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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

#841

Post by bubblethink »

GeneralMayhem wrote: post #591
scoofy wrote: post #561

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, the point isn't that "Leave to renew" is some kind of horrible policy. Such bad-fucking-faith on display everywhere. The point is maybe signal to people that we will soon be pausing all visa renewals so people who trivially have good jobs and good records know they ought to literally just plan on moving out of their apartment rather than have to deal with paying thousands of dollars to have someone else move t…

> the point isn't that "Leave to renew" is some kind of horrible policy I mean... "leave to renew" is a horrible policy, it's just one that we've normalized since 9/11. It's incredibly wasteful and disruptive, and serves no purpose. There's no legitimate reason why a long-term residential visa like an H1-B can't be renewed by mail or electronically. I can renew my driver's license by mail, and I'm a hell of a lot mor…

Right, stateside renewal was common until 9/11. Disappointingly, Biden tried to bring it back but was presumably thwarted by labor/union or incompetence. Immigration tends to be a bipartisan morass.

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

#842

Post by DiscourseFan »

flanked-evergl wrote: post #823
DiscourseFan wrote: post #789

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems intentionally inflammatory

I mean this in the best possible spirit, but if it does seem intentionally inflammatory, then I think it's mostly a result of your political priors. The 4th top reply on this submission is: "the current admin are working hard to destroy the U.S as if they're foreign agents." If I were a less patient man I would also find this inflammatory, but I know the person saying it just says it because they genuinely believe it…

I think claiming that this policy is broadly harmful to the US economy is more factually grounded than claiming its a "generational W."

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

#843

Post by yyhhsj0521 »

sjtgraham wrote: post #264
HeavenFox wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are talking about change (or extension) of status, not visa. US is unique in that the visa sticker and your right to remain in the country (status) are two different things. The only purpose of the visa sticker is to allow you to travel to a U.S. port of entry, where you apply for admission, and therefore legal status. You can have legal status in the U.S. while the visa sticker has expired, and your status can b…

There actually is a pilot to renew h1-b visa foils while in the US without a consular appointment.

Which makes immigrants' lives easier (shocked!) so it won't get implemented

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

#844

Post by dcow »

motbus3 wrote: post #837

Genuine question for any american fellows: Is this a real problem ? Is this a really a priority problem in your pov ? If if is why ? In my country, we do have a policy of integrating people quite early on if they come from a fragile situation and for other people if they have jobs and can sustain themselves it is a bonus as they contribute with taxes and will have basically no benefits like retirement. I am not makin…

Are you talking about general immigration or asylum? If general, what country do you live in? I’m going to plan an extended visit.

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

#845

Post by draw_down »

motbus3 wrote: post #837

Genuine question for any american fellows: Is this a real problem ? Is this a really a priority problem in your pov ? If if is why ? In my country, we do have a policy of integrating people quite early on if they come from a fragile situation and for other people if they have jobs and can sustain themselves it is a bonus as they contribute with taxes and will have basically no benefits like retirement. I am not makin…

[dead]

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

#846

Post by ifwinterco »

DiscoDays wrote: post #834
ifwinterco wrote: post #775

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not at the moment, but the result of the current UK system has been huge uncontrolled levels of immigration leading to deep public resentment, so that may change in the future

Could you explain a bit more? Not sure what is achieved by forcing people to renew their visas from abroad. I appreciate that, philosophically, it is a way of setting requirements higher, but it does not strike me as principled. From my perspective as an immigrant in the UK, there have got to be so many parameters the UK government can adjust before indulging into performative cruelty. Setting higher requirements for…

If the government refuses a visa renewal while the person is in the country and they don’t comply you have to deport them, which is often problematic.

If you make it standard procedure that everyone has to leave the country temporarily to renew their visa, the person is already outside your country when you refuse the renewal.

Instead of having a deportation challenged in court and mired in paperwork, you simply don’t let them back in. That’s what the parent comment was getting at.

Not saying this is right or wrong or it will necessarily happen in the UK, but it’s the kind of change you can make if you want to quietly reduce immigration without fuss about deportations.

And that does seem to be the direction that UK policy is going, albeit currently only with baby steps

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

#847

Post by refurb »

genxy wrote: post #720
pm90 wrote: post #473

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you read the article? They postponed all appointments.

The pro maga crowd has learned to take a less obvious, but just as callous approach to commenting over the last 6 months. They are trying to subtly slide the overton window in their direction.

Hilarious. My comment was replying to another comment that was discussing a different case, not the one in the article.

Yet you throw around insults and labels at me. Who is the callous one here?

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

#848

Post by furyg3 »

motbus3 wrote: post #837

Genuine question for any american fellows: Is this a real problem ? Is this a really a priority problem in your pov ? If if is why ? In my country, we do have a policy of integrating people quite early on if they come from a fragile situation and for other people if they have jobs and can sustain themselves it is a bonus as they contribute with taxes and will have basically no benefits like retirement. I am not makin…

I'm an American who's lived in Europe for the past 20ish years.

Comparatively, the US is extremely good at 'integrating' immigrants for whatever reason they come (asylum, work, family reunification, etc). There are a lot of factors, but I'd say the biggest one is that the "American" identity is one of immigration and is generally more flexible than say, the Dutch or Norwegian identity. I'd also say the general lack of a safety net compared to more socialist countries mean you pretty much have to hit the ground running and work, which usually means learning English quickly and all of the social components that come with work.

The idea that there is an urgent need to protect the US from a significant number of people abusing the system who come via legal immigration (as is the case in this context) is, to me, pretty laughable. I would assume that any abuse in the system or strategic priority shifts (which I may or may not agree with) could easily be picked up through a more normal policy/procedure/training structure within the state department.

There doesn't appear to be a specific, recent event where a significant number of people were discovered to have gotten through some state department filter or loophole that needs to be IMMEDIATELY closed in the context of some large risk to the US.

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

#849

Post by larsonian »

account42 wrote: post #793
pjc50 wrote: post #694

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That’s how it’s designed. On purpose. The cruelty is the point. (The UK system requires initial applications from overseas but I believe doesn't require you to leave for renewals)

I don't now about the UK but having to leave to renew your visa is not unique to the US.

Name one country, then. None that I'm aware of require you to leave the country to renew an immigration visa. Switching from a visitor visa to an immigration visa, sure. But if you're already on an immigration visa or residence permit, it's normally expected that you are, well, an immigrant. That your home, domicile, center of vital interests, whatever you want to call it, is in the country. I know of immigration systems that require you to apply from inland instead of from abroad in this case: most European systems work that way, for example, and I believe Canada and Australia too? But why would you require an immigrant to leave the country to extend their residence in that same country, other than to fuck with them?

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

#850

Post by cogogo »

It is only a matter of time before this administration does this to green card applications and renewals too. A permanent green card is not permanent. It needs to be renewed every 10 years. I am also worried about policies eventually directed at naturalized citizens. I sincerely hope I am wrong.
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