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The US really needs to emulate other countries here. The problem here is that the "immigrant" visa is really the same thing as a work visa, and that leads to a
by potatolicious 15y ago
The US really needs to emulate other countries here.
The problem here is that the "immigrant" visa is really the same thing as a work visa, and that leads to a great deal of abuse.
For one thing, the eligibility is tied to an employer, who is incentivized to embellish, cheat, and otherwise finagle their way to a visa. The expectation that the visa is temporary also sets a lower bar for entry - even though many of these people will eventually become American PRs/citizens.
The recent trend to "stage" the H-1B green card process is a step in the right direction - though it doesn't go as far as it needs to. There is still a major problem of indentured servitude. Once an employee has a green card process in the pipeline their employer has them over a barrel - and many will not hesitate to use this as an opportunity for abuse.
Not to mention, with the green card backlog the way it is now, it would be years before "your huddled masses of immigrant entrepreneurs yearning to breathe free" are actually able to start businesses. First they have to go through ~8-10 years as a rank and file employee, before they're granted the legal freedom to pursue their own future. The startup visa would go a long way to alleviating that, though the heavy involvement of VCs in that initiative will mean that bootstrappers and other scrappy startups that don't want to raise hojillions in funding will be still at a severe disadvantage.
How do you fix this? IMO the US needs to setup a track for immigrants to immediately receive green cards, where having a job offer is not a prerequisite (though it would certainly help). The focus needs to shift away from fulfilling "temporary shortages" (which we all know is bullshit) to simply permanent, mass importation of worthy talent. Set up the process to filter people based on the assumption that they will permanently stay, as opposed the the current process where we'll let just about anyone in, since they're "temporary" H-1Bs anyways. This will raise the calibre of people you're letting in, and also make sure you're giving top talent maximum freedom once they're here. The whole "immigration policy masquerading as work permit" thing really needs to GTFO.
- flourpower 15y agoNot that I have a solution to this problem, but who does the filtering once you remove the job offer as a prerequisite? I can't conceive of a situation where the people that get put in charge of that process are actually qualified.
- nobody314159265 15y agoIn every other country there is a central government who have a department of immigration who accept applications from outsiders and judge them on their experience, qualifications, education etc. You should try having a functional and effective national government - just a thought?
- tokenadult 15y agoIn every other country there is a central government who have a department of immigration who accept applications from outsiders and judge them on their experience, qualifications, education etc. How many of those countries have a net INFLOW of immigrants from the United States? How many have a net outflow of immigrants to the United States, under the current United States system?
- HistoryInAction 15y agoSo the green card issue is that of "status transfer," where if you change jobs in the first step of the green card application, you have to start again, since your employer sponsorship status doesn't transfer, putting you at the back of a nearly decade-long line. Based on anec-data, we suspect a large number of immigrants want to start companies but can't until they get green cards, which is a big problem for an innovation-based economy. For startup visa, the latest version has other paths, involving $100k in US revenue or simply being a H1-B/student visa holder with sufficient assets/income to not be a drain on US taxpayers: http://kerry.senate.gov/press/release/?id=4e6a51f6-fb2b-4212-b299-b0c46c7e6b58 http://kerry.senate.gov/press/release/?id=4e6a51f6-fb2b-4212... Meaning, there's less pure reliance on VCs as the gatekeepers for visas and green card, a la the criticism of the 2010 Startup Visa by folks like Vivek Wadhwa. Additionally, the Lofgren-Polis IDEA Act opens up a whole new path, though one I don't think has any chance of passing in this current environment: http://www.usimmlawyer.com/news-blog/42-blog/293-rep-zoe-lofgren-introduces-idea-act-of-2011 http://www.usimmlawyer.com/news-blog/42-blog/293-rep-zoe-lof... By and large, though, completely agree with the points here.
- _delirium 15y ago> The US really needs to emulate other countries here. Which other countries are these? As the holder of an employer-tied 3-year temporary Danish work permit, with no possibility to even apply for the Danish equivalent of a green card until I've resided in the country with solid employment for at least 4 years (and passed a language exam, something the U.S. doesn't require), I don't think it can be this one... Though to be fair, the Danish consulate was friendly and efficient with processing the employer-tied temporary permit.
- thmcmahon 15y agoIn Australia we have a temporary employer sponsored skilled visa (the 457 visa). Median processing times for this visa are 21 days. It is valid for 4 years, you can be sponsored for a permanent visa after 2 years.
- scarface548 15y agoIt would be awesome if it was just 4 yrs. The current EB3 wait-time for indian and chinese nationals is estimated to be around 70 years.
- marshallp 15y agomost european countries have such a xenophobic system, but the uk, canada, iraland, new zealand, and australia have really open systems in place
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- tokenadult 15y agoHow many people are using those visas to enter those countries? Meanwhile, how many people are emigrating from those countries to the United States, under the current United States system? (I know quite a few recent immigrants from the United Kingdom and from Ireland in my community.)
- muzz 15y agothen those countries should be receiving the benefits of immigrant-entrepreneurs and now be hotbeds of innovation because of it. it doesn't seem like that's happening.
- dredmorbius 15y agoThe only part of this screed I can strongly disagree with is the "emulate other countries" bit. As idiotic as US work/immigration policies are, most countries are far worse. Europe particularly. Commonwealth nations possibly excepted. In the developing / BRIC world, it's less bureaucracy and far more petty (and not so petty) corruption you have to deal with.
- anghyflawn 15y agoActually, as a non-EU national living in Norway but currently looking for (academic) jobs everywhere, continental European immigration policies are not that bad. I came to Norway as a highly skilled migrant, and the process was more or less painless; after three years, I got my permanent residence, also with very little ado. I did have to take a language test, but only for the permanent residence, whereas in the UK I have to demonstrate proficiency in English before I can apply for a temporary work permit, even under Tier 2 (skilled migration). Europe does not have a great track for entrepreneurs (though hopefully that will change with the blue card program), but at least my experience with ordinary skilled migration is overwhelmingly positive. And anybody who thinks there is less bureaucracy in the developing world is highly likely to be living in a dream. At least in Russia the corruption comes on top of the ridiculous red tape.