On Reforming our Immigration System

I’ve been meaning to write about immigration reform for a few weeks now. But, it’s a difficult topic and I’ve been avoiding it. Then yesterday, I was linked to this podcast by Mike Rowe about American farm workers having a PR problem (or read the text version here). Shortly after, I followed a link to this video clip of United Farm Workers of American union leader, Arturo Rodriguez, on The Colbert Report. The juxtaposition of the two items and their relevance to my own opinions on our current immigration laws convinced me I needed to speak up and soon.


I have almost ten years of experience working on employer-sponsored, work related visas and immigration issues. I know the ins and outs and quirks of almost all of the visas that allow an individual to work in the U.S. And what I’ve noted most frequently about our immigration laws is that they do not fit the needs of either U.S. companies or people who want to make a new life in our “land of opportunity”. When it comes to employment visas, the emphasis is on individuals who are highly trained, educated, or can perform a specialized skill. These visas are important for two reasons. First, they give companies access to skilled, knowledgeable individuals, regardless of their country of origin. Second, they allow U.S. companies to recruit the best global talent, essentially stealing the top talent from other countries so that their achievements and successes are American ones. In both regards, these visas help our economy, even if it could be argued that they take jobs away from American citizens. There are abuses; especially, it seems, within the computer industry, where companies hire only foreigners to staff their office, paying them a lower wage than an American of similar background and skill would accept. However, for the most part, even companies that frequently use the specialty knowledge visas hire more Americans than foreigners.

However, while there are a number of different visas for educated skilled individuals, there are virtually no visas available to unskilled laborers. This makes sense in many ways. If anyone can do the job, why would you need a foreigner to do it? This is a job that could go to an unemployed American. Unfortunately, America has become increasingly separated from manual labor of any kind, skilled or unskilled. They certainly don’t want the unskilled jobs. They want white-collar office jobs, with career advancement and high paychecks. Companies looking for unskilled laborers find it difficult to fill their open positions with American citizens. This is what both Mike Rowe and Arturo Rodriguez are talking about: Mike Rowe, focusing on how Americans don’t value or want blue collar jobs, to the point that the Future Farmers of American have to rebrand themselves; Arturo Rodriguez, so convinced that no American citizen will do the jobs the immigrant population is doing that he’s willing to find anyone who says they are a job.

Another problem with employer sponsored immigration is with the process for sponsoring an employee for a green card. Obtaining an employer sponsored green card involves a complicated, lengthy process. Typically, an employer waits to sponsor an employee for a green card until just before their other visas have reached the limit of any possible extensions (the maximum stay in the U.S. on an employer sponsored visa is usually 6 years). At that point, the employer must document that it was unable to find an American citizen who was minimally qualified to perform the tasks of the individual for whom they wish to sponsor the green card (and by minimally qualified, they mean equal to doing the job when the employee was first hired, 6 years ago). This recruitment proof is not required for any employer sponsored visas, only for the green card. Personally, I think that this requirement should be something the employer needs to show when they first sponsored their visa. Also, if the purpose of these visas is to steal top talent from other countries, the process of making the permanent citizens should be relatively easy; so that they don’t take their six years of U.S. experience back to their home country and become a high-level competitor.

I certainly don’t have the answer to immigration reform. But, I do know our system needs a large overhaul. Reviewing the current system, researching alternatives and proposing reforms will definitely be a full time job for those who undertake it. If I was involved with designing the reform, I would explore how and why employer sponsored visas are abused and methods to prevent such abuse. I would examine the need for an unskilled laborer category, and explore ways to balance company needs for unskilled laborers with the need to employ American citizens and prevent a large influx of unskilled, legal immigrants. I certainly would reexamine the employer green card process and whether it is more complicated than it needs to be. For this I would explore the point systems that Britain and Canada are using (I’m not sold on the point system, but I’d look at them for ideas). I hope that real reform will take place soon and that those who undertake to draft a reform proposal are able to examine and come up with solutions for these issues.

Not a Recluse

No one ever believes me when I tell them this, but I am an introvert. I think they don’t believe me because the word introvert has come to be associated with shy, retiring people, who are reticent to share their thoughts and opinions with others. I am not like that. But by the Myers-Briggs definition, being introverted simply means that a person recharges by being alone, as opposed to an extrovert, who recharges by being with other people. This is the positive way of expressing the difference, but if you turn it around, you’ll realize that introverts are drained by being in groups, while extroverts are drained by being alone. While I like people and enjoy getting together with them, I do find that after a long period with others I need time by myself to recover.


Since I’ve been unemployed I’ve been feeling that my introversion levels have gone up. People talk about getting lonely or stir crazy by being in the house alone all day, but I haven’t felt that at all. In fact, I enjoy my days alone. I feel my house and life are in much better order than when I worked, and I have been able to accomplish a number of personal projects that seemed to be perpetually on hold because I never had the time for them. While I recognize that networking and meeting people is an essential part of both obtaining a new position and staying in touch with the developments in my field, I find myself increasingly loath to leave the house, and the networking events I’ve attended have really taken their toll on my energy levels. Over the past few months I’ve been increasingly concerned that I was turning into a recluse or agoraphobic or some other antisocial person.

Fortunately, this weekend helped to reassure me that I’m not really become a hermit. On Saturday, I had the fortune to attend an old friend’s wedding, at which I reconnected with a number of other old friends and had a great time. On Sunday, I attended a barbecue at another friend’s house, and saw more (and different) friends, and even made a few new ones. Despite spending two full days in the company of lots of other people, I barely felt drained at all. My analysis: The company is makes all the difference. Friends aren’t draining, but strangers are. With friends I don’t need to be anything other than myself, because I know they love me already. With new people I am not comfortable just being myself. What if they don’t like me? I know, I know, I should be myself with strangers too. I totally agree, because I believe in being genuine in everything I do. But when I’m with strangers I tend to be me-lite. I hold back a little. I don’t announce all my thoughts and opinions right away. I want people to see the best parts of me before I show them the crazy side.

So, some takeaways from my weekend: No, I’m not a recluse yet, but I do need to work harder at keeping in touch. Honestly, some of the people I saw this weekend, I haven’t seen in years. People I really like. What is wrong with me? Some plans (you knew there were going to be plans, right): Perhaps a big party. I used to throw parties more than once a year, but when I was promoted to manager, there never seemed to be the time. Now that I’m not working, I have the time, but still haven’t made the effort. That’s going to change. I’m also tossing around the idea of small dinner parties; quiet groups of six, maybe with some board or card games afterwards. And finally, simply reaching out more to get together with friends whenever I can.

An Organized Approach

I’m a fairly organized person. I enjoy planning and arranging things. I rather strongly believe that a good plan makes life easier and allows me to do more than I would have otherwise. For example, I was able to graduate from college in three years by formulating a plan in my first semester to achieve all the graduation requirements in as short a time as possible. I never thought my fondness for having a plan was a problem, or even all that noticeable, until recently. I’m perfectly able to function without a plan or to handle the inevitable wrench in my plan, I just prefer to make one if I have the time. But a friend called me “the list girl”. My mother said, “you and your schedule”. I started to analyze my habits and found that maybe I am a bit obsessive with the scheduling and planning. For example:

I start each week by preparing a schedule of what I want to accomplish. Each day I review the premade schedule and tweak it, adding anything that didn’t get accomplished in previous days or that has come up recently.

I break pretty much every project I work on into smaller pieces and plan how and when I’m going to do each piece so that the completed project is done in time. For example, if my goal for the week is to clean my house, I’ll assign a room to each weekday. Then I’ll breakout how I’ll clean that room (declutter, then dust, then vacuum, etc.). 

I use my Outlook calendar to schedule not just big events, but regular household chores as well. Even my exercise routine is detailed in my calendar.

I also always have bigger plans in mind, backup plans, and sometimes, backup backup plans. . . For example, my current large-scale plans center on my immediate goal of finding employment and making myself as marketable as possible. I’m planning to take the GPHR exam in December, after taking a prep course. I’m thinking about doing a Spanish language immersion course in Costa Rica. I’m studying to take the GRE and GMAT exams so that I can apply to grad or business school if I’m still unemployed at the end of the year. I’m working out a model for starting my own business.

While I can see that I maybe take the planning a step further than others might, I cannot fathom how people who don’t plan or schedule get things done. Even something as simple as a straight to-do list is a form of planning, allowing one to remember what they should do, prioritize the tasks, and get things done more efficiently. [As a side note, I’m a big fan of handwritten to-do lists. Nothing is more satisfying as taking a pen through the items on your list and seeing it shrink to only a few items.] Life is just easier and more manageable when you have a way to approach it.