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This is so excellent. I particularly appreciate the commitment to building a process to keep categories updated rather than relying on another singular push in ~15 years.

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It can be done so much more simple. If you need a high level worker, issue him a Green Card. This means you can under current regulation ask for his police certificates - to rule out a criminal past - and a medical examination. Same for his spouse. Make the Green Card a conditional Green Card, that needs to be turned into a permanent one, if the worker makes his promises come true.

With a permanent Green Card the worker has the sane rights and options as a US citizen when it comes to being an employee. He can no longer be used to force other workers in more hours, less income.

With this schedule a Green Card could be issued in 6-9 months. It would save a lot of unnecessary action at USCIS and the State Department. It would also mean significant less stress and misery for the foreign worker. He would know after two years if his future is in the US or not. Going back to the home country would still a viable option re. a job search over there. For the wives of the workers it would make a difference comparable to heaven vs. hell.

But, why would you do something in a sensible way, if you can make it a bureaucratic nightmare ? Loved by civil servants and lawyers alike ! I speak from experience. How many work-bound immigrants has Ms. Nice talked to ?

What Ms. Nice proposes will probably bring in more foreign students, hoping to be able to stay here. But many talented people have gone to foreign universities, worked abroad, and that mix of different approaches is exactly what often makes foreign workers valuable.

Interestingly, in this whole interview, the H-4 visa and the built-in cruelty of this visa, is never mentioned. Of course H-4's are mainly women, mostly from India. so who cares.

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