3 ms·
it is actually quite sad that things like "fairness for highly skilled immigrants" is held hostage to CIR.
by ambrood 12y ago
it is actually quite sad that things like "fairness for highly skilled immigrants" is held hostage to CIR.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- _delirium 12y agoI don't think it's necessarily a bad strategy. The coalition to pass immigration reform is a mixture of immigration-rights activists on the left-ish side of the spectrum, and business advocates on the right-ish side of the spectrum. If you produce some cutouts narrowly addressing the staffing needs of some of the more influential businesses, they drop out of the coalition (because their own needs are satisfied) without the overall system having been really fixed. (Plus, philosophically, I don't really support more H1B-type programs. If immigration is to be expanded, it should be proper immigration, not tied to employers, with a reasonable path to citizenship.)
- blutoot 12y agoH1B is the only reasonable way a middle-class citizen of another nation can move to the US. Unless you can come up with a reasonable overnight replacement of that program, a lot of people will, rightfully, push for its expansion and not the other way around.
- _delirium 12y agoI don't think "overnight replacements" are a good way to improve immigration; a series of quick hacks is largely what got us into the current mess. As for a specific replacement, I'd support a Canada-style non-sponsorship-based points system. Although I think there is something to be said for just randomness as well, such as expanding the Green Card lottery. Many of the immigrants who made large contributions to U.S. society/economy did not come in already highly educated/skilled, so I'm not sure it's a long-term advantage to restrict immigration to primarily people with strong pre-immigration skills/credentials. Short-term yes, since it fills shortages in areas of the economy, and I think a points system is a good way of handling that without the unsavory employer-tied aspect. But longer-term the "American dream" idea is that people should be able to gain those skills after immigrating; you can come in without already being the kind of person who can command six-figure job offers, and work your way up. Historically that's where a lot of the benefits of immigration have come from.
- sjy 12y agoThat is not true for all nations. Australians can apply for an E-3 visa, which is essentially an indefinitely-renewable H-1B with fewer restrictions and no lottery.