I think it's important to note that the author explains exactly how he is restricted (and it applies mostly to the professional/tech world), and I don't think the experience would vary by person based on his examples. From the Iranians I know as well as other international students in general, what he has described is pretty common. Not Iranian myself though so haven't seen every detail up close and personal, and small sample size. I have never seen evidence or heard of experiences that suggest otherwise in the cases of his examples.
I think all immigrants and nonimmigrants in the US face some degree of this, though obviously the Iran and friends group is significantly worse off.
American citizens don't realize the restrictions placed on even "friendly" aliens (excluding LPRs for the most part):
(1) AR-11 form to file every time you move so the government can keep track of your address.
(2) You cannot perform any work in the US, paid or unpaid, that's not for your employer -- so even open source can be a grey area. Contracting is off the table.
(3) You can trade stocks but not "too much" (undefined quantity) because it then becomes active income and you're out of status.
(4) Every time you cross the border you're advised to bring your entire petition with you (H1B, TN) in case the guards decide to drag you into secondary. Further, TN status can be revoked at each border crossing. The one time I left my H1B petition at home I got dragged in, they spent about an hour validating my status; luckily the initial officer wrote my WAC number into my passport and they could look it up.
(5) TN only: 3 year visas, indefinitely renewable so long as you convince the border guard you won't renew them indefinitely. The mental gymnastics hurt my brain. Then there's the whole software engineer vs. computer systems analyst vs. programmer distinction that's apparently the most meaningful thing in the world. Much of your TN petition relies on the mood of the border guard. And that's if there's even going to be a NAFTA in a few weeks.
(6) You basically can't found here without a green card, and that takes the better part of a decade to obtain from start to finish, unless you're an Indian national in which case god help you. You can't even get a buddy to start the company and sponsor you unless you're Canadian and can TN your way in, because of the sheer quantity of recordkeeping, cost and 33% chance once a year in April of obtaining an H1B for an employee who can't start until the new USCIS fiscal year beginning October 1st.
(7) Out of status for 180-364 days? 3 year bar. Out of status longer? 10 year bar. Even if you marry someone, you can't adjust status from within the country so you get wanged with the bar on your way back in.
(8) H-1B: Last day of work? GTFO time. Officially, no grace period, it's back where you came from. Also? You simultaneously have to get an IRS form 1040-C Sailing Permit approved by your IRS field office before you go. Though many aliens who are fired/laid off obviously can't satisfy both requirements at once. Pick the one you want to piss off least.
Every US immigrant and nonimmigrant knows this stuff, ask one next time you see them, it's what we bond over ^_^
When I elected not to pursue a green card and left the US, it felt really good not to be under the thumb of the government. And this is 'easy mode' -- as a Canadian software engineer with 6 years of professional experience.
Yeah totally, but without a visa you can't work for it in the US ^_^ and you can't sponsor yourself for many types of visas including TNs or H1Bs because you aren't an employee if you have a controlling interest AFAIK, you need to pursue E2 or EB5 investor visas with 100-1000K investments.
Why do you think they want to come to the US again? Because it's so great where they came from and they agree with everything that's happening there?
You clearly have no idea what its like to put your shit in a box and move half way around the world.
Have you ever been to Iran? Anywhere near Iran? Do you know whether there's a difference between how the government treats people and how people treat each other there?
The only way to change your perspective is to go somewhere different. I wouldn't go to Iran right now because the US won't look kindly at you when you return, but somewhere like the Emirates or Qatar is a good start. Hard though, according to the State Department, only 36% of Americans have passports.
I don't understand these types of comments. Why bother arguing that [some country] is worse than yours when they have experiences that you most likely will never ecounter personally.
One way to improve is to be able to open oneself, or in this case, a whole country, to criticism. Merely rebutting with "my country is superiors to yours!" adds nothing of value and puts forth a level of ignorance that should not be tolerated in today's society. Thank you.
I had a friend when I was in grad school who was from Iran, during the Iranian revolution. We had a lot of discussions on what was happening and why. He was still intent on getting his grad degree and going back home and teaching Chemistry. I lost track of him so I wonder what happened. Education is a great way to bring people together. Treating people like dirt is a great way to ruin everything.
Used to have an iranian neighbor, he had two really smart kids with a sweet mexican lady. Great people. I still support these temporary bans. And I would like to see more people complain about Obama admin sending iran 400 million cash secretly and then lying about it. Obama also gave or attempted to give 221 million to palestine in the last hours of his presidency. So many things wrong with that, frankly Obama admin simply couldn't be trusted for the safety of the U.S.
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[ 48.5 ms ] story [ 293 ms ] threadWhat is it like for others in Iran?
American citizens don't realize the restrictions placed on even "friendly" aliens (excluding LPRs for the most part):
(1) AR-11 form to file every time you move so the government can keep track of your address.
(2) You cannot perform any work in the US, paid or unpaid, that's not for your employer -- so even open source can be a grey area. Contracting is off the table.
(3) You can trade stocks but not "too much" (undefined quantity) because it then becomes active income and you're out of status.
(4) Every time you cross the border you're advised to bring your entire petition with you (H1B, TN) in case the guards decide to drag you into secondary. Further, TN status can be revoked at each border crossing. The one time I left my H1B petition at home I got dragged in, they spent about an hour validating my status; luckily the initial officer wrote my WAC number into my passport and they could look it up.
(5) TN only: 3 year visas, indefinitely renewable so long as you convince the border guard you won't renew them indefinitely. The mental gymnastics hurt my brain. Then there's the whole software engineer vs. computer systems analyst vs. programmer distinction that's apparently the most meaningful thing in the world. Much of your TN petition relies on the mood of the border guard. And that's if there's even going to be a NAFTA in a few weeks.
(6) You basically can't found here without a green card, and that takes the better part of a decade to obtain from start to finish, unless you're an Indian national in which case god help you. You can't even get a buddy to start the company and sponsor you unless you're Canadian and can TN your way in, because of the sheer quantity of recordkeeping, cost and 33% chance once a year in April of obtaining an H1B for an employee who can't start until the new USCIS fiscal year beginning October 1st.
(7) Out of status for 180-364 days? 3 year bar. Out of status longer? 10 year bar. Even if you marry someone, you can't adjust status from within the country so you get wanged with the bar on your way back in.
(8) H-1B: Last day of work? GTFO time. Officially, no grace period, it's back where you came from. Also? You simultaneously have to get an IRS form 1040-C Sailing Permit approved by your IRS field office before you go. Though many aliens who are fired/laid off obviously can't satisfy both requirements at once. Pick the one you want to piss off least.
Every US immigrant and nonimmigrant knows this stuff, ask one next time you see them, it's what we bond over ^_^
When I elected not to pursue a green card and left the US, it felt really good not to be under the thumb of the government. And this is 'easy mode' -- as a Canadian software engineer with 6 years of professional experience.
Oh, is that similar to how gays and lesbians are treated in Iran? Or worse?
You clearly have no idea what its like to put your shit in a box and move half way around the world.
Have you ever been to Iran? Anywhere near Iran? Do you know whether there's a difference between how the government treats people and how people treat each other there?
The only way to change your perspective is to go somewhere different. I wouldn't go to Iran right now because the US won't look kindly at you when you return, but somewhere like the Emirates or Qatar is a good start. Hard though, according to the State Department, only 36% of Americans have passports.
One way to improve is to be able to open oneself, or in this case, a whole country, to criticism. Merely rebutting with "my country is superiors to yours!" adds nothing of value and puts forth a level of ignorance that should not be tolerated in today's society. Thank you.
That is to stop Iranian top students to go to the US.