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U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

wsj.com

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

#721

Post by eesmith »

dcow wrote: post #690
eesmith wrote: post #676

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you calling for open border with no controls? That's the only way to get meritocracy. The system is set up so the casino wins. You cannot, with a straight face, argue the odds are in your favor, but there are rules about how the casino works, both formal and informal. When a casino only investigates cases where someone wins $1 million on the slots, to see if there's a fault in the system, while never investigatin…

I didn’t follow your casino allegory. Anyway I happen to agree that “pausing” is inhumane. What I’m trying to communicate is we didn’t get here in a vacuum. There is a real problem and good faith attempts have been made to curtail it by putting pressure via “taxes” on the “interests of capital” abusing H1B. Cooperation would have prevented this.

Is an un-rigged and meritocratic system possible if there are border controls?

If not, then using words like "rigged" and "meritocratic" as a complaint about the current system can only mean that you want no border controls.

If so, how? Every system I can think of can be rigged, and exclude people who have merit, resulting in a system which favors the rich and powerful.

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

#722

Post by rayiner »

earthdeity wrote: post #711
rayiner wrote: post #642

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Rules are well and good, but norms are important too Not when the norm is open defiance of the rules for decades. > An immigration system governs people making major life choices, and companies making large investments. And it also governs the right of people to decide who they want to invite into their country and, ultimately, with whom they want to share democratic governance of their home. Those are important st…

Defiance of the rules? What rules exactly? The law does make clear that H1-Bs are temporary workers. But it's also permitted to renew, and workers are allowed to pursue immigrant status. In fact, until 1990 there was specific language saying that H1-B's (like all visitor visas) are not supposed to want to stay, they must maintain a foreign residence "which he has no intention of abandoning". This language was struck…

> This language was struck and the visas became, and still are, the most common defacto "seeking green card" status for workers seeking to move the US.

Incorrect. H1B still requires non-immigrant intent. The only thing that was struck was requiring the government to presume non-immigrant intent automatically upon some filing for permanent residency. That was not intended to change the system into a de facto permanent residency pipeline.

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

#723

Post by schubidubiduba »

roarcher wrote: post #643
alexgoodhart wrote: post #576

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Feels intentionally cruel”? Where have you been? There is so much evidence of the deliberate cruelty that it beggars belief you’d say that.

So you agree with the person you're responding to, but you're attacking them for stating it with less melodrama than you would prefer? What a useless comment.

Unnecessarily euphemistic descriptions of cruelty should be rightfully called out

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

#724

Post by ActorNightly »

bruce511 wrote: post #457
NeutralWanted wrote: post #445

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speak for yourself, I voted for exactly these policies.

Thank you for posting. I'm being sincere. I think it is helpful to remind folk that these policies are not universally hated. Indeed a majority of voters voted specifically for them, and they were explicitly laid out. This is democracy in action. The majority (of those who care enough at all) get to rule over the minority (and the apathetic). Obviously not all actions will be universally loved, but no govt action can…

Its also helpful to remind folk about why someone would hold this position.

The largest reason US got to where it was at least in the world economy stage was because of the visa program. It was the country everyone wanted to move to, because you can apply your skills, make money, start a business, with very little restriction comparatively, buy a house, and live your dream life.

The more people wanna work, the more opportunities there are for work. Any time money changes hands, like in salary for work, this grows the economy, which further creates new jobs.

If someone is for this type of restricted immigration, then you should have a clear cut position on why you think things being more expensive, less available, and overall lower economic activity (which affects things like one being able to get a mortgate or other loan, and so on) is generally better for the country.

Because if they don't have those reasons, or have ones that are not rooted in reality than the position comes from xenophobia and racism in 99% of the cases.

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

#725

Post by cmiles8 »

hippycruncher22 wrote: post #489
hvb2 wrote: post #15

So for those that don't know, it's quite common for a visa renewal to be required to leave the country. Depending on the visa, you might have to do this every year. So just imagine, having a normal job in the US and you're asked to leave to renew your visa and this stuff happens. That's no more appointment, not even a new date and you're now very likely unable to work and possibly can't even enter the country to get…

We've had three people get stuck in India for months. two got removed from job because of it.

Not defending it, but that’s an intended feature and not a bug of the situation.

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

#726

Post by UltraSane »

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…

It IS intentionally cruel because Stephen Miller is a sadistic psycho.

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

#727

Post by ActorNightly »

NeutralWanted wrote: post #445
testbjjl wrote: post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there are a lot of inhumane things happening around the world right now to label this inconvenient, at best. We need better leadership through higher voter participation and an informed electorate to stop these inhumane and inconvenient policies.

Speak for yourself, I voted for exactly these policies.

Its kinda crazy to me that someone on HN can get upvoted for prioritizing xenophobia and racism enough to vote for convicted felon pedophile for president, but I guess thats the world we live in.

Im REALLY hoping that Trump manages to actually successfully coup the government this time around, cause the only way forward is for American populace to start experiencing actual hardship without the Democrats coming in and fixing everything then getting blamed for "bad economy".

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

#728

Post by schubidubiduba »

nekusar wrote: post #327
JeremyNT wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Attempts to find plausibly deniable rationales for this administration's anti-immigrant policies other than "gutter racism" are ridiculous. Occam's razor. When somebody shows you who they are, believe them. Nativism is possibly the only stable and coherent political ideology this admin holds. Everything else is negotiable, but not this one.

[flagged]

Do you really believe that there is no racism involved?

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

#729

Post by bradhe »

enraged_camel wrote: post #507
samiwami wrote: post #484

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it’s a cut and dry constitutional amendment, it doesn’t matter if Thomas thinks the people that were in mind when it was drafted are not the same people it applies to now. if they want to change it, go ahead and get the states to ratify a new amendment. Supreme Court doesn’t get to throw out an amendment because it’s old.

It's also amusing that you won't ever hear conservatives like Thomas making the same argument when it comes to, say, the 2nd amendment.

I was just thinking the same thing lol. 2A is such a divisive topic.

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

#730

Post by bubblethink »

alphabeta3r56 wrote: post #715
hvb2 wrote: post #609

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I feel like I’ve said it a few times but - Yes, exactly. The country wants you to leave and then get’s to decide if you can come back. That’s how it’s designed. On purpose. That is how it's designed, and that's fine. But make a decision... They're pausing the decision making for an indefinite amount of time. That's not how it was designed, but it sure does look like that's on purpose.

That's on purpose too. To send a clear signal that we don't want you. It's just a mobster way of doing it.

It's not a mobster way, more like a weasel way. The reason it is a weasel's move is because decisions at the consulate are made by consular officers who are career public workers and won't deny visas for arbitrary reasons. That is bad for the political leadership because they just don't want to issue visas. So they need to invent evasive moves to throttle the pipeline by adding trainings, background checks, and other bogus bureaucratic hurdles.
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