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U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

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

#851
post #681

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.

This is incorrect. The physical card itself expires every 10 years, but your status as a permanent resident doesn't. That can only be revoked by a legal process. Obviously if you do not renew the green card itself, you are going to face practical issues, because you have no easy way to prove your permanent resident status. So things like employment verification because of new employment and entering the country from…

> The physical card itself expires every 10 years, but your status as a permanent resident doesn't. That can only be revoked by a legal process.

They're working on that. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/doj-deploys-tactic-to-stri...

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

#852
post #482

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> The issue here is that, if you just left the country to do everything the country asked you, you are now in limbo. 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. You’re approaching it from a perspective where you’re being asked to leave and your reentry is a right. It’s not. They never said,…

I thought we were more civilized that trite "might makes right" philosophy towards other humans.

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

#853
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…

Working in the US is a privilege, not a right.

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

#854

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no human right to have a US visa interview; everything is a privilege that can be withdrawn.

Agreed. People seem to hold views that getting visas to the US is a human right. It’s no fun, but these are adults (and often very privileged adults) that decided to move to a new country for more upside at the cost of no residency. Conflating this with “inhumane” is just a basic misunderstanding of immigration and the contract these people signed up for. Very uncomfortable, yet a risk these people took, and hopefull…

> People seem to hold views that getting visas to the US is a human right.

Come on, there's nothing to be gained by misrepresenting people's views.

The argument is a simple one: if you are currently within the immigration process you should be able to move through that process in a timely manner, with clear communication of expectations. Freezing appointments is a political hack: they're not changing the law, they're not altering what anyone is entitled to. They're just leaving people in limbo.

You're saying "these people took a risk", and you're right. But that doesn't mean we can't criticize the people ensuring their bet is a losing one in the least moral way possible.

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

#855

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Our birthrate has been below replacement for several years now. We need immigrants to mitigate that.

No, you need to encourage your existing population to reproduce instead of treating them as replaceable cogs.

[dead]

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

#856
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say it's on the Trump administration being full of racists and white nationalists and wanting to deport immigrants. Why do you wonder if it's economic instead of the Trump administration's announced policies of stopping immigration, including unconstitutionally removing birthright citizenship?

I think many (if not most) countries in the developed world should reduce immigration, and usa in particular should abolish birthright citizenship. The first because a lower supply of labor is going to create breathing space for an entire working population who will see tremendous job upheaval due to AI automation. A lower aggregate demand on houses, services will also be welcome to take the fuel out of inflation, an…

>The first because a lower supply of labor is going to create breathing space for an entire working population who will see tremendous job upheaval due to AI automation. A lower aggregate demand on houses, services will also be welcome to take the fuel out of inflation, and maybe we'll regain some of that experience of true affluence, where scarce things (e.g. access to cabin in the woods, a rowhome in a walkable city, ...) are in abundance.

Many immigrants come to America to work and start businesses. That creates jobs. Even the day-laborers buy food, clothing, tools. If we cracked down on businesses that used illegally immigrated workers, that would be a much more targeted way to fight wage suppression.

How could inflation come from illegal immigration? Are the immigrants bringing in crazy amounts of money? Does the existence of more workers competing for an open position drive up the going wage?

If we want to reduce the price of housing, we need to build more houses. That's the key. The trouble is how to tackle the financial and regulatory hurdles that discourage building houses. Clamping down on immigration from poorer countries hurts the construction industry, which employs a lot of immigrants.

>Birthright citizen should be abolished because birth tourism and illegally crossing the border to have anchor babies are a vector for foreigners to participate politically and claim imho undeserved welfare benefits.

If we cared about people with foreign allegiances participating in our politics, we'd ban dual citizenship. If we cared enough about welfare costs to do unpopular things, we'd ban smoking and high-sugar foods. That would save a lot more in welfare costs, and our citizens would be healthier. On my list of priorities for reducing welfare costs, taking money from poor people who don't actually qualify ranks low. It's a mistake or crime that feeds people and gets money circulating in local economies. Not efficient, but not world-ending and probably not common. If you really want to find people receiving benefits despite not actually qualifying, look for senior citizens hiding their wealth as cash in their house.

>I think largely these are the stated reasons of the administration too.

Trump stated immigrants poison the blood of our nation. I'm going to accept that as his actual belief and reasoning.

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

#857

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think one of the fundamental problem with h1b is that it is labeled as "non-immigrant" whereas for all practical purposes it is really an immigrant visa. Why would a person who is supposedly having rare skills come to a country and spend their best years here without reasonable guarantee of permanency? People buy homes because it is a reasonable belief that they are going to be living here permanently and it has hi…

> I think one of the fundamental problem with h1b is that it is labeled as "non-immigrant" I'm curious as a non-American - labelled by who? People who want to talk tough on immigration but benefit from H1Bs in their companies? Or the system itself in some way?

By the government: "This nonimmigrant classification..." [1]

[1] https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/h-1b-spec...

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

#858
post #664

This is political warfare. War is cruel and inhumane. If you want to stop the cruelty, stop the war. There’s a lot of discussion about whether this is cruel or justified or legal—whatever. This sucks for people who get caught up in our immigration fight and ultimately it’s bad for all of us because it makes the US a less attractive place for immigrants. However, we are here (1) because US citizens voted for more scru…

Do you believe the majority of immigrants come here specifically to leech and NOT work? The data that decades of policy across parties has been based on doesn't support that at all. Living on even the most generous state and federal government benefits alone is a terrible way to live, and not something you would leave your country for.

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

#859

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.

Really? Last time I was involved in hiring, about two years ago, we had hundreds of applications in a day or so. What changed?
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