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Comment by mpweiher | Hacker News Reader

Oh my god.

So how about updating those laws? For example, an H1B who is fired has to leave the country by next day. This has always been ridiculous because: impossible. It wasn't enforced, so people could get new jobs or prepare properly for leaving.

I also hear from people who have gone through the green card process as adults that it is actually not possible to go through that process while remaining legal.

The craziness that is US immigration law (and pretty much anything having to do with damn foreigners) was only kept at bay by discretion, which is now removed.

Did I already say "Oh my god"?

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Not true - there is in fact a 60 day grace period for people in H1-B status, which can be used to find a new job, or between jobs.

https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2016-27540/p-217

Yes. From the directive that's being talked about:

"all existing conflicting directives, memoranda, or field guidance regarding the enforcement of our immigration laws and priorities for removal are hereby immediately rescinded"

To me, what you referred to is exactly one of those "conflicting directives" that has now been rescinded, but I most certainly could be completely wrong about that.

Do "directive", "memoranda", and "field guidance" have specific legal meanings in this context? Would that include a "final rule"?

I think that statement must have limited scope because this six page memo could hardly replace the entire rulebook.

Side note, looking from the other side of the Atlantic.

I find it crazy that in US you can have 95-page law-like document (in a tiny-font!) produced by executive branch. [1] Especially if a different administration can easily cancel it.

Why doesn't Congress produce these instead?

Related: 380-page "Stream Protection Rule". [2] Canceled? [3]

I wonder how many pages are in the whole corpus of laws and executive rules currently in effect in the US.

[1]: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-11-18/pdf/2016-27540.p...

[2]: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-12-20/pdf/2016-29958.p...

[3]: https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/hjres38/BILLS-115hjres38e...

> it is actually not possible to go through [the green card] process while remaining legal.

How so?

I don't remember the details, but the whole thing is a multi-step process and there were gaps between the steps where you would be illegal, technically. AFAIK, everybody involved knew it was a bug in the system and therefore ignored those technicalities.

Well...

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