[bradknowles]

Do you know how long it takes to become a citizen?

I worked with a guy who came over to the US when he was just out of college. He went through the process as quickly as he could, and yet he was still in his late forties by the time he finally managed to become a citizen. A decade or two is not at all uncommon. And that's for in-high-demand professions where we desperately need to import that talent.

The "why can't you just" answer is almost always a big red flag that the speaker knows nothing about the actual problem or how hard it is to solve.