> The criteria for admissions in many undergrad/graduate programs is really not that high, and some schools are not very expensive at all. We could, at the sam

> The criteria for admissions in many undergrad/graduate programs is really not that high, and some schools are not very expensive at all. We could, at the same time, make standards a lot higher to obtain a student visa in the first place. I for one have no problem making it extremely hard to get a student visa or an H1. But it seems to me rather unfair to allow someone to build a life here for 6 or 8 years and then deport them. In general, a system where only the most promising individuals are awarded immigrant visas, and where it is extremely difficult and unpleasant to reside here as an illegal immigrant, but where anyone who has resided here for a given number if years (legally or otherwise) is automatically a permanent resident, might be a marked improvement over the current system. Almost all new immigrants would be economic assets, would not drive down wages for working class citizens. And at the same time the problem of the "dreamers" already here will be solved.