What a top notch grad supervisor to write a letter like that.
Jordanian citizen was denied re-entry to the US on eve of his PhD defense at JHU
101–110 of 219 posts
Re: Jordanian citizen was denied re-entry to the US on eve of his PhD defense at JHU
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Americans don't want people visiting, working, or studying on their shores. This is utterly false and unfair. Please don't lump the entire US population with a few ignorant morons who have not seen the world five miles outside their home town. A quick look at our universities is proof enough that what you are saying is incorrect. The last time I visited MIT it almost felt like I was outside the US.
While I agree with you on principle, the number of anti-immigration xenophobes is much greater than "a few ignorant morons". A few ignorant morons would not be able to elect so many congressmen over such a long period of time to support their agenda. Places like MIT hold the true minority opinion.
Rather, they are louder.
Re: Jordanian citizen was denied re-entry to the US on eve of his PhD defense at JHU
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
Many, if not most developed countries do this. Don't be such a jackass. The idea is that these students enrich the university, and there's a chance they'll stay on as professors. Billions are spent chasing foreign students that can throw a football and you chose to save your rage for this?
It's hardly being a jackass to wish that my taxes weren't wasted, in any way whatsoever.
It's not like you're footing the bill for all foreign students single-handedly. There's this thing called society. You're part of it.
If you think your taxes are being "wasted" on foreign students, as if those freeloaders are being forced on institutions like MIT by the government, take it up with your representative or senator.
The academic world is bigger than the US. It might shock you but there are some very capable students outside those borders and MIT would very much like to have them doing research at MIT rather than somewhere else.
Re: Jordanian citizen was denied re-entry to the US on eve of his PhD defense at JHU
#104He sounds like a brilliant student. However does anyone find it the least bit noteworthy that the US government is paying for foreign citizens' tuition and stipends while many of its own citizens are forced to go deeply in debt?
Grad school applications are generally treated with little attention to citizenship. Then PhD students work on research projects that largely are funded by government research grants. The US government really is paying to get some research done, and the universities are accomplishing this in the best way they can, by attracting the best talent they can, worldwide.
Re: Jordanian citizen was denied re-entry to the US on eve of his PhD defense at JHU
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
He also devoted all his time and might to do research. It's not like he was sitting staring at a wall
VERY CORRECT! I really wish more people thought like this...
I'm mildly biased (or more precisely, I was more close to the subject), since I was in research until 2 years ago, when my grant ran out. I did have a grant, but in my case it was basically my salary while I was researching and giving occasional teaching. The research group I was in was also given money "for me" to cover my travel expenses and such, but after all, the money for the grant is used in exchange for someone researching (be it as salary, equipment, workshops,) not just flushed down the toilet. But I'm sure you know, also ;)
Re: Jordanian citizen was denied re-entry to the US on eve of his PhD defense at JHU
#106Are we going to trawl up and link every single case of someone being denied re-entry to the US? It's just getting rather tedious. Though as the constant karma farming off similarly tedious and usually poorly researched and written blog posts of the last week continues unabated perhaps I am in a minority of readers who gets their news from decent sources and likes to come to HN for interesting technical articles.
My worry is that HN on PRISM is turning into the 24-hour news cycle on CNN. There's little new information lately, but upvotes are being given for contemporary relevance (arguably at the expense of quality of submission) and comments are turning into the same speculative circles of discussion.
Re: Jordanian citizen was denied re-entry to the US on eve of his PhD defense at JHU
#107I wonder if this is one of those vague "security" problems. It seems like if people get denied for normal stuff (overstaying, violating their visas, etc) they're told and can at least fight it a little. But when you get a black mark against you it seems like you get stuck in an administrative blackhole where nobody is authorised to tell you WHY or they themselves don't know. It was the same way with the no-fly list f…
> Americans don't want people visiting, working, or studying on their shores. This is utterly false and unfair. Please don't lump the entire US population with a few ignorant morons who have not seen the world five miles outside their home town. A quick look at our universities is proof enough that what you are saying is incorrect. The last time I visited MIT it almost felt like I was outside the US.
Cambridge isn't exactly representative, either of americans' attitudes towards immigration nor of the immigrants themselves.
Re: Jordanian citizen was denied re-entry to the US on eve of his PhD defense at JHU
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
PhD students, especially in the sciences, don't pay tuition.
Nice to know my taxes pay for the lofty education of people who may have no intention of working in my country.
Your taxes also pay--though usually not completely--for the aimless four year party that constitutes many college students' experience in higher education. Given the ratio of undergraduates to science & engineering PhD students, I'd wager that the former consumes a much larger portion of your taxes than the latter, and for less return on the investment.
Not to mention the fact that many foreign PhD students have strong desires to live and work here...but Uncle Sam apparently thinks it's better to shove them out.
Re: Jordanian citizen was denied re-entry to the US on eve of his PhD defense at JHU
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's hardly being a jackass to wish that my taxes weren't wasted, in any way whatsoever.
It's not like you're footing the bill for all foreign students single-handedly. There's this thing called society. You're part of it. If you think your taxes are being "wasted" on foreign students, as if those freeloaders are being forced on institutions like MIT by the government, take it up with your representative or senator. The academic world is bigger than the US. It might shock you but there are some very capa…
Then let MIT pay for that, not me, when there's no likelihood the student will be paying me back in the form of US taxes. The research leads to patents that MIT gets compensated for, not me. My taxes are likely being wasted here, working against the society I support. It doesn't matter if it's only a dime of mine since all waste is bad and adds up to a lot. No I'm not going to take it up with my representative, falling on deaf ears. I'm going to make my point here on HN instead, where it belongs.
Re: Jordanian citizen was denied re-entry to the US on eve of his PhD defense at JHU
#110Well, this "problem" with sort out itself, eventually. Taking the ridiculous border controls, the economic situation, disregard of human rights (specially for foreigners), it means that the US is rapidly becoming an unattractive place to work, study and even go on vacation. Before long, you won't have many people trying to get in. Guess where the entrepreneurs, scientists and highly skilled workers will go? Hint: not…
Before long, you won't have many people trying to get in. Wanna bet?
Sure! Are there any reliable sources of immigration statistics?
The effects might take a while to be felt. Some green card categories have a backlog of more than a decade. Tourism might be easier to measure.