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U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

wsj.com

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Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#861

Post by eudamoniac »

theF00l wrote: post #850
codingisfreedom wrote: post #686

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. People seem to hold views that getting visas to the US is a human right. It’s no fun, but these are adults (and often very privileged adults) that decided to move to a new country for more upside at the cost of no residency. Conflating this with “inhumane” is just a basic misunderstanding of immigration and the contract these people signed up for. Very uncomfortable, yet a risk these people took, and hopefull…

You are both conflating technical correctness with morality

You are conflating morality with proper governance. Democratic government must enact the will of the citizen body, even if immoral in some frameworks.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#862

Post by wood_spirit »

motbus3 wrote: post #832
locknitpicker wrote: post #763

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> when you treat immigrants like they were not people with lifes, you are just one step away from treating poor people as they were not people and then too treat all common people as they were not people. "The way that a society treats its prisoners is one of the sharpest reflections of its character." - Nelson Mandela http://www.mandela.gov.za/mandela_speeches/1998/980625_dcshr...

I did not know this but true. I would point out that when you are talking about criminals there is still a layer of judgment from society given the crimes. When talking about legal immigrants and refugees there is even less space.

The US is an outliner on prison terms and sizes etc. Under the surface it is hard to tell if the public lead the prisons or if the big prison business shapes public opinion but from the outside it seems crazy.

Different societies are at different places on the prison is for punishment to prison is for rehabilitation spectrum, and their reoffending rates reflect that.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#863

Post by buckle8017 »

hvb2 wrote: post #530
conductr wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not trying to make a political point at all and perhaps a controversial take. But, it’s specifically and maybe implicitly by design. Meaning they made this way precisely so you have to reapply so they can change their mind or block you out later. Nothing about getting a visa is permanent and you’re fully at risk when you move here with that type of status. If you evaluate the situation that’s always been the case.

The leaving part is not the issue, as you try to immigrate into a country you're subject to the rules that country sets. You're always free to not immigrate into that country (this is not about asylum). The issue here is that, if you just left the country to do everything the country asked you, you are now in limbo. For how long? No one can tell. Does this mean you lose your job? Maybe. And when you decide it's no lo…

> The leaving part is not the issue, as you try to immigrate into a country you're subject to the rules that country sets

These are non immigrant work visas.

So maybe just don't engage in immigration fraud?

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#864

Post by runako »

galleywest200 wrote: post #167
trgn wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think many (if not most) countries in the developed world should reduce immigration, and usa in particular should abolish birthright citizenship. The first because a lower supply of labor is going to create breathing space for an entire working population who will see tremendous job upheaval due to AI automation. A lower aggregate demand on houses, services will also be welcome to take the fuel out of inflation, an…

Birthright citizenship is a constitutional right in the US same as freedom of speech, religion, the press, and the right to sue the government. The change would require 2/3 of all states to approve a constitutional amendment. It won't ever pass. Most of us are only citizens because someone up the chain was born under this rule. My family came here in the early 1700s and fought in the revolution. It would be a disgrac…

> Most of us are only citizens because someone up the chain was born under this rule.

This understates the situation. All of us who are not naturalized citizens are citizens only because of the birthright clause in the Constitution. The US does not have any other way for a person born here to become a citizen.

If the birthright clause of the Constitution stops being enforced, Congress (or more likely in our current iteration, the President) will have to create a brand-new set of rules determining which of us natural-born citizens get to retain our citizenship and which do not. There is no existing law to guide them, so they can make it up out of whole cloth.

More plainly: if we choose to eliminate birthright citizenship, whoever is running the country at that time gets to determine whether you are still a citizen.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#865

Post by theF00l »

eudamoniac wrote: post #861
theF00l wrote: post #850

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are both conflating technical correctness with morality

You are conflating morality with proper governance. Democratic government must enact the will of the citizen body, even if immoral in some frameworks.

So it can be inhumane then, by your definition?

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#866

Post by eudamoniac »

ActorNightly wrote: post #650
bruce511 wrote: post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for posting. I'm being sincere. I think it is helpful to remind folk that these policies are not universally hated. Indeed a majority of voters voted specifically for them, and they were explicitly laid out. This is democracy in action. The majority (of those who care enough at all) get to rule over the minority (and the apathetic). Obviously not all actions will be universally loved, but no govt action can…

Its also helpful to remind folk about why someone would hold this position. The largest reason US got to where it was at least in the world economy stage was because of the visa program. It was the country everyone wanted to move to, because you can apply your skills, make money, start a business, with very little restriction comparatively, buy a house, and live your dream life. The more people wanna work, the more o…

Countries are not merely economic zones..! While I don't even agree with you (skilled immigrants are very different from unskilled), even if I did, anti immigration sentiment is largely about culture. I would prefer to live in my own culture than to be slightly richer in someone else's culture.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#867

Post by leftouterjoins »

hvb2 wrote: post #15

So for those that don't know, it's quite common for a visa renewal to be required to leave the country. Depending on the visa, you might have to do this every year. So just imagine, having a normal job in the US and you're asked to leave to renew your visa and this stuff happens. That's no more appointment, not even a new date and you're now very likely unable to work and possibly can't even enter the country to get…

Imagine trying to find a job in your home country but you can’t because masses are being brought over to undercut you and your fellow countrymen. Inhumane.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#868

Post by ydat »

ajmurmann wrote: post #42
Dig1t wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is classic goomba fallacy. Right wing oligarchs want infinite immigration because they get a larger labor pool and lower wages. Right wing normies want less immigration because they don't want to compete with the entire world for a job and don't want to become a minority in their own country. Spend some time on X and you can see the two parts of the right wing attack each other over this issue.

Jobs will just move abroad then: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-11-11/trump-s-h...

[dead]

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#869

Post by rmujica »

leftouterjoins wrote: post #867
hvb2 wrote: post #15

So for those that don't know, it's quite common for a visa renewal to be required to leave the country. Depending on the visa, you might have to do this every year. So just imagine, having a normal job in the US and you're asked to leave to renew your visa and this stuff happens. That's no more appointment, not even a new date and you're now very likely unable to work and possibly can't even enter the country to get…

Imagine trying to find a job in your home country but you can’t because masses are being brought over to undercut you and your fellow countrymen. Inhumane.

skill issue

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#870

Post by aveao »

prepend wrote: post #20
hvb2 wrote: post #15

So for those that don't know, it's quite common for a visa renewal to be required to leave the country. Depending on the visa, you might have to do this every year. So just imagine, having a normal job in the US and you're asked to leave to renew your visa and this stuff happens. That's no more appointment, not even a new date and you're now very likely unable to work and possibly can't even enter the country to get…

I have friends who are expats and they’ve done this for years. I had one family member who left every six months to renew their visa. It’s a chore, but very common around the world.

Common around the world? I'd be curious what other countries require this, pretty much everywhere else I know has you renew your status within the country (incl. US), and they give you some form of proof of residence that takes the place of a visa (excl. US).

In many cases I've seen this is either a sticker on your passport (incl. possibly a visa) or a physical card, and does not require traveling abroad for it for "consular processing". This is the case for Schengen countries, Canada, UK, Australia, Japan, Thailand, etc.

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