Today, I tried to find out what it takes to hire someone who is in the US on a student visa (F-1) as a consultant or part-time employee. The person is an expert in his field. I don't know anyone available with a similar proven track record. I thought, no problem, there are INS exceptions for foreign experts. So I set on a quest to find out what it takes to get the INS to grant that person a work permit. The process is simple. All I have to do is ask the California Employment Development Department for a labor certificate, give that to the INS together with an application and the required fees, after which they'll issue the permit. Getting the certificate takes usually eight months, processing the application about four months. So the whole process takes about *a year*. I was stunned. Here I am willing to hire someone to work on a product that will generate taxes in the US, and the bureaucrats are asking me to wait a year. These people have lost any touch with reality. Not that *I* would do such a thing, but an off-shore pseudonymous remailer, with payment in ecash might go a long way... [Disclaimer: Speaking only for myself, not for my employer] -- Lucky Green <mailto:shamrock@netcom.com> PGP encrypted mail preferred.