I think it should matter, as a point of discussion. I don't think it should be definitive. I certainly don't think the goal of US immigration policy (or student

I think it should matter, as a point of discussion. I don't think it should be definitive. I certainly don't think the goal of US immigration policy (or student visa policy) should be to exceed a dismal policy somewhere else by a feather. I may also disagree that the US universally holds itself up as better than other countries. In many widespread institutions (mainstream media, academia, Hollywood), I'd say the widespread, majority opinion is that the US is notably worse in many regards than many other European countries or Canada (I may in fact agree on some points, though maybe not as broadly). Within that context, I do think it's reasonable to note that according to a poster above, Finland (a country widely lauded in the US for its education system) subjects foreign graduate students to a stressful yearly renewal process for a student visa. Or that Canada, a country often used as a stand-in for a better, more progressive US, has a points system that rewards youth, fluency in one of two Western European languages, and high levels of education. Should conditions in widely admired countries matter? Sure. This shouldn't be a conversation ender. But yes, it is absolutely relevant to the discussion.