Comment by kamyarg | Hacker News Reader

Comment by kamyarg | Hacker News Reader

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> The "pipeline" is also easy in the US. Come here for a MS degree, and get hired. For many other countries, it's not that easy. Some allow you to immigrate due to your advanced degree, but with no guarantee of work, so you need to have plenty of money saved while you look for work - something many cannot afford.

I have to disagree with this as an Iranian working in Germany who moved with an offer on a Blue Card.

After getting an offer, getting visa was 1 week, I started working immediately, have changed job with only bureaucracy being involved is a small email to the Foreigners employment Office(LABO) to confirm my new contract looks good.

I think people have an unfair view of state of immigration in EU.

Regarding your other point about racism, that experience is not representative of the whole of EU. I am biased as I live in Berlin but I think you are also biased (probably) if you live in the multi cultural centers of US(SV/LA/NYC/Seattle etc.).

I have not had any horrible racism experience neither my friends whom I discuss these things regularly. I am sure if I lived in a small town/city, I will get racism behavior regularly, independent of EU, USA, Canada etc.

To clarify: Took 1 week from Turkey where I was living then, from Iran would have been longer due to German Embassy inadequate staffing, etc.

> I have to disagree with this as an Iranian working in Germany who moved with an offer on a Blue Card.

Reading up on it, I assume you got this offer while not in the EU? That is impressive. Over here (and often in Canada as well), few companies will give you an offer without you doing an on site interview - unless you are clearly exceptional. So it becomes a Catch-22.

(Of course, things likely changed in the age of COVID).

> Regarding your other point about racism, that experience is not representative of the whole of EU. I am biased as I live in Berlin but I think you are also biased (probably) if you live in the multi cultural centers of US(SV/LA/NYC/Seattle etc.).

Well, like in the EU, it is fairly nuanced here. I've spent most of my time in the US in small towns, actually - 100K or smaller, and some time in a larger city (but not as big as Seattle, etc). I've lived in both Red and Blue states. It's extremely hard to generalize. The least diverse city I lived in was also the most welcoming (I am not white) - and in a Red state. The larger, multicultural (and liberal) city I live in only like people like ma as long as my views are in line with theirs ;-)

I may be wrong. Pre-2016, it was much easier to find very open and vocal anti-immigrant rhetoric in the EU - but perhaps it's just a very loud minority. Of course, post-2016 you see plenty of that in the US. But prior to that, people really cared mostly about illegal immigration (and amusingly, the pro-immigration folks are often only referring to illegal immigrants - they do very little for those trying to gain legal immigration).

Speaking of racism in the US, here are some comments I made a while ago with more details:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21486342

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19324589

> Reading up on it, I assume you got this offer while not in the EU? That is impressive.

Yes, I got the offer while in Turkey and they did a virtual onsite. But I have multiple friends that got offer without an actual onsite(Including pre-covid). So can not say it is an exception.

I think in EU the minority are loud as you mentioned but I think got loader after 2016. Especially here in Germany AfD has been more vocal and had some textbook level racist scandals. But in general as I said, I and people around me did not have plain racist experiences, maybe subtle ones we have not noticed.

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-afd-apologizes-after-outcry-ov...

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