[freyr]

That’s because there’s currently a queue of many hundreds of thousands of Indians applying for green cards and citizenship.

It’s not inefficiency, it’s the system working as designed: controlled flow of immigration, and a chance for people from many countries to immigrate.

Trump’s immigration plan (calling it a plan is generous) would get rid of per-country quotas in favor of a points-based system. It would probably be good for primary applicants, but bad for their parents, aunties, and uncles.

[gigatexal]

Well, my aunties and uncles filled jobs that might have gone undone as they were getting acclimated and integrating. They cleaned offices, worked at convienence stores, eventually went to school and became accountants and engineers. The falling birth rate means immigration needs to increase and people need their families for some normalcy. A PHD who can’t come and live with her family in the states will take a post at a tech accelerator in Paris if they offer to sponsor her family as well. Again, talent is the new oil and the US can’t afford to lose that battle if it wants to stay relevant.