were already subject to multiple lev-
els of vetting through every local,
state, national and foreign database.
If in doubt, consular officers almost
always erred on the side of denying
visas. Nevertheless, all visa applicants
are now required to provide more in-
formation, including 15 years of trav-
el, employment and address histories
as well as five years of social media
profile data, all of which discourages
tourists and business travelers.
Trump’s policies and rhetoric paint
an increasingly inhospitable picture.
As a result, universities, medical cen-
ters and tourist bureaus across the
country are seeing fewer internation-
al students, patients and visitors. Ex-
treme scrutiny of applications, travel
ban anxiety and diminished legal
options for foreign students wanting
to remain in the United States after
graduation have contributed to this
decline.
Meanwhile, Canada has developed
30 iF Magazine | February 2018
We are a nation of immigrants,
and immigrants, with their
talent, entrepreneurship and
energy, continue to reinvigorate
our nation. It is not enough for
our political leaders to profess
support for legal immigration.
They must stop placing new
limits on our already highly
restrictive legal immigration
system.
its own Global Skills Strategy, which
allows skilled foreigners to obtain a
work permit in just two weeks.
Unfortunately, unless there is signifi-
cant push-back in Congress and from
industry, we may be seeing just the
beginning of restrictions placed on
legal immigration. Besides deterring
international students, skilled work-
ers and entrepreneurs, cutting off the
few viable remaining legal options
for entering the United States may
actually increase illegal immigration.
We are a nation of immigrants, and
immigrants, with their talent, entre-
preneurship and energy, continue
to reinvigorate our nation. It is not
enough for our political leaders to
profess support for legal immigration.
They must stop placing new limits
on our already highly restrictive legal
immigration system.
Foster was immigration advisor
to Presidents George W. Bush and
Barack Obama. He is past national
president of the American Immigra-
tion Lawyers Association and chair-
man of Foster LLP.
This Op-Ed first appeared
in the Houston Chronicle