Immigrant entrepreneur arrested to meet quotas • Hacker News Board

Re: Immigrant entrepreneur arrested to meet quotas

#121

Post by compay » Thu, Oct 20, 2011, 3:41 PM UTC

colkassad wrote: post #71

compay wrote: post #32

I'm American. My wife is Argentine. We live in Argentina in large part because when we wanted to marry in 2006, we couldn't get her a permanent visa to live in the USA. Her fiancee visa was in fact quickly approved, pending an interview at the US consulate in Buenos Aires. We waited and waited, called, had our lawyers call, and the response was always "when the consulate is ready to make an appointment, they will cal…

I married my wife overseas in 2007. In 2008 we applied for immigration at a US embassy (I sponsored her as my spouse), waited a couple of months, and received an appointment date. My wife was granted a visa at the appointment. I made a comment during the interview on how the process was so painless and the consulate basically said, "well, you guys are married". 3 years later, she is a US citizen. I think the fiancee…

Glad to hear you had such a better experience. There are definitely a lot of factors to consider.

Luckily since our initial terrible experience, we've had nothing but good ones with the US Consulate in Buenos Aires. So I'm hopeful that if we ever decide to move back to the USA, being married for 5 years and having a child will count in our favor and make the process much easier like it was for you.

As it is though, I've grown pretty comfortable here and don't know if we'll ever move back. All's well that ends well, I suppose. :)

Re: Immigrant entrepreneur arrested to meet quotas

#122

Post by krookoo » Thu, Oct 20, 2011, 3:41 PM UTC

llcoolv wrote: post #36

Shame is that this guy is most probably Bulgarian and he holds the burgundy passport, which enables him to do his trade almost all over Europe (except for Belarus, Moldova, etc) without having to deal with any bureaucracy or the 'you dirty outsider' attitude. I really don't get it what so many people see in the US.

A sense of home. The US is now his home. This is a very valuable thing.

Re: Immigrant entrepreneur arrested to meet quotas

#123

Post by krookoo » Thu, Oct 20, 2011, 3:43 PM UTC

tomgruner wrote: post #37

This seems extremely harsh to me. And also stupid not to value this man's contribution to the U.S. In 2004 I arrived in Spain as an American and found a programming job at the international division of a sizable U.S. company. But everything was under the table, and that company did not want to sponsor a visa for me. But even when I was illegal in Spain I still had access to better free health care than the uninsured…

Why would an American want to live illegally in spain?

Re: Immigrant entrepreneur arrested to meet quotas

#124

Post by sin7 » Thu, Oct 20, 2011, 3:45 PM UTC

gnaritas wrote: post #102

yeahsure wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here. When I was a kid I pictured myself living "the american dream" when I grew up, maybe move to the States when I became a successful entrepreneur (haven't made it yet!). A few years ago I visited the USA for the first time -and have a been there a few times since- and didn't like what I saw. I like Americans, and I like a lot of things about the US, but wouldn't live there at all. I think the problem was wha…

Could you expand on that last sentence, as an American I find it very interesting?

The movies in my country are about one man fighting another for the love of a woman, gunfights between families, going from a rural town to the big city and getting robbed then having to return home defeated. They are about things that make a difference on a personal level. American movies are about fighting to save the world. Fighting everyone to protect your family. Doing the right thing. They deal with so much money that the translation seems outrageous. Americans in the movies are kind, wise and noble, but in the real America, people are petty. Walking down the street someone will try to pick a fight because you looked at them. You get hundred dollar tickets, if you cross the street anywhere except the corner. Buses kick people off, if they are missing ten cents. People are quick to point to their Constitutional rights, but are offended by everything save smiles. And that is when you find out that few Americans fit the Hollywood American archetype.

Re: Immigrant entrepreneur arrested to meet quotas

#125

Post by angelbob » Thu, Oct 20, 2011, 3:46 PM UTC

drieddust wrote: post #59

eis wrote: post #7

As a kid I always wanted to go to the USA, maybe even live there. So many things to see, the business opportunities and the propagated freedom were very attractive. During the last decade though, the USA have done a fantastic job of eradicating every bit of what was left of this dream. Nowerdays all you hear from them is how Hollywood is destroying little guys' lifes for downloading a bunch of songs, exporting those…

Ever since Obama came to power American Visa system got fucked up. I work for a consulting firm and people are denied Visa on arbitrary grounds such as "we are not satisfied with your purpose of visit", "why you need to meet your customer face to face" etc. Even that is fine but funny thing is that same person is allowed visa for the same purpose when he applied next time :) American under Obama have started some kin…

It's been pretty fucked-up before Obama, too.

Re: Immigrant entrepreneur arrested to meet quotas

#126

Post by zb » Thu, Oct 20, 2011, 3:50 PM UTC

ecopoesis wrote: post #25

steve8918 wrote: post #20

I hate to say it but from a brief reading of the information, it sounds like their asylum was first denied back in 1997, and they've been fighting it ever since. They certainly have the right to fight it, but it's been an uphill battle for almost 15 years, so the outcome certainly doesn't seem like a surprise. The person is obviously a great entrepreneur, he probably should have just left on his own accord instead of…

The point is there are rules. To come to the US you can either: 1) Apply to INS, wait in line, enter the lottery and follow the law. 2) Hop on a plane and hope they don't catch you. He chose route 2, and is now paying the consequences. Just because he's an entrepreneur doesn't give him any more right to be here then any other would be immigrant, and it certainly doesn't give him the right to jump the line

No, he didn't. He was legally in the country and he applied for asylum before his authorisation expired. It was all above-board, though that doesn't mean he gets to stay since the asylum application was eventually declined.

Re: Immigrant entrepreneur arrested to meet quotas

#127

Post by gnaritas » Thu, Oct 20, 2011, 3:51 PM UTC

yeahsure wrote: post #117

gnaritas wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you expand on that last sentence, as an American I find it very interesting?

I've always been a movie buff, and so as a kid I had some miss-conceptions and naive beliefs about the US. Some random ones I can think of now (a bit busy ATM): - Cops are nice and they are out there to help people. - There are no criminals in US neighborhoods. It is ok to even leave your car unlocked. - There's no unemployment in the US (or it's minimal). If you go to college you automatically get a nice paying job.…

Very interesting, thank you.

Re: Immigrant entrepreneur arrested to meet quotas

#128

Post by pyre » Thu, Oct 20, 2011, 3:51 PM UTC

Mvandenbergh wrote: post #13

nkassis wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does a Non-criminal removal mean? Like who would be in that category? Just people who's visa expired?

Non-criminal removal is for people who are being deported after an appeals process. Basically they petitioned for a change of visa status which was denied and eventually all their appeals were turned down. Key is that because they were following the legal appeal channel, they were at no point in the country illegally.

So by ramping up non-criminal removals, does that mean they are actively trying to reject more appeals just to meet quotas of people they must deport (as opposed to rejecting or accepting them on the merits of the case)?

Re: Immigrant entrepreneur arrested to meet quotas

#129

Post by bh42222 » Thu, Oct 20, 2011, 3:51 PM UTC

gnaritas wrote: post #113

msellout wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many immigrants tell me that they came to the US because of all the wonderful movies they watched. TV probably plays a large role as well, now.

You're just repeating the obvious part of what he said; I already know this, I'm interested in the details of what differed between what the movies told them vs their actual experiences.

Just imagine you know nothing about the US except what you see in movies. Do you see a lot of poor people?

There obviously are movies and TV which show a much more "real" version of the world. But the most popular TV and movies tend to show an idealized version of reality.

Re: Immigrant entrepreneur arrested to meet quotas

#130

Post by gnaritas » Thu, Oct 20, 2011, 3:55 PM UTC

sin7 wrote: post #124

gnaritas wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you expand on that last sentence, as an American I find it very interesting?

The movies in my country are about one man fighting another for the love of a woman, gunfights between families, going from a rural town to the big city and getting robbed then having to return home defeated. They are about things that make a difference on a personal level. American movies are about fighting to save the world. Fighting everyone to protect your family. Doing the right thing. They deal with so much mon…

Interesting perspective, though, you seem to have had some bad experiences with Americans, sounds like you've been to the bad side of some big city. Small town America are closer to the Hollywood prototype you see in the movies; friendly people, helping strangers and all that.

What is your home country?