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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

#751

Post by jameshart »

bakies wrote: post #137
sinecure wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was never about talent. It's about companies hiring foreigners on h1b visas at below market wages where their life in the USA is contingent on their job performance forcing them to work harder and longer than their peers to remain in the country. It's a situation that only benefits companies, while harming US citizens who have to compete with the lower wages of foreigners.

Isn't that a work visa and not an immigrant visa

Employment based and immigrant are not opposite categories of visa - these are orthogonal axes.

There are employment-based nonimmigrant visas like H1B and L1. Being a nonimmigrant visa means it doesn’t grant you a right to immigrate but some (including H1B and L1) are ‘dual intent’ visas meaning you can apply for an immigrant visa while in the US as a nonimmigrant.

There are employment-based immigrant visas, which have categories like EB1, EB2. Like all immigrant visas these are also known as ‘legal permanent residency’, LPR, or ‘green cards’.

There are also non-employment-based visas that are both nonimmigrant (eg visitor visas, student visas) and immigrant (eg family based green cards)

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

#752

Post by mportela »

zem wrote: post #336
spiralpolitik wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Based on my experience 20 years ago you could only renew the H-1B visa in the passport in-country under extraordinary circumstances. In the majority of cases they reject your request and would tell you to travel to a consulate. Prior to the mid 00s you could renew at any consulate but they changed it so you could only renew in your home country.

the "only in your home country" change happened very recently, late 2025 or early 2026

Not really… Theoretically, you could get it issued in a third country under very restrict conditions (renewing to the same class, in Mexico or Canada, force majeure, etc). However, the likelihood of it being denied was considerably higher, so basically all immigration lawyers strongly recommended going back to the home country.

The recent policy change ended that possibility altogether.

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

#753

Post by [deleted] »

doug_durham wrote: post #197
jimbo808 wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hire Americans? Hundreds of thousands of tech workers have been laid off in the last two years. There are many skilled Americans on the job market. Foreign workers are here for the benefit of the United States, not as charity to the rest of the world, or as a source of cheaper labor for global employers seeking to undercut American wages.

It's clear you are not a hiring manager. There aren't thousands of highly qualified engineers looking for work. I can't tell if this a troll post or not.

[deleted]

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

#754

Post by valianteffort »

hvb2 wrote: post #458
conductr wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not trying to make a political point at all and perhaps a controversial take. But, it’s specifically and maybe implicitly by design. Meaning they made this way precisely so you have to reapply so they can change their mind or block you out later. Nothing about getting a visa is permanent and you’re fully at risk when you move here with that type of status. If you evaluate the situation that’s always been the case.

The leaving part is not the issue, as you try to immigrate into a country you're subject to the rules that country sets. You're always free to not immigrate into that country (this is not about asylum). The issue here is that, if you just left the country to do everything the country asked you, you are now in limbo. For how long? No one can tell. Does this mean you lose your job? Maybe. And when you decide it's no lo…

[dead]

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

#755

Post by SV_BubbleTime »

hvb2 wrote: post #458
conductr wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not trying to make a political point at all and perhaps a controversial take. But, it’s specifically and maybe implicitly by design. Meaning they made this way precisely so you have to reapply so they can change their mind or block you out later. Nothing about getting a visa is permanent and you’re fully at risk when you move here with that type of status. If you evaluate the situation that’s always been the case.

The leaving part is not the issue, as you try to immigrate into a country you're subject to the rules that country sets. You're always free to not immigrate into that country (this is not about asylum). The issue here is that, if you just left the country to do everything the country asked you, you are now in limbo. For how long? No one can tell. Does this mean you lose your job? Maybe. And when you decide it's no lo…

> as you try to immigrate into a country you're subject to the rules that country sets

Always written and followed up with “but…”

If only the millions and millions of people that NGOs were shuffling in over the Biden years could have had some obvious and expected pushback… I don’t remember anyone here saying “geez, this could effect more than a response to illegal border crossings down the road!”

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

#756

Post by itake »

fg137 wrote: post #657
afavour wrote: post #587

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> H1B is a temporary non-immigrant visa. It’s a dual purpose visa. You are allowed to pursue immigration (i.e. a green card) while you have an H1B.

This. The dude has no idea what they are talking about. It's amazing even on HN people are openly giving their opinions while being completely uninformed of the facts. Imagine the discussions elsewhere.

I’m informed on this topic…

Can you correct the mistake?

If I show up in China (or the USA) on a tourist visa with the plans to pursue a marriage and permanent residency, does that mean I get to backdate my permanent residency to the tourist visa because I’m able to pursue a marriage (PR)?

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

#757

Post by jpgvm »

y-curious wrote: post #719
aveao wrote: post #713

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Common around the world? I'd be curious what other countries require this, pretty much everywhere else I know has you renew your status within the country (incl. US), and they give you some form of proof of residence that takes the place of a visa (excl. US). In many cases I've seen this is either a sticker on your passport (incl. possibly a visa) or a physical card, and does not require traveling abroad for it for "…

Thailand explicitly requires you to leave the country. There are companies that specialize in bussing expats to nearby countries.

The so called "visa runs" are for getting around not having the appropriate visa.

I was on a proper employment visa 8 years, never needed to leave the country.

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

#758

Post by xyzelement »

rkozik1989 wrote: post #750
xyzelement wrote: post #733

As a relatively centrist American, I find this reasonable. I live in a very blue state (NY) and still 43% of my neighbors voted for Trump, with immigration cited as a key reason. So changes to immigration policy are to be expected. With regard to temporary visas, the article cited a few types of issues. For example the scenario where someone obtain a temporary visa (promissing to return is a part of the application)…

You do understand these rules impact Americans who petition for the visas of their foreign spouses, right? Its not just people coming into this country for work purposes only. Its awfully heartless to assume that the only immigrants coming over here are doing so to solely make money.

This was not mentioned in the linked article so I wasn't specifically holding that (nor did I see this mentioned in a lot of comments?)

Without knowing much about it - that sounds likewise like a something to be sympathetic about but also makes sense that it's part of the overall visa process.

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

#759

Post by Georgelemental »

afavour wrote: post #588
Georgelemental wrote: post #436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An H-1B is a temporary non-immigrant visa. You're not supposed to rely on it to build a life in the US with no backup plan; that was never the intent of the law. However, successive administrations ignored the intent of the law, for so long that people began to rely on assurances that the law never promised. Now that the law is getting applied properly, those people are facing the consequences. It sucks for them, but…

H1B is explicitly a dual intent visa. You are allowed to pursue a green card while in the country on an H1B. It has been an accepted, valid path for a very long time now. If the government wishes to change that of course they can. But the humane approach would be to let those who have already started the process finish it.

You are allowed to pursue one, but the government is allowed to say no. Hence the need for a backup plan

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

#760

Post by doc_ick »

ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #393
doc_ick wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see you trying to kick a field goal all the way from the school parking lot, good luck with that.

It's not popular to mention but the US is the most immigrated to country on the planet, almost 4x the next country. But really, immigrating to any country is quite complex. It's far from "just fill out a form" for pretty much every western country.

I’d like to see the data on that, as I wouldn’t be necessarily surprised but would like to verify first.

Though I may disagree on some for that, as now it seems the you should either mery someone from the admin or buy a gold 1million$ card and your good.

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