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Comment by klipt | Hacker News Reader

You've clearly never applied for an American visa. Filling a "silly form and paying a bit of cash" is way more convenient than having to make a consular appointment, pay $$$ for that appointment, go there early in the morning on a workday to avoid long lines, still wait an hour, get grilled by a consular officer, pay more $$$ for your approved visa, and have to wait days for them to mail your passport back.

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You've clearly never entered the EU as a US citizen where the whole process looks like that: 1) Turn up at the airport 2) Hand over your passport 3) Wait a few seconds 4) Receive back your passport. If you are unlucky you get to have a one-minute conversation with the border official.

Yes that's true, but this is also about Canada & the USs silly form on EU citizens whereas there is nothing the other way.

Bulgaria, Romania & Poland have high overstay rates (above 2%) despite having a high visa refusal rate. If they were part of the Visa Waiver Program it would make them the worst offenders.

Meanwhile the overstay rate for my passport is lower than many visa waiver countries, but we're not even considered for visa waiver because we're not part of Europe. It's about politics, not logic.

I'm Polish and I don't think anyone cares about going to US and staying for work anymore. It was incredibly tempting right after the fall of soviet union and LOTS of people overstayed their tourist visas, but nowadays? The standard of living in the US is nearly identical, the pay is not that much better unless you are looking for highly qualified positions(and if that's the case, why the hell would you overstay a tourist visa), if you get caught you get deported, if you fall ill you have to pay for medical treatment. The flights are expensive.

If any young Poles look for work abroad it's much easier to go to Germany, France, Spain or UK. Even unskilled work is paid much better than in Poland, medical treatment is free everywhere, we can work legally everywhere, wherever we work it gives us right to national pension from that country after we retire, getting to any of those countries is easy and hassle free.

Seriously, I don't understand why any Pole would like to get a tourist visa to US and then stay and work, it's just not worth it.

On the other hand, I wish Poland was part of the VWP, because then I could go and actually visit US as a tourist without having to spend a whole day at a consulate trying to get a visa.

How does what your are saying (high overstay rates) go with the current fact that thousands of people are crossing the Mexican border into the US and apparently the US is ok with that?

I'm not against that, but I find it highly hypocritical for the US on one hand to require visas from RO/BG people (and maybe others) on overstaying concerns, while on another hand allowing free flow into US from the Mexican side.

It's a question of enforceability. If the requirement on Mexicans were tougher they would use the porous borders more.

The weather can't be dictated by a piece of paper and a pen.

It seems the Obama administration could order with a piece of paper and a pen the border guards to stop controlling border flow:

> The National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) and Pinal County Sheriff joined forces to denounce the Obama Administration and accused the White House of handcuffing the efforts of law enforcement in regards to the enforcement of immigration law.

> He reinforced the evidence that the Obama Administration has been bypassing Congress by taking illegal executive actions and forcing Border Patrol agents to not do their job of enforcing the law along the border.

Because mexicans are doing the jobs even romanians and bulgarians won't do

I received a US visa in the past. I had to fill in an online form, make an appointment which arbitrarily setup for me, visit the US embassy go through security etc, wait in the line for an hour, go through an interview, pay, and then wait for a 1-2 weeks. On the bright side they gave me 10 years visitor VISA so I visit whenever over that period without having to get a new one.

Don't you now need to take two appointments, one for biometric data entry and a few days later for the visa interview? If the consulate is not in your city you would lose more than a few workdays.

I have US Visa and I prefer it. I had to spent a few hours but I'm done for 10 years. I don't have to fill out forms every time.

EU citizens can also get US tourist visas and enter on those if they want. Visa waiver is an option, not compulsory.

I think a green card is not technicaly a visa. It's closer to citizenship than a visa.

Non-Immigrant visa (such as a B-1) are issued for long durations, up to 10 years. Note they don't allow staying for 10 years, just multiple entries in that period.

No, I have a Visa type R class B1/B2

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