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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

#901

Post by drop_star »

refurb wrote: post #401
dzonga wrote: post #19

the current admin are working hard to destroy the U.S as if they're foreign agents. not only are they making it hard & unbearable for families of US citizens & PR holders to be together. while at the same time - discouraging talent to come to the US at a crucial time when talent is at a premium due to A.I development. last the backwards energy policy of banning renewable energy.

Welcome to how immigration works in other countries. Canada just changed a bunch of rules and is actively sending immigration officers to immigrant protests to run status checks and deport anyone in the country illegally. There is no right for non-citizens to come to the US.

That was an isolated incident triggered by local police. Not an active nationwide policy to deploy immigration officers to all migrant protests

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

#902

Post by mrguyorama »

rayiner wrote: post #354
shostack wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cruelty is the point.

It’s not “cruelty” to have and enforce rules. The words “temporary” and “nonimmigrant” is plastered all over the laws that govern these visas. People shouldn’t have treated them as permanent immigration visas. And employers shouldn’t have mislead employees into thinking these were permanent immigration visas. It’s like saying that it’s “cruelty” to remove someone who uses a 2 hour parking spot as their permanent car…

>It’s not “cruelty” to have and enforce rules.

Depends on the rules.

"You have no rights and are someone else's property" was once a rule, and it was absolutely cruel.

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

#903

Post by tristor »

This is a really stupid decision. As someone with mixed feelings about our current immigration situation (which feels at least somewhat out of hand), it's also /very/ clear to me that immigrants in highly-skilled roles have made America a better place. Not only do these immigrants contribute to the economy, they are generally good neighbors and community members that emphasize values that improve the society around them like focus on education, the arts, civic responsibility, and the importance of skilled work.

There needs to be a viable, reasonable, and legible path to residency and citizenship for highly skilled immigrants, while at the same time reforms on the current overly complex system which has failed to properly address challenges with folks who seek economic asylum or who violate immigration laws. Pausing these applications doesn't seem to serve either end, it seems like a stupid decision that is self-harming and unnecessarily cruel and capricious.

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

#904

Post by lazide »

aveao wrote: post #866
lazide wrote: post #491

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Notably, this is exceptionally common in every country I’ve ever lived in that had such Visa’s. Including them being used as political footballs (including for India, Brazil, Germany, etc). Does it suck? Yes. Is this unexpected? Not really, no.

Not sure when you lived here but Germany does not require you to leave the country to renew the document that lets you re-enter¹, same as rest of Schengen. Renewal frequency is also 4 years for "EU Blue Card" holders (STEM workers). ¹: residence permit card in case of schengen, visa in case of "non-immigrants" in US.

Ah, this was pre-schengen. Nice to see it got nicer!

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

#905

Post by cyanydeez »

jpadkins wrote: post #844
cyanydeez wrote: post #703

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Theyre pinching H1B visas to bootlick for fascism. Any other rationale ignores history.

Fascism is the merger of corporate and government power. Powerful corporations utilize do not like this policy decision at all. Increasing costs of H1B means less workers who will work harder and cheaper than the market would bear if large amounts of immigrant labor were allowed in. So no, reducing immigrant labor is not a fascist move because it is not in the interests of powerful corporations and capital owners.

Yes, that _is the point_.

Tarriffs, immigration, they're poking the bears to make them bootlick for regulatory allowance. Thats how Republicans now treat the regulatory apparatus: it's either jetisoned as wasteful spending or used to get kickbacks and favors and to "tame" the bear.

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

#906

Post by yesb »

CincinnatiMan wrote: post #28

I wonder if this has to do with the current economy and job market. Anecdotally I have found it very tough to find a new job (software engineering), though my previous employer continues to post job listings for green card applications as part of the required labor market test.

Doubtful. Most consular green card applications are for family based immigration. This pause is also for final interviews for visas that are basically approved already. Labor market test already happened a while ago if relevant.

Employment based green cards are mostly granted inside the U.S. via adjustment of status without state dept involvement.

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

#907

Post by wan23 »

xvxvx wrote: post #823
darkstar999 wrote: post #797

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

A poem on a plaque on a foreign statue, written 107 years after the formation of the United States is neither legally binding nor central to what the US is. And the poem doesn’t endorse visa scammers.

It's not legally binding, but it is central to what the US is and has been. That's why they put the poem there, and that's why Americans welcomed the gift and erected the statue, and that's why it has been considered to be one of our most cherished symbols ever since.

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

#908

Post by titzer »

mslate wrote: post #834
titzer wrote: post #811

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comment vaguely blames immigrants for not having an escape plan. Millions of people immigrate to the US through all the right mechanisms and follow all the laws and have every intention of staying forever and becoming citizens. Scaring their pants off is an unnecessarily hostile and unwelcoming act that is unbecoming of this country. > in order to keep housing prices lower for residents And where do they live? T…

But titzer, are you not a wealthy resident as well? I thought we were among friends!

I know, pretty much everyone on HN is a self-selected group that's pretty high up on the privilege/luck/wealth scale.

I immigrated to Germany from the US in 2013. My employer handled basically everything--even hired a personal assistant to accompany me to the immigration office and help with finding housing, which is pretty competitive in a major German city.

Honestly, immigration for highly skilled tech people is a walk in the park compared to basically everyone else. I used the term privileged because it's accurate--and I daresay it was a tad bit easier being white, having an advanced degree in tech, and even having some German roots. My experience was absolutely not what other people immigrating to Germany face, as they come from all over the place, there are far fewer slots, and there's a host of soft discrimination that even Eastern Europeans face trying to come to Germany. Like everywhere, there's xenophobia and isolationism, mistrust, and blame. Literally the exact same arguments, finger-pointing, suspicion. And that didn't fall on me.

I moved back to the US and handled the backend of that process, which honestly isn't too bad, but it was so much harder to deal with than one would expect--and that was just leaving. I have a bit of German language skills but legal German is a whole other matter.

When I read OP's comment it raised my hackles because it just sounds incredibly tone deaf. Lots of people want to come to America, and it isn't easy, even doing it right. Telling them they need to be prepared to get kicked out at the drop of a hat is a shitty welcome.

If we want to have reasonable controls on immigration and a better policy, I'm all for it, but let's focus on things that would work without screwing people over and treating them like subhuman garbage like this administration has. Limit the number of visas, handle visa overstays better. A ham-fisted, incompetent over-correction that has untrained meatheads shooting US citizens in the streets with no consequence isn't it.

I don't have a lot of patience for anyone carrying water for this administration. Not a thimble-full. If you think you have nuanced, smart-sounding take on immigration but is just victim-blaming, then it deserves to be challenged. I haven't got time for the leading edge of the Overton-window people who just can't confront their deep anti-immigrant biases and provide cover for the tragic and cruel things that are going down as we speak.

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

#909

Post by IAmBroom »

sinecure wrote: post #95
dzonga wrote: post #19

the current admin are working hard to destroy the U.S as if they're foreign agents. not only are they making it hard & unbearable for families of US citizens & PR holders to be together. while at the same time - discouraging talent to come to the US at a crucial time when talent is at a premium due to A.I development. last the backwards energy policy of banning renewable energy.

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.

Nonsense. Job applicants at the H1B level are all highly competitive, well-educated specialists of some sort.

You can't hire scab helicopter blade design engineers. Not even from abroad. You have a small pool of those who qualify looking for work (or actively keeping their ears alert for new work), muddied by many people tangentially quasi-qualified who want a job.

After you filter (imprecisely, but as well as you can), the pool is small, and you don't have enough qualified applicants to routinely work one group against another.

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

#910

Post by IAmBroom »

puppymaster wrote: post #534
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.

OP and you are obviously on different end of the spectrum. The truth is usually somewhere in the middle.

Not all opposing opinions are reasonable, nor "symmetrically unreasonable".

When a reasonable human being and a xenophobe or racist argue, the truth is not somewhere in the middle.

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