Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

thejournal.ie

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 226 posts

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#191

Post by HWR_14 »

ethbr1 wrote: post #140
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d guess this administration draws its power from voters who don’t have a passport and power brokers whose staff handle visas. (Or at least it operates as if it believes it does.)

That any US citizen doesn't have a passport is mind blowing, sad, and also indicative. $18/yr for access to most of the world. Yet people say "No thanks. I'm sure the US is great."

The US isn't insanely backwards. France hovers at 50-60% of citizens with passports. The UK has similar rates to the US. Italy is slightly higher at 60%. Japan and China have far lower rates.

I think you just overestimate how common passports are.

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#192

Post by tomp »

roxolotl wrote: post #114
msgodel wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Mass immigration has been a fake specter used by the right to get votes for decades now. How did it impact you, or even those close to you personally negatively? I can tell you some positive impacts: - Most western countries are concerned about economic cliffs around retirement benefits due to falling population. The US is not because so many people, used to(?), want to move here. - Our food is subsidized by those wi…

You're a bit wrong here, aren't you?

- US is special because it is by far the richest and most entrepreneurial (big) country in the world; it gets the creme of the crop of the world, and corresponding economic growth, which no other Western country can replicate; many people want to move to all Western countries (e.g. Europe is experiencing an immigration crisis) but unfiltered (low-skill) immigration doesn't result in economic growth

- illegal (slave?) labour on farms is simply delaying automation, which is ultimately detrimental to economic growth [1]

- in fact, recent studies (and public data) show that non-Western immigrants are not net taxpayers, therefore they result in the opposite of economic prosperity (see graph in [2])

[1] https://x.com/Indian_Bronson/status/1933725059837014066

[2] https://archive.is/Kaqrp

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#193

Post by bitshiftfaced »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #147
bitshiftfaced wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what I can see, China, Germany, and USA are the big three. So it's probably pretty important to make it easy for citizens of these countries to get a visa if you care about tourism. Also, there are places in China where it's very hard to get a visa to travel.

China opened up no visa needed for western European and many Asian countries, so…they have the right idea. No one is really interested in catering to the US tourist market right now. It’s not even clear if Americans are welcome in many countries, or if they have to pretend being Canadians again.

> China opened up no visa needed for western European and many Asian countries, so…they have the right idea.

Here are a couple of examples of the challenges in traveling to certain parts of China: https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycletouring/comments/1bdbsh5/

https://www.the-sun.com/travel/14418546/little-known-law-chi...

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#194

Post by derriz »

monkeyfun wrote: post #184
derriz wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case, what has Ireland done to US citizens that this reciprocates? Ireland has a special deal for US citizens - no visa is required for visits up to 90 days - you just turn up and show your passport. I'm not convinced that this is truly about actually protecting the US from terrorism or foreign attack since all major terrorist acts that I can recall over the last few decades were perpetrated by native-born US…

You don't seem to have understood their post at all by asking what Ireland did that this is reciprocating. They're saying other countries should reciprocate this upon Americans. The point you make about the purpose from the American pov is valid and correct + clearly meant to be expanded upon or abused in the future, but not their point.

Sorry. Yes you’re correct - I misread the parent comment.

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#195

Post by DrJaws »

OkayPhysicist wrote: post #190
ethbr1 wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That any US citizen doesn't have a passport is mind blowing, sad, and also indicative. $18/yr for access to most of the world. Yet people say "No thanks. I'm sure the US is great."

For all but a tiny fraction of Americans, the cost of a passport is a tiny, rounding error expense compared to actually leaving the country. This isn't Europe, where you take a wrong turn and end up in a different country. Here in California, there's a highway you can drive on for 750 miles and not even have left the state (like driving from Paris to Warsaw). And we're just one state of 50. On the diagonal, crossing…

If you go from Paris to Warsaw, you still won't need a passport, just a basic ID

Schengen area

travelling around Europe as European is not much more hassle than moving on the US from one state to the other.

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#196

Post by OkayPhysicist »

DrJaws wrote: post #195
OkayPhysicist wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For all but a tiny fraction of Americans, the cost of a passport is a tiny, rounding error expense compared to actually leaving the country. This isn't Europe, where you take a wrong turn and end up in a different country. Here in California, there's a highway you can drive on for 750 miles and not even have left the state (like driving from Paris to Warsaw). And we're just one state of 50. On the diagonal, crossing…

If you go from Paris to Warsaw, you still won't need a passport, just a basic ID Schengen area travelling around Europe as European is not much more hassle than moving on the US from one state to the other.

Huh, TIL. I had assumed that you needed a passport, they just didn't do border checks.

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#197

Post by msgodel »

jaybrendansmith wrote: post #153
mrtksn wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where’s is the oppression in that? It’s pretty normal to have health procedures to the best understanding of the threat at the time. It’s pretty straightforward, all kind of professions have all kinds of rules. Can be argued that the understanding or the precautions weren’t right but I don’t see the personal or political aspect of this. Maybe hi-vis vest are also problematic, so what? Are you upset with the bureaucra…

You can't reason with these people. They don't understand science or biologics. They think it's ok to infect someone's grandparents with COVID-19 and kill or disable them (as what happened to my mother). It's their right as citizens, to spread their filth and pathogens to everybody and refuse the vaccine. In short, it's all about them.

This argument has nothing to do with science. No matter how effective or safe the medicine is forcing medicine on people is invasive.

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#198

Post by seanmcdirmid »

bitshiftfaced wrote: post #193
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

China opened up no visa needed for western European and many Asian countries, so…they have the right idea. No one is really interested in catering to the US tourist market right now. It’s not even clear if Americans are welcome in many countries, or if they have to pretend being Canadians again.

> China opened up no visa needed for western European and many Asian countries, so…they have the right idea. Here are a couple of examples of the challenges in traveling to certain parts of China: https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycletouring/comments/1bdbsh5/ https://www.the-sun.com/travel/14418546/little-known-law-chi...

I've been to Beijiang and the parts of traditional Tibet that are in Sichuan so I know some of the restrictions. Yes, it sucks waiting in the van when everyone else in your group is enjoying the border with Kazakistan, and it doesn't seem reasonable, but it isn't a huge deal breaker either.

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#199

Post by Tadpole9181 »

potato3732842 wrote: post #29
Aeolun wrote: post #14

I think what the US wants is for nobody to visit them any more. For nobody to do trade with them any more. Basically Shogunate Japan?

I think part of the point is to put the squeeze on companies that have been abusing the H1B program in spirit if not by the letter by making it hard for their talent to enter the country easily and giving the executive fairly unilateral right of denial. Though I think this is an ancillary motive.

Oh, yeah, totally. Because this makes significantly more sense than, I don't know, just enforcing the H1B rules that are flagrantly violated in the open constantly?

Not to mention this does nothing to curb outsourcing, which is the next big thing.

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#200

Post by tastyface »

msgodel wrote: post #78
childintime wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was thinking about presenting at a conference in the USA in november, but the risks and abuse associated with entrance are now so high, it's out of the question. The world can no longer center on the USA. The tr*mp administration seems to think they are inviolable, that they can solve every problem with the military. They'll be caught with their pants down. A $400 drone can now take out a $2B piece of equipment. Th…

[flagged]

I no longer have any interest in talking or negotiating with any of you people, but I’m happy to take personal measures to exclude you from polite society in any way I can.
Post reply on HN