> The US problem is that there are not enough people to process the enormous number of applications the country receives. The India problem is that the workers

> The US problem is that there are not enough people to process the enormous number of applications the country receives. The India problem is that the workers aren't paid well enough, resulting in a culture of bribery. I don't exactly see the validity of this argument. There are a lot of people without jobs in the USA right now. Last I checked the unemployment rate was pretty high. So if I understand correctly, what you are saying is that the Government in the States does not have enough money, or for some reason, is not willing to pay people to process these applications. Neither does the Indian Government. It's pretty cash-strapped as well. You are right that this does lead to bribery in the Indian scenario, and just plain slowness of processing in the US one. The end result for legal immigrants, as I have already said, is pretty similar. > For some reason you seem to think that bribery is common in the US immigration system. Not exactly. Look below for why I do think this is true, indirectly. >The US has an ample amount of institutionalized corruption in the form of lobbying. In the US, "political lobbying" involving donations of millions of dollars routed through channels too diffuse for the common person to understand can result in laws being changed, leading to "legal" routes to whatever you want. In India, you pay a Government official a wad of notes, and your job is done. I fail to see how one system is inherently better than the other.