On the other hand, a close relative went to Singapore about the same time, and their immigration procedure was smooth, straighforward, everything in place, no barriers anywhere. Singapore wants to have qualified professionals, the US see them as numbers.
Thats horrible! You could go buy a pre paid phone with out having all of the overhead from T-Mobile.
The difference is that it was probably a T-Mobile policy, not a law or mandate by the government (like in Costa Rica).
>the US see them as numbers.
Exactly. I wish we were like Singapore but its much easier for a smaller Country. They see a person as an investvent in the future, the US sees you as a number and wants your taxes.
[note]: This may have been true for a long time in the history. People were going to the US mainland because their conditions were bad enough, and anything would have been better elsewhere. I can understand that point of view, although e.g. my situation is on equal terms in the US vs my home country. However, I don't think it'll serve the US interest in the long run.