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> There's no reason, whatsoever, to have immigration tied to where your mother happened to be physically located when you came into the world. It's meaningless.

> There's no reason, whatsoever, to have immigration tied to where your mother happened to be physically located when you came into the world. It's meaningless. It's to avoid people using passports of convenience to game the system. > He's been in the India backlog for a decade. Truth is, a lot of that backlog is self-imposed. H1B are supposed to be for real employment for a specialty occupation. There are "Body Shops", mostly Indian owned, that will submit fraudulent applications to import cheap underqualified labor in the country. [0] [1] If the people working at these body shops or their owners simply decided to start following the law, this would clear the backlog almost instantly. > What the US needs is top-down immigration reform and a points-based program like Canada and Australia. Those countries get to cherry-pick the most skilled immigrants and the most likely to thrive in their new homes. And yet how does it explains the brain drain these two countries have towards... the US! [0] https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/silicon-valleys-body-shop-secret/78781/ https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/silicon-valleys-body-s... [1] https://cis.org/North/Indian-Body-Shop-Indicted-Abuse-H1B-Program https://cis.org/North/Indian-Body-Shop-Indicted-Abuse-H1B-Pr...

arcticbull 5y ago
> It's to avoid people using passports of convenience to game the system. Yes I'm sure people looking to immigrate to the US are checks notes becoming British Citizens. A country with notoriously difficult immigration requirements. Citizenship requires 5+ years in most instances to obtain (with a few small exceptions). Generally speaking all first-world countries have stringent rules. > Truth is, a lot of that backlog is self-imposed. H1B are supposed to be for real employment for a specialty occupation. I'm not sure that's what self-imposed means. > And yet how does it explains the brain drain these two countries have towards... the US! Immigration to the US is effectively suspended. [0] These days those folks are going to Canada. [1] '"While the States has gone, 'Let's make it difficult to get the employees here on a visa,' Canada's gone the exact opposite, and it's beneficial for Canada," says Alex Norman, the other co-founder of TechToronto. "You had a fast-growing ecosystem here that's been getting a shot of steroids."' That's what it looks like when you hang a "NO VACANCIES" sign in the window. [0] https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/suspension-of-routine-visa-services.html https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/s... [1] https://www.npr.org/2020/01/27/799402801/canada-wins-u-s-loses-in-global-fight-for-high-tech-workers https://www.npr.org/2020/01/27/799402801/canada-wins-u-s-los...
- 908B64B197 5y ago
  > Generally speaking all first-world countries have stringent rules. First world might, other countries don't. So it would be easy to get citizenship from one of those and then use it to bypass the cap. > I'm not sure that's what self-imposed means. Indian nationals applying for fraudulent visas. > and it's beneficial for Canada Is it really? How's the VC ecosystem? Unicorns? Not long ago the government bragged to investors that Canadians devs were worth 50K less than their American counterparts. [0] [0] https://globalnews.ca/news/4178326/amazon-vancouver-tech-workers-pay/ https://globalnews.ca/news/4178326/amazon-vancouver-tech-wor...
  - arcticbull 5y ago
    > First world might, other countries don't. So it would be easy to get citizenship from one of those and then use it to bypass the cap. In this case I was saying that quotas and caps would still apply but be basted on citizenship instead of place of birth. If everyone started buying Cayman Islands citizenship instead, the quota would fill up fast. > Indian nationals applying for fraudulent visas. Again, that's not self-imposed. > Is it really? How's the VC ecosystem? Unicorns? Not long ago the government bragged to investors that Canadians devs were worth 50K less than their American counterparts. [0] This is a new phenomenon, and it takes time to turn a boat. I think it would be pretty myopic not to see the trend, however. The ecosystem will follow in time. [edit] I think Shopify was the defining moment when things started to turn. If an Ottawa startup can reach a $200B market cap in a few years, that's going to create a lot of wealth, spawn its own startups and an investment ecosystem in its own right.

arcticbull 5y ago

> It's to avoid people using passports of convenience to game the system. Yes I'm sure people looking to immigrate to the US are checks notes becoming British Citizens. A country with notoriously difficult immigration requirements. Citizenship requires 5+ years in most instances to obtain (with a few small exceptions). Generally speaking all first-world countries have stringent rules. > Truth is, a lot of that backlog is self-imposed. H1B are supposed to be for real employment for a specialty occupation. I'm not sure that's what self-imposed means. > And yet how does it explains the brain drain these two countries have towards... the US! Immigration to the US is effectively suspended. [0] These days those folks are going to Canada. [1] '"While the States has gone, 'Let's make it difficult to get the employees here on a visa,' Canada's gone the exact opposite, and it's beneficial for Canada," says Alex Norman, the other co-founder of TechToronto. "You had a fast-growing ecosystem here that's been getting a shot of steroids."' That's what it looks like when you hang a "NO VACANCIES" sign in the window. [0] https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/suspension-of-routine-visa-services.html https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/s... [1] https://www.npr.org/2020/01/27/799402801/canada-wins-u-s-loses-in-global-fight-for-high-tech-workers https://www.npr.org/2020/01/27/799402801/canada-wins-u-s-los...

908B64B197 5y ago
> Generally speaking all first-world countries have stringent rules. First world might, other countries don't. So it would be easy to get citizenship from one of those and then use it to bypass the cap. > I'm not sure that's what self-imposed means. Indian nationals applying for fraudulent visas. > and it's beneficial for Canada Is it really? How's the VC ecosystem? Unicorns? Not long ago the government bragged to investors that Canadians devs were worth 50K less than their American counterparts. [0] [0] https://globalnews.ca/news/4178326/amazon-vancouver-tech-workers-pay/ https://globalnews.ca/news/4178326/amazon-vancouver-tech-wor...
- arcticbull 5y ago
  > First world might, other countries don't. So it would be easy to get citizenship from one of those and then use it to bypass the cap. In this case I was saying that quotas and caps would still apply but be basted on citizenship instead of place of birth. If everyone started buying Cayman Islands citizenship instead, the quota would fill up fast. > Indian nationals applying for fraudulent visas. Again, that's not self-imposed. > Is it really? How's the VC ecosystem? Unicorns? Not long ago the government bragged to investors that Canadians devs were worth 50K less than their American counterparts. [0] This is a new phenomenon, and it takes time to turn a boat. I think it would be pretty myopic not to see the trend, however. The ecosystem will follow in time. [edit] I think Shopify was the defining moment when things started to turn. If an Ottawa startup can reach a $200B market cap in a few years, that's going to create a lot of wealth, spawn its own startups and an investment ecosystem in its own right.