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It's not that they didn't give him a J1 visa, it's just that they took way too long to process it. It sucks, but I wouldn't attribute to malice what I could attribute to inefficiency :)
Adi Shamir wrote that the president of his institute says: "It is clear that scientists have been singled out, since I hear that other ‘simple citizen’, do get their visa in a short time." Scientists get more scrutiny? What in the world is going on there?
> Indeed, public-key cryptography might not even be with us today if Adi had not been involved with Ron Rivest and Leonard Adleman so long ago. There you go, those pesky scientists making the surveillance industry's job that little bit harder.
Adi Shamir wrote that the president of his institute says: "It is clear that scientists have been singled out, since I hear that other ‘simple citizen’, do get their visa in a short time." Scientists get more scrutiny? What in the world is going on there?
To not do so simply hinders the progress of human knowledge, or at least, it hinders the United States.
Adi Shamir wrote that the president of his institute says: "It is clear that scientists have been singled out, since I hear that other ‘simple citizen’, do get their visa in a short time." Scientists get more scrutiny? What in the world is going on there?
Not quite as long as it took Adi Shamir, but long.
On average it takes about 14 weeks to get a visa, but on occasion it has taken many many months.
I've done the calculations, the worst-case scenario for the full process is 32 weeks. It's never actually taken that long, but it's not been far off.
I remember having to explain to Microsoft that they needed to write a sponsor/supporting letter (for the US embassy) more than half a year in advance of any potential visit to Redmond that I'd be working at. As this was for DAC (Developer Advisory Council) meetings that Microsoft only scheduled a month in advance they found themselves in a dilemma over this. Thankfully they agreed, and their legal department would author letters that a meeting would likely occur requiring my attendance, but it was always a slog of a process.
For those wondering, I was shortly married to a US citizen and I speculate that this triggers some flag or signal that makes them think I want to stay there (I don't). I also have an interesting past, having been homeless for a while. Who knows though, the system doesn't supply answers. It's a black box process.
It's a nightmare process that doesn't end when you have a visa. On arrival I experience the joys of "secondary", and being sat in a waiting room for many hours before a 10-second interview in which they let me go my way.
Every part of the experience is a miserable one, always with the threat of an axe over the visit.
The vast majority of the time I have been invited, or had opportunities to visit, I just do not choose to visit the USA.
Adi Shamir wrote that the president of his institute says: "It is clear that scientists have been singled out, since I hear that other ‘simple citizen’, do get their visa in a short time." Scientists get more scrutiny? What in the world is going on there?
Scientists specifically are targeted for extra scrutiny. In my visa interview I was asked if my research is in cryptography and waved through when I said it isn't.
Adi Shamir wrote that the president of his institute says: "It is clear that scientists have been singled out, since I hear that other ‘simple citizen’, do get their visa in a short time." Scientists get more scrutiny? What in the world is going on there?
From the visa guidelines of the embassy where I applied for my visa [1]: The visa applications of applicants involved in technical or scientific fields may require additional administrative processing. Therefore, applicants who believe they may be affected by this requirement should apply as early as possible. [1] http://karachi.usconsulate.gov/technology_visas.html
The fact that this has very bad side effects on technological progress is important, but it's not like the government gives smart people scrutiny because it hates smart people. This behavior is brutally rational if you just look at their primary mission.