Americans are viewed as being obsessed with money. But when it comes to immigration, the US stands apart as the least money-minded of its peers. From Canada to Australia, the more cash you have the quicker you get your passport. In the UK, the doors were long since flung open to the world’s tired and huddled Russian oligarchs. By contrast, the Byzantine US visa system does its best to deter educated foreigners while in practice accepting an outsized share of the world’s migrant poor. There is every likelihood that contrast is about to get wider.
有人认为美国人眼睛里只有钱。但在移民问题上,美国与其他国家相比,却是对钱最不在乎的一个。在加拿大和澳大利亚等国,你兜里的钱越多,就能越快拿到公民身份。英国也早就向被折腾得身心俱疲的俄罗斯寡头们敞开了大门。相比之下,错综复杂的美国签证制度竭尽全力阻止受过教育的外国人进入美国,而与此同时,事实上又接纳了全世界很大一部分贫穷移民。这种对比还有可能变得更加鲜明。