4 ms·

> Providing a green card upon completion of your master's degree. Seems like an interesting idea. Why do you think it's not already being done? I haven't reall

> Providing a green card upon completion of your master's degree. Seems like an interesting idea. Why do you think it's not already being done? I haven't really explored the idea very carefully, but this would amount to giving universities the power to grant citizenship to foreigners, which seems like it has a lot of potential for abuse.

okr 4y ago
But i would have applied for trump university right away!
LawTalkingGuy 4y ago
Remove the potential for abuse by still requiring the application to be approved.
jaredklewis 4y ago
> this would amount to giving universities the power to grant citizenship to foreigners Just a note that green card holders are residents, not citizens. They don’t get to vote, they just get to pay taxes. Still potential for abuse of course, but an important distinction.
- dragonwriter 4y ago
  > Just a note that green card holders are residents, not citizens. While there are time and other requirements after getting lawful permanent resident status (“green card”), the main limitation on access to citizenship is getting status in an immigrant category and thereby becoming an LPR.
- jnwatson 4y ago
  The citizens of Washington DC (or the other U.S. territories) don't have voting representation in Congress, but it isn't a potential for abuse. The difference between H1B and permanent resident is massive. Residents aren't beholden on their employer to remain in the country.
Larrikin 4y ago
When I had a friend deported for losing the lottery (she had a masters in a math related field) our friend group had a lot of discussions about the topic. Masters degrees can be gamed, and some people do get them simply because it gives them more time. But difficult degrees in industries that America needs (STEM was our initial thought) we should be encouraging people in those industries to stay with a green card or some extremely long visa that isn't just chance. Determining the fields would be the hard part. PhDs on the other hand, regardless of the field, you've contributed something unique to the collective knowledge of humanity. Instant green card, it's even dumber to kick them out. Green cards, also aren't citizenship but are simply a step to getting there. There are many types of visas that let you work but have stipulations, especially around leaving the country. If there really is some kind of fear of people collecting citizenship after spending decades in the country and becoming highly educated, special visas with rules are always an option. But there should be a viable path to citizenship either way. We should not be kicking these people out.
- WkndTriathlete 4y ago
  > PhDs on the other hand, regardless of the field, you've contributed something unique to the collective knowledge of humanity. Instant green card, it's even dumber to kick them out. Depends on the field. I've met PhDs that are fantastic, and I've also met PhDs whose defining contribution to human knowledge over their entire lifetime was "I made this algorithm 2.3% faster in a specific tiny edge case that no one will ever care about."
  - bubblethink 4y ago
    >"I made this algorithm 2.3% faster in a specific tiny edge case that no one will ever care about." That's pretty much what most research or even startups are like. You bet that 5% will blow up, and hence you fund the other 95%.
ROTMetro 4y ago
Because that is not how American immigration has traditionally worked. Many of us are from families that did not have the means to put someone through graduate school, they arrived as Irish orphans or with $8 in their pockets. The graduate student doesn't need the citizenship, the person with $8 in their pocket does. Imagine a world where the graduate student who is already guaranteed to be pretty successful AND the immigrant who came with $8 dollars have good lives. That's what America is about to me. That is why we limit immigration number by country (so more people have an opportunity) and promote familial immigration, not immigration of elites. If you want that system there are plenty of countries with golden visas, one right next door to the USA.

okr 4y ago

But i would have applied for trump university right away!

LawTalkingGuy 4y ago

Remove the potential for abuse by still requiring the application to be approved.

jaredklewis 4y ago

> this would amount to giving universities the power to grant citizenship to foreigners Just a note that green card holders are residents, not citizens. They don’t get to vote, they just get to pay taxes. Still potential for abuse of course, but an important distinction.

dragonwriter 4y ago
> Just a note that green card holders are residents, not citizens. While there are time and other requirements after getting lawful permanent resident status (“green card”), the main limitation on access to citizenship is getting status in an immigrant category and thereby becoming an LPR.
jnwatson 4y ago
The citizens of Washington DC (or the other U.S. territories) don't have voting representation in Congress, but it isn't a potential for abuse. The difference between H1B and permanent resident is massive. Residents aren't beholden on their employer to remain in the country.

Larrikin 4y ago

When I had a friend deported for losing the lottery (she had a masters in a math related field) our friend group had a lot of discussions about the topic. Masters degrees can be gamed, and some people do get them simply because it gives them more time. But difficult degrees in industries that America needs (STEM was our initial thought) we should be encouraging people in those industries to stay with a green card or some extremely long visa that isn't just chance. Determining the fields would be the hard part. PhDs on the other hand, regardless of the field, you've contributed something unique to the collective knowledge of humanity. Instant green card, it's even dumber to kick them out. Green cards, also aren't citizenship but are simply a step to getting there. There are many types of visas that let you work but have stipulations, especially around leaving the country. If there really is some kind of fear of people collecting citizenship after spending decades in the country and becoming highly educated, special visas with rules are always an option. But there should be a viable path to citizenship either way. We should not be kicking these people out.

WkndTriathlete 4y ago
> PhDs on the other hand, regardless of the field, you've contributed something unique to the collective knowledge of humanity. Instant green card, it's even dumber to kick them out. Depends on the field. I've met PhDs that are fantastic, and I've also met PhDs whose defining contribution to human knowledge over their entire lifetime was "I made this algorithm 2.3% faster in a specific tiny edge case that no one will ever care about."
- bubblethink 4y ago
  >"I made this algorithm 2.3% faster in a specific tiny edge case that no one will ever care about." That's pretty much what most research or even startups are like. You bet that 5% will blow up, and hence you fund the other 95%.

ROTMetro 4y ago

Because that is not how American immigration has traditionally worked. Many of us are from families that did not have the means to put someone through graduate school, they arrived as Irish orphans or with $8 in their pockets. The graduate student doesn't need the citizenship, the person with $8 in their pocket does. Imagine a world where the graduate student who is already guaranteed to be pretty successful AND the immigrant who came with $8 dollars have good lives. That's what America is about to me. That is why we limit immigration number by country (so more people have an opportunity) and promote familial immigration, not immigration of elites. If you want that system there are plenty of countries with golden visas, one right next door to the USA.