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I was a beneficiary of an H1B in 99 from Switzerland (easily confused with Sweden that Trump wants qualified candidates from). After months of waiting I moved t

by dblock 9y ago

I was a beneficiary of an H1B in 99 from Switzerland (easily confused with Sweden that Trump wants qualified candidates from). After months of waiting I moved to the US, and got a green card five years later. I’m grateful. I made my life here. But I think it’s not worth it, the America we all romanticized is long gone.

muninn_ 9y ago
how do I get permanent residency in Switzerland? Can I come there as an unskilled migrant if my family is there or if I just want to because I’m a refugee? Get real. The US has the most liberal immigration laws on the planet.
- abecedarius 9y ago
  iirc, to move to Switzerland basically all you need is a net worth high enough to convince them you won't ever become a public burden. (Also iirc, this is likely to change soon.) Becoming a citizen otoh takes a long time.
  - chrisper 9y ago
    It takes 12 years to become eligible for citizenship.
- Broken_Hippo 9y ago
  You obviously don't know much about immigration laws, either in the US or other places. Otherwise, you'd know that some countries allow folks to move there as long as they have a bit of income or a bit of money in the bank. Some countries don't have such confusing regulations about getting permanent residency nor citizenship and have them clearly laid out. You'd know a lot of countries have family immigration policies for close families, much like the US yet easier to navigate. Heck, Norway's civics exam was a reasonable thing to pass after a 6 week course (50 hours of classroom time), unlike the american exam. Sure, it is required for permanent residency, but that doesn't seem like an unfair requirement either. You are also unaware of how the refugee program works. Otherwise you'd know some of the things that qualifies folks to be a refugee. You'd know that folks can't really choose their country. Most refugees I've met would have rather stayed in their home country, by the way, if it weren't for things like war and starvation. Some are saddened that they will never be able to go back home because they think they'll get killed. Tends to happen after getting tortured by the cops and taken by ISIS - or your family getting this done to them. I'd put links up for you, but that is seriously too much work for this comment.
  - muninn_ 9y ago
    Incredibly poor rebuttal. 1. Saying “you’re unaware and I’m too lazy to post links” means you don’t know enough (and no I don’t care if you’ve immigrated before) to discuss the point. 2. Yes some countries allow people who secure jobs to work in those countries - that doesn’t mean they allow them to become citizens. 3. All countries have confusing immigration systems and tests - boohoo. I have friends from Somalia who live in the United States right now as permanent residents who have not taken any exam. Even so - not a big deal. 4. I didn’t say much about refugees, so for you to suggest that I’m not knowledgeable about the process is a naive assumption you’ve made to argue some silly point. 5. Yes most folks can’t choose their country. Too bad. If every country on the planet opens its borders than fine, if not we are just arguing over arbitrary numbers. Can I without restriction move to Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, or New Zealand? No? Ok then discussion over. I don’t want to hear one single criticism about liberal US immigration policies while the rest of the world is ass-backwards. 6. Yes it’s sad and tragic that some people are born in war-torn countries or countries that become involved in war. Life goes on for the rest of us. I didn’t choose to be not born a billionaire or not born in glorious Germany. You get the hand your dealt and make the best of it. And if the West keeps letting all the best people from these war-torn countries in, there won’t be any good people left to seek justice. It’s amazing the backflips that people will do to justify their racist, imperialist policies while pretending the U.S. is yet again some big bad boogeyman. It makes me sick.
    - newfoundglory 9y ago
      You didn’t have to say much about refugees, even a few words can be completely wrong.
  - sudouser 9y ago
    sadly it’s the truth
  - dingo_bat 9y ago
    That's a lazy comment! You wrote so many words but didn't answer the basic query. How can an unskilled person get permanent residency in Switzerland if the only connection they have to the country is: - they have family in Switzerland - they are a refugee ? It's ok if you don't know. But bullshitting is not ok.
anon11082016 9y ago
One could say... We... Need to... Make America Great Again? ;) Son of immigrants that made a similar move and have similar sentiments. Not all is lost though, still a huge free market and we have rights unparalleled
adamnemecek 9y ago
I think that that America actually never existed, it was all just propaganda.
- muzani 9y ago
  I lived with my parents in the US over 2 decades ago. It was definitely a nice place back then. It's a place of extremes, with a lot of extreme bad and good.
- chrisper 9y ago
  I think that America existed for a short time after WW2 and maybe the time before 9/11. That's when all that Suburban sprawl started and we all think of maybe when we think of "great USA." Nevertheless, I do think that propaganda (mainly Hollywood) is adding to that positive image.
  - jackweirdy 9y ago
    Sounds like it started and ended with Bretton Woods
tanilama 9y ago
I completely feels the same. I am grateful for the education and opportunity that is offered, but I am losing purpose as time goes. The America that I was dreaming of, might never exist in the first place. However, it is painful, now even a little bit enthralling to see it disintegrate at this speed.
DrJokepu 9y ago
Mr. Trump would like more immigrants from Norway, not Sweden (easily confused with Norway).
refurb 9y ago
We all romanticized? If you asked Trump supporters, he turning the US back to what many people romanticized. And if you don't like the direction of the country, vote with your feet.
- newfoundglory 9y ago
  A lot of people are doing that, they’re calling it “marching”
thedarkproject 9y ago
Why would someone from Switzerland - a country that seems superior to the US in every relevant aspect for quality of life - move to the US?

by dblock 9y ago

muninn_ 9y ago

how do I get permanent residency in Switzerland? Can I come there as an unskilled migrant if my family is there or if I just want to because I’m a refugee? Get real. The US has the most liberal immigration laws on the planet.

abecedarius 9y ago
iirc, to move to Switzerland basically all you need is a net worth high enough to convince them you won't ever become a public burden. (Also iirc, this is likely to change soon.) Becoming a citizen otoh takes a long time.
- chrisper 9y ago
  It takes 12 years to become eligible for citizenship.
Broken_Hippo 9y ago
You obviously don't know much about immigration laws, either in the US or other places. Otherwise, you'd know that some countries allow folks to move there as long as they have a bit of income or a bit of money in the bank. Some countries don't have such confusing regulations about getting permanent residency nor citizenship and have them clearly laid out. You'd know a lot of countries have family immigration policies for close families, much like the US yet easier to navigate. Heck, Norway's civics exam was a reasonable thing to pass after a 6 week course (50 hours of classroom time), unlike the american exam. Sure, it is required for permanent residency, but that doesn't seem like an unfair requirement either. You are also unaware of how the refugee program works. Otherwise you'd know some of the things that qualifies folks to be a refugee. You'd know that folks can't really choose their country. Most refugees I've met would have rather stayed in their home country, by the way, if it weren't for things like war and starvation. Some are saddened that they will never be able to go back home because they think they'll get killed. Tends to happen after getting tortured by the cops and taken by ISIS - or your family getting this done to them. I'd put links up for you, but that is seriously too much work for this comment.
- muninn_ 9y ago
  Incredibly poor rebuttal. 1. Saying “you’re unaware and I’m too lazy to post links” means you don’t know enough (and no I don’t care if you’ve immigrated before) to discuss the point. 2. Yes some countries allow people who secure jobs to work in those countries - that doesn’t mean they allow them to become citizens. 3. All countries have confusing immigration systems and tests - boohoo. I have friends from Somalia who live in the United States right now as permanent residents who have not taken any exam. Even so - not a big deal. 4. I didn’t say much about refugees, so for you to suggest that I’m not knowledgeable about the process is a naive assumption you’ve made to argue some silly point. 5. Yes most folks can’t choose their country. Too bad. If every country on the planet opens its borders than fine, if not we are just arguing over arbitrary numbers. Can I without restriction move to Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, or New Zealand? No? Ok then discussion over. I don’t want to hear one single criticism about liberal US immigration policies while the rest of the world is ass-backwards. 6. Yes it’s sad and tragic that some people are born in war-torn countries or countries that become involved in war. Life goes on for the rest of us. I didn’t choose to be not born a billionaire or not born in glorious Germany. You get the hand your dealt and make the best of it. And if the West keeps letting all the best people from these war-torn countries in, there won’t be any good people left to seek justice. It’s amazing the backflips that people will do to justify their racist, imperialist policies while pretending the U.S. is yet again some big bad boogeyman. It makes me sick.
  - newfoundglory 9y ago
    You didn’t have to say much about refugees, even a few words can be completely wrong.
- sudouser 9y ago
  sadly it’s the truth
- dingo_bat 9y ago
  That's a lazy comment! You wrote so many words but didn't answer the basic query. How can an unskilled person get permanent residency in Switzerland if the only connection they have to the country is: - they have family in Switzerland - they are a refugee ? It's ok if you don't know. But bullshitting is not ok.

anon11082016 9y ago

One could say... We... Need to... Make America Great Again? ;) Son of immigrants that made a similar move and have similar sentiments. Not all is lost though, still a huge free market and we have rights unparalleled

adamnemecek 9y ago

I think that that America actually never existed, it was all just propaganda.

muzani 9y ago
I lived with my parents in the US over 2 decades ago. It was definitely a nice place back then. It's a place of extremes, with a lot of extreme bad and good.
chrisper 9y ago
I think that America existed for a short time after WW2 and maybe the time before 9/11. That's when all that Suburban sprawl started and we all think of maybe when we think of "great USA." Nevertheless, I do think that propaganda (mainly Hollywood) is adding to that positive image.
- jackweirdy 9y ago
  Sounds like it started and ended with Bretton Woods

tanilama 9y ago

I completely feels the same. I am grateful for the education and opportunity that is offered, but I am losing purpose as time goes. The America that I was dreaming of, might never exist in the first place. However, it is painful, now even a little bit enthralling to see it disintegrate at this speed.

DrJokepu 9y ago

Mr. Trump would like more immigrants from Norway, not Sweden (easily confused with Norway).

refurb 9y ago

We all romanticized? If you asked Trump supporters, he turning the US back to what many people romanticized. And if you don't like the direction of the country, vote with your feet.

newfoundglory 9y ago
A lot of people are doing that, they’re calling it “marching”

thedarkproject 9y ago

Why would someone from Switzerland - a country that seems superior to the US in every relevant aspect for quality of life - move to the US?