As an American, I found this story pretty disheartening. I can't for the life of me understand why we are putting up so many barriers, financial and otherwise, to smart, qualified entrepreneurs who just happened to be born somewhere else. It sounds like anyone who wants to come here and start a company without wasting thousands on lawyers and bureaucrats will be out of luck for the foreseeable future...
My parents have US passports, which means I am in the 8 year queue for a green card (2 of which is a wait to get a slot number!). There are no modifiers for education on this one, so a masters and other post grad qualifications don't mean much.
I wish I could get an O1 visa, for no other reason that being _officially_ an alien of extraordinary ability would be well worth the effort :)
The visa interview takes place in the individual’s country of origin and for us that meant the American embassy in London.
Actually, this isn't necessarily true; once a petition for a visa has been approved, you can go for your interview at any US consulate. (I'm Irish, and I got my visa in Brussels.) This can be very helpful, since different consulates usually have wildly different waiting times for interviews. In my case, it meant a wait of two days instead of six weeks.
Everything else in the article about the soul-sucking tedium of getting a visa is right on the mark, though.
The most surprising is the inability of the American immigration system to adjust to the changes. While thousands of unskilled, poorly educated people cross the south border, there are only 65k H1Bs per year for professionals, and even that miserable quota is overfilled in one day and turned into a lottery.
But Americans don't want the jobs that the "unskilled, poorly educated" people are here to fill. They want the jobs which the H1B visas are meant to fill.
Not saying I agree with that rationale but there is a difference in the minds of many Americans.
Best quote: Fortunately for me the guard on my third visit hated the number of passwords he needed to do his job and when he found out what Clickpass was doing, wished me luck and waved me on through.
It is positive to see that all of the presidential candidates with a chance of winning, support increasing the number of H1B visas available. Should make it a little easier in future.
And H-1Bs are discriminatory anyway. They define a "specialist" occupation as one that requires a degree. This might have been true in 1958, but not in 2008. Further, they're just for employees and not for people who can actually add significant value to the economy by building businesses rather than warming chairs.
Looks like in the coming century, as in software, the "openest" country/economy will win. As an American, I'd sure like it to be this one, but its not looking good, folks.
Where, then? Europe is pretty closed in its own ways. The gulf states have some good things, and a lot of pretty serious bad things. Canada? Hong Kong? Open...yes, but with a sword hanging over its head.
