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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

#881

Post by tristor »

raz32dust wrote: post #539
itake wrote: post #410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm an American that lives abroad. I have first-hand experience how other countries treat 'immigrants'. H1B is a temporary non-immigrant visa. I could never imagine myself buying a home in a country where I don't have permanent access to that real estate. I am not opposed to voting to prevent non-PRs from owning real estate in order to keep housing prices lower for residents and prevent non-immigrants from shooting t…

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…

> 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?

For the same reason I temporarily resided elsewhere: An opportunity to expand my horizons, experience another culture, and oh yeah... the money. In fact, through much of history it was common for skilled workers to go abroad and bring skills home, this was how industry got kickstarted in many places and there were even various formal programs for this. This is even the case for skilled labor that doesn't qualify for an H1-B visa. It's commonplace for aspiring chefs to work in kitchens around the world under the tutelage of well-regarded chefs to learn from them and then apply the same techniques and operating models to their own restaurant at home.

You are mentally applying reasoning that assumes permanency to a situation that explicitly says it doesn't include permanency.

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

#882

Post by evan_a_a »

[deleted] wrote: post #879
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…

[deleted]

A green card is permanent residency, not a visa process.

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

#884

Post by yesb »

Georgelemental wrote: post #436
vjvjvjvjghv wrote: post #312

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…

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…

>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.

No, there's nothing proper about it and it has nothing to do with the merits of the visas in question. There is no law saying that the state department should make travel impractical for people USCIS has already decided can live/work in the US. The reverse is much more likely. They want to push people off of legally obtained visas by causing unreasonable delays.

H1B is temporary but you can have immigrant intent. It can be extended indefinitely with an approved green card application. Your employer is going to pursue that if you're on h1b and they want to keep you around. Many if not most h1b holders are in that category and will get a green card eventually. They are simply waiting for that to be available due to quotas based on their qualifications and birthplace.

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

#885

Post by afavour »

nonethewiser wrote: post #863
afavour wrote: post #788

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

Here is what hvb2 actually said: > “Just ‘putting a pause’ on people with existing appointments with no answer for when they might resume is.... Inhumane” And now you're saying: > “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.” Sure it sucks. But do you understand there is no right to have this visa app…

We’re talking about two different things and I don’t understand why you’re conflating them.

“It isn’t a right” and “it’s immoral” are not mutually exclusive statements. No, there is no human right to a visa application response. That doesn’t mean that leaving people in indefinite limbo is morally right.

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

#886

Post by g3f32r »

dcow wrote: post #482
foltik wrote: post #474

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look around the thread and notice how little the comments defending these policies have to say about the policies themselves. Instead, what they all have in common is a vague underlying fear of being displaced, or sense that something owed to them is being taken.

The program has always "threatened" to displace citizens. That's not new and if that were the only reason motivating people then why wait till now to complain? Frankly I don't care if I'm fairly displaced. That's meritocracy at work. The reality is the program has been abused and stretched far beyond its intent by corporations in pursuit of cheap (I’d argue slave) labor. You cannot, with a straight face, argue that t…

> Frankly I don't care if I'm fairly displaced. That's meritocracy at work.

Right, The concept of a "meritocracy" only works if everyone is agreeing to the core tenets. If any group starts expressing in-group bias, then that group exponentially grows and will end up displacing all other, more meritocratic, groups.

---

H1Bs visas allow for corporations to sidestep meritocracy because they can leverage the foreigner into 70 hour work weeks.

F1 visas allow for corporations to sidestep meritocracy because they get a five year exemption on some taxes for that employee.

etc for all the programs.

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

#888

Post by DaSHacka »

delecti wrote: post #405
moomoo11 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

didn't big tech co's layoff thousands of people here and then filed for thousands more h1b ?

If it happened, there should be evidence (an article link). If it isn't supportable, then the implication is disingenuous to make.

From elsewhere in this thread:

> Recently[1] Microsoft laid off several thousand domestic employees while simultaneously hiring a couple thousand employer-sponsored-Visa workers. > > [1]https://www.newsweek.com/microsoft-layoffs-2026-xbox-h1b-vis...

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49457077

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

#889

Post by DaSHacka »

cosmicgadget wrote: post #415
eluusive wrote: post #276

This is a response to the supreme court ruling on birthright citizenship. They're using the levers they do have, since that was removed. Anyone who agrees with the ruling should really read justice Thomas' dissent.

No one should be subjected to a Thomas dissent. Especially that one.

Right, because they might find themselves agreeing with it! Can't have that, democracy thrives in darkness with a closed and restricted 'marketplace of ideas'.

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

#890

Post by FireBeyond »

HeavenFox wrote: post #203
OptionOfT wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

H1-B and L1 can actually be done in-country, but for some reading going abroad and get consular processing has a lower chance of RFE.

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…

Similar even with LPR (Legal Permanent Resident) status. Your green card is valid for ten years. When the card expires it must be renewed, but your status does not expire. But you would need a current, valid card, to re-enter if you left (or have extenuating circumstances which you'd -reallllly- want to have worked through with a consulate prior to attempting.
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