Italy Refuses Visa; Sings Aria of Disappointment

Let this be a lesson to all nations including America - if you close your doors to foreigners: immigrants and visitors - prosperity is unlikely to come by. In India there is a saying that roughly translated means "Unexpected guests bring prosperity", and it seems that whether you believe in the elephant god Lord Ganesha or not, the saying is true.

I went to the Italian consulate last year to obtain a visa and was summarily refused even the opportunity to submit my papers because there were only 8 days left for my trip and they require good 30 days notice. Now, I am not aware of too many businesses that can predict all their sales opportunities more than a month in advance - I would assume that there is in fact a Chi-square like distribution (yes, like the one in all the Long Tail diagrams) with most visitors being last minute travelers. At the same time, Brazil, Mexico and Taiwan all provided a visa in less than a day. Not only was my visa refused, the visa staff was rude and unprofessional. I was really keen to visit Italy and build business relationships and spend time (and money) as a tourist.

So today's New York Times article on Italy In a Funk, Italy Sings an Aria of Disappointment did not come as a surprise.

But these days, for all the outside adoration and all of its innate strengths, Italy seems not to love itself. The word here is “malessere,” or “malaise”; it implies a collective funk — economic, political and social — summed up in a recent poll: Italians, despite their claim to have mastered the art of living, say they are the least happy people in Western Europe.

And co-incidentally on my flight to India, I sat next to a 25-year old beautiful Italian woman, Aastha - a second generation immigrant born in Italy to Indian parents. She is now studying design in London and has no intention of returning to Italy but probably work either in London or other growing markets. She told me that she was not sure Italy had room for growth. This is not good for a nation that has the second highest ageing population in Europe when you are immigrants start leaving. The New York Times article suggests that the same is true for native Italians.

Back home, we may be able to learn from this. The United States, as it struggles with the immigration issue in this election cycle, could be at a make or break point for its future. Are we going to stay open to the Aastha's of the world or are we going to sing a country song of disappointment in 20 years?

How about Citizenship for legal Visa holders?

I have mixed feelings on the new law. Although we need a pragmatic solution the illegal immigration issue, it does seem to reward those that did not follow the rules. What makes it worse is that the new law does not give any significant relief to those in the queue. How about allowing anyone on an H1B visa to directly apply for and get citizenship? Or at least reduce the time required to obtain a permanent residency (green card)? Here are some other issues that must be addressed:

• It is highly unfair that spouses (typically women) of H1B Visa holders are not allowed to work. This is a loss to both the employee and the US economy.
• The current system of employer sponsored Green Card limits the freedom of employees who could otherwise switch jobs and thus partly depressing wages as they have limited choice. Allow H1B holders to self sponsor for Green Cards.
• Drop the myth of H1B: In order to get an H1B visa, I (and my friends) had to prove that we don't intend to immigrate to the USA. As far as I know 90% of people that come to the US on H1B stay here (legally) and become permanent residents. So why this farce? Why not have an immigrant visa (H1S) program for technically qualified instead?

(As with all posts here, these are my personal opinions).

What do you think?