporations is to maximize profits to facilitate that process as quickly and efficiently as possible. Neither capitalism as a system nor corporations have an obligation to improve quality of life for their employees beyond their market value, or to "prioritize" the social welfare over profit, or to hire more people than they need.

It's simple supply and demand and there isn't a demand for American labor.

>Additionally, the exact percentages of unemployement rates also has little to do with capitalism

which is weird because you're arguing that capitalist companies need to prioritize "citizen" labor in order to reduce unemployment, or that governments need to force them to.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#470

Post by 15155 » Thu, Aug 27, 2026, 2:55 AM UTC

pstuart wrote: post #365

klardotsh wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can’t think of any other rationale. What, only border officers are able to process a visa renewal? Please. We can have offices inside the country handle this stuff, just like offices handle Trusted Traveler applications and Social Security card issuances. The point is surely to get another chance to grill the immigrant and potentially bar them entry. Other countries don’t always do this: Canada for example has inla…

They've made no secret of the desire to purge the country of "others". This is part of that plan.

"Must leave to renew" certain visas has been policy for decades - through at least the Clinton, Obama, and Biden administrations.

Most visas are for temporary guests: obtaining a visa doesn't normally give someone the right to permanently reside, and most don't permit their holders to work.