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Comment by ldjkfkdsjnv | Hacker News Reader

Whats funny is Americans are so adamant that their standards of living have been dropping for 30 years, but then support unfettered immigration. The immigration does boost the economy and leads to technical innovation, but there is a real cost to the standard of living. Also discrimination against Americans in H1B heavy companies is rampant.

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H1B is a technically a non-immigrant visa. H1B recipients, given many many constraints, have the ability to petition to become immigrants.

The most accessible pathway for arriving in the US as an immigrant (green card) is family based migration. The only pathway for that which isn't backlogged is for those who are the spouse, non-adult child, or parent of a US citizen. Every other category has long wait times. It's hard to call anybody in this category "unfettered" as there are financial support requirements for petitioners.

Getting to the USA on a H1B is far quicker than on an immigrant visa, even for direct family members of US citizens. It takes almost 2 years if there's no flags whatsoever in your case, and flags can things as random as "works with chemicals" or "is a doctor from X state". There is one exception which is international adoption which for some reason every part of the immigrant visa wheel seems to be on full speed for.

(source: personal experience with immigrant visa system)

I don't believe that adequately captures the variety of american opinions on both those subjects.

Sorry, but the vast majority of Americans do not work in industries that are impacted by H1B, and changes to these programs have no material impact on their fortunes.

The blame lies elsewhere.

If you're wealthier but your standard of living is dropping that can point to many things, but one big one is a labor shortage.

Theres no labor shortage, companies have been reaping record profits and not paying it out to employees. Thats why the standard of living is dropping. Its basic economics

Unemployment is at historic lows.

Unemployment at historic lows, cost of living at all time highs. Something isnt adding up

1. Rent-seekers are sucking up all the productive surplus out of the economy, raising the cost of a lot of things.

2. People doing work vital for society got raises, which was made possible by bargaining power that they gained from low unemployment. This, naturally, results in higher prices for anything that their labour produces.

3. Shortages.

None of these are the fault of the immigrant boogieman.

they have to create a shortage in order to get H1b labor. So they refuse to negotiate on salary and complain to their lawmakers that they had these openings posted for X months and only filled Y% of them! we just can't find talent!

Whats funny is Americans are so adamant that their standards of living have been dropping for 30 years, but then support unfettered immigration.

I sure hope this nonsense gets downvoted like the trolling it is.

Immigration into America is extremely fettered. Ask anyone who's actually done it.

Millions just walk over the border, they either get across without our knowledge or we give them a cell phone and a court date a few years in the future before we then release them into the interior. Seems pretty unfettered.

we give them a cell phone and a court date a few years in the future before we then release them into the interior.

this is absolutely false.

When migrants who either walk or sneak across the border are apprehended, Border Patrol agents take them to facilities for processing, which includes a health screening and a criminal background check...

A recent inspector general report on an El Paso, Texas, processing center found that up to 900 people were crammed into a space meant for less than 200. Some people were standing on toilets, and many said they had been there for weeks.

https://apnews.com/article/immigration-donald-trump-us-news-...

Absolutely true: https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/05/us/border-migrants-cell-phone...

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is monitoring nearly a quarter of a million migrants in a program using GPS ankle monitors, phones or an app known as SmartLINK, according to the agency’s latest statistics. The Biden administration has rapidly grown the number of people in this program, known as “alternatives to detention,” or ATD.

is putting ankle bracelets on people somehow handing out freebies?

Where did I say "freebies"?

you realize that 2/3rds of illegal immigration is from people that enter legally, right?

And that's considered "extremely fettered"? What would unfettered look like?

Unfettered would look like in the 19th century: arrive on a boat, spend a few hours on Ellis Island for a basic medical check and review of your paperwork with answers to 29 questions, start your new life.

(Source: https://www.statueofliberty.org/ellis-island/overview-histor...)

Just walking over the border seems way easier.

have you ever walked through 50 miles of desert? getting on a plane is a lot easier

Immigration is not what is killing standards of living. Do you have any proof of discrimination against Americans in H1B heavy companies? I am pretty skeptical given the lottery nature of HB1 and the number of racist politicians who would love to amplify this narrative if even with dubious evidence of such discrimination

I have worked at multiple FAANGs. Organizations at both Facebook and Amazon end up hiring and promoting the same group of people immigrating from the same country. Teams of 50+ consolidate around ethnic background. Its completely absurd for anyone to argue this isnt going on

And yet you provide no proof of immigration status, just racism. The very idea that an immigrant could be a permanent resident, or gasp as citizen nowhere in your brain.

Goddamn foreigners. Coming over here and taking jobs you ain’t qualify to do.

This is why having amy sort of coherent conversation about immigration is totally fruitless- people like you just want to call people racist. Nice job.

If you don't like being called racist, perhaps you shouldn't be engaging in racism.

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