A decade into a project to digitize U.S. immigration forms, just one is online

Re:A decade into a project to digitize U.S. immigration form... by tvanantwerp on Tuesday November 10, 2015 @07:50AM (#10538972)

I remember taking my wife for her medical exam as part of her green card process. What a joke! The doctor--who he has to select as someone on a small approved list--was basically retired and using his position on that list as a way to make extra money. I don't think he did a thing to examine her. He just chatted and told us stories about when he was fighting in Korea and accidentally stepped in a kimchi pot. Very nice fellow, but clearly just milking the process.

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Re:A decade into a project to digitize U.S. immigration form... by dudul on Tuesday November 10, 2015 @08:42AM (#10539169)

Had the same experience during my visit. Some older Russian doctor who chatted with me for 15 minutes, telling me that America was ok, that green card medical visit were pretty much all she was doing now, 3 half-day a week and that was plenty for her to make good money. She pocketed the $600 and gave me the sealed envelop.

I have no problem with not passing any cost to the American taxpayers (and even that could be debatable, yes I'm an immigrant but I've never been unemployed and I believe I create wealth so it's a full net win for the country), but the system is really hostile and dysfunctional.

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Re:A decade into a project to digitize U.S. immigration form... by JBlue42 on Tuesday November 10, 2015 @11:59PM (#10544907)

Honestly, I don't care if you create wealth for this country. Having a diverse population to interact with and bring their point of view to things is a net benefit to the whole society instead of cultural homogeneity.

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Re:A decade into a project to digitize U.S. immigration form... by CWuestefeld on Tuesday November 10, 2015 @03:24PM (#10542180)

We had a similarly absurd experience with fingerprints.

Would you believe that the NY State Police aren't a certified fingerprinting service for INS? (or at least they weren't 20 years ago)

My wife had her prints done by the state police, but Immigration rejected them on that basis. Instead, we had to drive an hour to a camera shop that had the appropriate certification, where the clerk - an Indian immigrant himself, by appearance - took her fingerprints.

It boggles the mind that they'd prefer a clerk in a camera store rather than the state police. It seems clear that the goal isn't proper documentation or security or anything like that, but more along the lines of collecting certification fees and perpetuating the bureacracy.

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Re:A decade into a project to digitize U.S. immigration form... by maxxxxx on Tuesday November 10, 2015 @09:19AM (#10539374)

My "doctor" from the list also was an old guy. He examined me in his living room with 4 cats wandering around and jumping on tables. Very bizarre situation.

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Re:A decade into a project to digitize U.S. immigration form... by chapium on Tuesday November 10, 2015 @10:57AM (#10540054)

The medical exams are a really odd requirement. You can live on an H1-B for 10 years, but they still have to check if you cough funny before granting a greencard.

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