4 ms·

What makes the immigration process in the US truly horrific is that it is racist. When the law was passed, the grand compromise was that it would not change the

What makes the immigration process in the US truly horrific is that it is racist. When the law was passed, the grand compromise was that it would not change the racial makeup of the country. So there are country specific (which is really just race specific with a wink and a nod) quotas for different countries. This means if you are from Sweden or Ireland, it's actually pretty easy to get a green card. There is even a green card lottery where you can apply in Ireland and get a green card and get one just because you entered because there aren't enough immigrants from there to balance things out. But if you are from India, it's going to take a decade or more.

JAlexoid 6y ago
Shhh.... We don't tell American citizens that they are largely xenophobic, even though we have PEW Research data to prove it.
- dang 6y ago
  Please don't take HN threads into nationalistic flamewar. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
foolinaround 6y ago
Need citation for this. when the basis is country-specific, and all countries are treated equally, it is purely supply/demand. No one applies from Afghanistan, so it is easier to get a GC -- so is US biased towards Afghanistan?
- mavelikara 6y ago
  > when the basis is country-specific, Not adjusting for population when the brunt of this policy is not borne by a country but a person, suggests malicious intent. All countries are treated equal, but all immigrants are not.
  - foolinaround 6y ago
    In theory, your argument sounds fair.. But in practice, is the US supposed to track down census numbers for the countries around the globe? So many countries, dont even have much of a process and the main point is : the govt exists for the well-bein of its current citizens, not potential ones.
R0b0t1 6y ago
The intent of the law wasn't racist, it was to prevent e.g. Indian (or some other large demographic) candidates from taking all of the available quota.

JAlexoid 6y ago

Shhh.... We don't tell American citizens that they are largely xenophobic, even though we have PEW Research data to prove it.

dang 6y ago
Please don't take HN threads into nationalistic flamewar. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

foolinaround 6y ago

Need citation for this. when the basis is country-specific, and all countries are treated equally, it is purely supply/demand. No one applies from Afghanistan, so it is easier to get a GC -- so is US biased towards Afghanistan?

mavelikara 6y ago
> when the basis is country-specific, Not adjusting for population when the brunt of this policy is not borne by a country but a person, suggests malicious intent. All countries are treated equal, but all immigrants are not.
- foolinaround 6y ago
  In theory, your argument sounds fair.. But in practice, is the US supposed to track down census numbers for the countries around the globe? So many countries, dont even have much of a process and the main point is : the govt exists for the well-bein of its current citizens, not potential ones.

R0b0t1 6y ago

The intent of the law wasn't racist, it was to prevent e.g. Indian (or some other large demographic) candidates from taking all of the available quota.