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

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

#531

Post by ericdschmidt »

talmand wrote: post #129
zerr wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One would think, countries like USA, Australia or NZ might be afraid of immigration because they know what they did to native inhabitants... Generally, think about the situation where all (most) countries abolish borders, not just NZ or other small country. Moving is the basic human right, and the sooner we realize the better for mankind, assuming the culture of the host country is respected. Of course the culture ne…

Why would one be afraid of immigrants because of past treatment of original natives when chances are the immigrants are descended from people who did similar things to the original natives of their homeland? As an easy example, I'm fairly certain the original natives of the southern portions of the North American continent weren't speaking Spanish when the conquistadors showed up. I would disagree that is is for the…

"Move from one stagnant area into a prosperous one to the point of dragging it down to be stagnant as well?"

Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong... 100 times wrong.

Productivity is the root of all prosperity. First read this excellent article: http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2015/02/always_keep_you..... Workers become on average ~20x more productive when they migrate to the first world. Because we are capital rich and we have sane government and law and order. Imagine if you were moved to Haiti and you got stuck there. How much could you contribute to society in Haiti? You could maybe slice some coconuts on the side of the road - is that gonna make the world a lot richer? Roadside sliced coconuts? Nah, much better for you to be in first world even if you're doing a low skilled job here like delivering catering to a high tech startup. That catering company is able to produce food much more efficiently, and in SF or NYC you're able to distribute it much more efficiently, and you're part of this souped-up economic engine that's changing the world. That's why they make 20x or up to 40x more (in the case of the extreme poor) when they migrate to the first world. It's better for everyone! Economists estimate that moving from the status quo to fully liberalized migration (i.e. open borders) would roughly double global gdp - that's an insane silver bullet. That's everyone getting way fucking richer in one fell swoop.

Please see my comment here for more info: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9769632

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

#532

Post by jacques_chester »

empressplay wrote: post #434
logfromblammo wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an American, I also strongly suggest you consider going to Canada. The U.S. immigration system is so far gone that not even American citizens have the power to fix it. It has become a plaything in the hands of professional politicians. Just like many other things in the U.S., you won't get anything remotely like fair treatment unless you have rich or influential sponsors acting on your behalf. Even if you do ultim…

This is totally true. The difference between how US immigration treats me (Canadian) vs. my partner (Australian) is truly breathtaking. One of us gets the red carpet and the other gets a cavity search (almost). If you're Canadian you have an advantage over any other non-American, no question.

I dunno about that. The E3 visa is exclusively reserved for Australians and its terms are very generous.

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

#533

Post by [deleted] »

ericdschmidt wrote: post #531
talmand wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would one be afraid of immigrants because of past treatment of original natives when chances are the immigrants are descended from people who did similar things to the original natives of their homeland? As an easy example, I'm fairly certain the original natives of the southern portions of the North American continent weren't speaking Spanish when the conquistadors showed up. I would disagree that is is for the…

"Move from one stagnant area into a prosperous one to the point of dragging it down to be stagnant as well?" Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong... 100 times wrong. Productivity is the root of all prosperity. First read this excellent article: http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2015/02/always_keep_you.... . Workers become on average ~20x more productive when they migrate to the first world. Because we are capital rich and…

[deleted]

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

#534

Post by jacques_chester »

ashwinaj wrote: post #402

As a foreigner (including myself) the OP should have realized what's required to stay in the US beyond the H1B. In his case, it was applying for the green card lottery and employment based green card. Since he is a citizen of NZ, if he had applied for an employment based green card, he would've obtained it in less than 2 years. This might sound harsh, but there is no point complaining about the immigration system whi…

If you read further, you'll see that his employers refused to sponsor him for an H1B.

He did in fact go for another job, which has fallen through. And so he must leave the country.

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

#535

Post by pekk »

shas3 wrote: post #101
pekk wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which country recognizes a universal right to naturalize as a citizen of that country?

How is this question germane to my comment or OP? I am not advocating any universal right. Just bureaucratic efficiency.

All the emotionally charged language you used (like "iniquities") belies this claim. Obviously you do not feel this is simply a matter of inefficiency. Now you are moving the goalposts.

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

#536

Post by ericdschmidt »

[deleted] wrote: post #533
ericdschmidt wrote: post #531

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Move from one stagnant area into a prosperous one to the point of dragging it down to be stagnant as well?" Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong... 100 times wrong. Productivity is the root of all prosperity. First read this excellent article: http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2015/02/always_keep_you.... . Workers become on average ~20x more productive when they migrate to the first world. Because we are capital rich and…

[deleted]

Making cheap clothes and electronics in factories are good jobs relative to the kind of work that the extreme poor do - scrounging for food in a garbage dump in Manila or farming shitty land. And they make clothing and electronics in Mexico (which is a relatively rich country by global standards) and in America and other first world places. It's not like the economy would just stop making clothes or electronics. It would adjust to satisfy the forces of supply and demand at some optimal equilibrium. Just keep your eye on production, keep your eye on production, keep your eye on production.

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

#537

Post by cubancigar11 »

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #252
btian wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have a law degree? Do Fortune 500 companies trust you to represent them? The job will just remain unfilled when the author leaves the US...

>The job will just remain unfilled when the author leaves the US... If they pay H1B-esque wages and conditions, yes. Pay competitive salaries and benefits and you'll have qualified people. The idea that we can't fill that position with US talent is completely asinine.

See, all that money that employers are hoarding and that native-born employees have a birth right to get, is coming from foreign. By design. Forcefully imposed by USA in the first place. Most countries were very happy with closed markets until USA decided to force-feed them globalization in the name of democracy and free-market. It killed all the local businesses by cheaper larger American companies. So it was fun when USA had the full control of production line. At that time most Americans, your parents and their generation, didn't do anything for long term benefits and said - "oh well, it's next generation's problem". (It is the same issue you will see with people saying global climate change is not an immediate concern, btw.)

So now labor is also globalized. And hence you have a cheaper larger pool of resources which is killing the local entitlements. If you want to fix it you really need to become more socialist, create unions, and start lobbying your government.

But here is the thing - most Americans aren'y actually in the same shitty situation as the people in other countries who had just gotten out of colonial rule and ended up with globalization before being prosperous. Most Americans are still driving gas guzzlers while being 'unemployed'. Pray that they grow a brain before the tide swings too far to the other side, like it has in most other countries where USA is trying to destroy local markets.

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

#538

Post by jotm »

jotm wrote: post #319
eax_ wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

It seems I was wrong about the Schengen part. Switzerland is part of Schengen, which is what allows EU citizens to travel there visa-free.

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

#539

Post by jotm »

kuschku wrote: post #332
jotm wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

As I said, with the EU everything has special cases and exceptions.

Yeah, it's more complicated than I thought...

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

#540

Post by jotm »

realityking wrote: post #352
jotm wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

You are correct. The main pillar of the European Union is the common market including the free movement of goods, capital and people. Schengen was originally a treaty outside of the framework of the EU but has since been taken over by it. There are EU countries outside of Schengen (GB, Ireland) and there are non-EU countries part of Schengen (e.g. Norway, Vatican, Switzerland). However all countries that join the EU…

Thanks for the explanation!
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