Recently, I came across an interesting case on the internet. A member of one of the most popular podcasting networks in the world was asking people to write articles about him so that he would qualify for a “notable persons” visa.

The person, named Love, is based out of Sweden. He works full-time managing social media for h3h3productions, best known for the H3 Podcast, which has consistently been one of the highest-ranking podcasts in the United States since it first skyrocketed in popularity in 2020. 

Love, who, aside from his behind-the-scenes work, has appeared on the show numerous times, is attempting to move to America to work more closely with the production team. Despite the fact that he is steadily employed full-time by the company and has been for over two years, he has been unable to secure a work visa.

Using their platform, the hosts of the H3 Podcast have attempted to get news organizations to write articles about Love so that he will be able to qualify for an O-1 visa. I am hopeful that Love will be able to qualify for this visa, and I am hopeful that this article can help him get said visa.

That being said, this situation shows just how fundamentally broken the immigration system in our country is. A person working directly for an American company is unable to move here. This person is making no demands of citizenship, or of any special treatment once they get here, they are asking for nothing more than to come here to better do the job that they are already doing.

On top of that, the concept of an O-1 Visa is frustrating. It essentially says that, so long as you are famous, you can expect special treatment within our legal system from other people. Some of whom are likely more deserving, do not receive. America’s legal system has long made generous exceptions for those with elite statuses, and unfortunately, immigration is no exception.

That being said, immigration must be re-evaluated entirely, especially in the post-Donald Trump era of American politics. We must rebuild our immigration system to be a system of kindness and care.

We must reevaluate how immigration law is enforced. Many people facing deportation are forced to attend their criminal hearings using video teleconferencing methods because our immigration courts lack the number of judges to handle our archaic immigration law. There are only 68 immigration courts in the United States, a statistic that comedian Adam Conover joked about in 2016, comparing it to the number of RadioShacks in the country. In 2023, there are still 400 RadioShack locations, so it seems that Conover’s quip is still applicable.

I love (not to be confused with the guy applying for the visa) Conover’s metaphor, so I’m going to make one of my own – our immigration system, in its current form, is a lot like buying a Playstation 5 on Wish.com, it’s supposed to work but it doesn’t.

We need to stop criminalizing people for existing here. If someone is in America and is working in the country, rather than waste money to deport them for being undocumented, we should spend the money to document them. Our immigration policy in this country has been dictated for too long by people who have never met an immigrant and have no understanding of how immigrants work. I’m not talking about our lawmakers, but rather the electorate that has pushed the anti-immigration rhetoric to its current point.

Not allowing someone to work for a company in the company’s country actively hurts the worker, the company, and the country. We need to completely re-evaluate our immigration system, and in the meanwhile, we need to get Love his visa.