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Comment by wavefunction | Hacker News Reader

Real immigration reform would be adopting a point system like Australia or New Zealand. Various criteria are assigned a point value (which can be changed as needs change) and if the points threshold is met, the candidate is admitted.

But that takes away the power from the big FWD.us donors and puts it directly in the hands of the skilled individuals we're supposedly trying to attract.

We can't have that, can we?

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Yes. The U.S. could have plenty of high quality immigrants. We could have them buying spots directly. But instead we have some "huddled masses" feel-good/politics/ideology/lottery hybrid policy (Chechen refugees? great!) which is not at all optimized for any rationally measured end result.

That would be pretty smart in my book. Our position isn't very popular among DC politicos though. Their calculus is based more on reelection than good governance for people already living here.

Actually, a points-based green card will be available under this immigration reform—for the first time since 1965, possibly since immigration limits were first placed on the US in the 1920s.

Unclear who pushed for this provision, as no advocacy organization I'm aware of considered a points-based system to be within the realm of possibility until the bill was introduced.

References: https://www.facebook.com/StartupVisa/posts/10152709691365167 (me) http://www.nationalreview.com/agenda/346939/thoughts-point-b... (conservative) (not a lot of liberal reaction, unfortunately) http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/defining-desirab... (pro-immigration reform, academic) http://www.ilw.com/articles/Siskindsummary.pdf (pro-immigration reform, legal)

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