I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed • Hacker News Board

Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed

#311

Post by jotm » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 10:37 PM UTC

kuschku wrote: post #114

geebee wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any chance you'd be willing to write a bit more about your support for open borders? In particular, I'm interested in knowing whether you think this is a situation where it would be both moral and beneficial, or if you feel that it is simply wrong to limit where people can live and work based on where they were born (or even where their grandparents were born) even if the overall effect on current citizens of some re…

The debate the politicians in my state (Schleswig-Holstein, a state in Germany) had about this was really interesting, sadly it’s in German. Essentially, it boils down to two issues: Morally, we all are descendants of immigrants, or at least most. Economically, most immigrants are willing to work hard. Combined with the fact that our society has a birth rate below replacement rate (1.3 vs. 2.1) we need immigrants jus…

You do need immigrants, but you need them to be low level workers. Which explains the amount of unskilled people working in both Germany and the US legally, while high skilled immigrants can't get their foot through the door.

Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed

#312

Post by sp4ke » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 10:38 PM UTC

smutticus wrote: post #265

As an American who immigrated to The Netherlands I would like to know of this mythical country in the world with a working immigration system. AFAICT they're all rather broken. US immigration might be broken in different ways than some other countries, but from the many stories I've heard of friends moving all over the world, they all pretty much suck.

As an immigrant to both France and Germany I agree with you. Every immigration system seems completely broken and disconnected from reality.

Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed

#313

Post by SFjulie1 » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 10:38 PM UTC

kingmanaz wrote: post #250

shas3 wrote: post #68

The US legal immigration system is perfectly described by the adjective, Kafkaesque. In terms of the arbitrariness of bureaucracy, it has more in common with what I saw in the socialist days of India and what one reads in books by Solzhenitsyn and Kafka. The iniquities have been discussed repeatedly in popular press, with almost no changes wrought in the process. Many years ago (yes, 2011 was 4 years ago) Newsweek ra…

A nation exists to serve the will of /its people/. With rampant illegal and legal immigration, a nation cannot know who /its people/ are. A nation serving no one people is a nation serving no one, it instead arbitrates in favor of whichever group screams the loudest. Diversity leads to division. Division leads to divestment. Divestment leads to dissolution and war. America is more than a place to make money, it is mo…

Actually YOUR racist nation (that genocides the first nations) is bankrupting other countries: - brain drains is stilling public investment in education from other developed countries - cheap labor force that have kids is a transfer of the capacity to pay retirements in other countries to pay yours ... Actual immigrations are a pure theft that benefits only the wealthiests, local and immigrants alike.

Immigration producing macro economically a gross benefit nation that can afford it should compensate.

In our time and place I would propose the destination country compensate in debt erasure.

Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed

#314

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 10:38 PM UTC

Jugurtha wrote: post #220

pc86 wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it? By definition wouldn't an increase in supply of talent for a given job decrease market wage for that talent unless it was already in a shortage (which we never really know until it's over)?

Sound logic, but it is not an automatically enforced one. Take waste collectors, for example: Very few people want to do it, very few people actually do it. And it is necessary. By our sound logic, their salaries should be soaring, but they're not. On the other hand, take lawyers in the U.S. A huge number of people want to do it. A huge number of people ends up doing it (I think the number of lawyers tripled in 30 ye…

[deleted]

Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed

#315

Post by smm2000 » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 10:38 PM UTC

outworlder wrote: post #243

bane wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you see, that's it. Those are the options. Option #4: treat people who want to immigrate with decency, isn't available. I think it's fair to complain that this option doesn't exist, I'd like it to exist. But it doesn't and options #1-3 are what the author had to work within, yet chose not to pursue any of them. If he still wants to get in, once he's back in New Zealand, he's free to continue pursuing permanent re…

Obviously, you can overcome any legal hurdle with "tenacity". Lottery is out if he intended to stay. I am wondering if you are a troll for even having suggested it. It is meant for people outside the US - with no intent of ever visiting. It signals immigration intent, so even tourist visas can be denied on that alone. It is a lottery, not an application. Very low odds that would actually make it harder for him to sta…

Participating in lotter does not signal immigration intent. I participated in lottery for my parents for ten years and they had zero problem renewing their visitor visas every two year. It's pretty well documented that it's ok to do lottery without while on visitor or student visa.

The fact that none of his employers wanted to sponsor him for visa tells you how valuable he was to those employers. Full in cost of employment-based greencard is only 5k-10k including legal fees. All company has to do is to provide financial information and to sign several forms - everything else is done by outside lawyers. I could not imagine any company refusing to do it for any professional employee unless he was extremely replaceable.

Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed

#316

Post by jotm » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 10:39 PM UTC

mahouse wrote: post #213

greggman wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've spent about 8 years in Japan. I love parts of the culture (the good parts, not the bad parts). Things like the service ethic, politeness, safety, and the basic idea of "do whatever you want in your private life but don't put out anyone else while doing it." My guess is that a massive influx of foreigners would likely destroy that culture. Is there any way to open borders and still preserve a place's culture, at…

No. Re: Sweden.

Lol, yeah, compare one of the most progressive countries in the world with Japan's nearly feudal traditions...

Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed

#317

Post by rburhum » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 10:42 PM UTC

As somebody who has lived 18 years in this country and just _barely_ managed to get a green card 2 years ago, I completely understand what you are going through. I am sorry it has come to this - it sucks big time and most people will not understand how little you can do about this. IMHO, the best course of action would be to find an employer and apply for a visa next April. If you are lucky, you'll be able to get back here by September. I hope it all works out.

Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed

#318

Post by jotm » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 10:42 PM UTC

kuschku wrote: post #295

DanBC wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't Schengen only about passportless travel? I thought it didn't have anything to do with right to work?

As always, with the EU, it’s complicated, but often the "free to work, live and retire everywhere in the EU" is considered part of Schengen.

Is it? Then how come Romanian and Bulgarian citizens get the same rights without being in Schengen? Or don't they?

Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed

#319

Post by jotm » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 10:44 PM UTC

eax_ wrote: post #164

hyperion_ wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Switzerland is not a part of the EU.

Right, but it's part of the Schengen area, which also covers most of the EU countries, so once you got a visa to e.g. France, you're free to work and live in Switzerland as well.

Switzerland is not part of the EU nor Schengen. Eu citizens can travel visa-free to Switzerland, but they can't work there. Same goes for US and many other nationals...

Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed

#320

Post by blue11 » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 10:48 PM UTC

josefresco wrote: post #93

scott_s wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is very unusual for 18-year-olds to accurately plan for what they will when they are 33. Most people don't plan their lives out like you are suggesting. They take opportunities as they come, and build their life as it comes along. He attended Yale, liked America, stayed, worked and built a life for 15 years. I find this reasonable, and consider it unrealistic to expect him to, at any point during that time, to jus…

Right, but what happened between 18 and 33. At some point the author must have realized "the system is fucked" but decided (for multiple reasons) to risk continuing to work and live with the US. It's one thing to attend university for 4 years, get a job and then head home. Quite another thing to base/commit your entire life/career in the US without a clear path to citizenship. I'm not saying the author should "suck i…

Basically, the rule is that your first job after college should be with an employer that will sponsor your green card application. I knew that when I graduated and it was my number one criterion when looking for a job. Most of my foreign-born friends knew it too and they did the same. Most, but not all. The ones who didn't due to naivete, carelessness, or limited job opportunities ran into problems later. You have only 6 years on an H1B and time flies quickly. US society is in general very welcoming to immigrants, especially highly-skilled ones, so it's easy to forget that you are just a guest here subject to the vagaries of the system. Getting the green card should be the absolute priority when selecting an employer, no compromise.