You're exactly right, this is what I mean when I talk about the current government being this transparent. Immigrants tend to think of the risk-reward scenario, and a lot depends on image and perspective in their heads.

This image now is a lot nearer to reality than it previously was. When this leads to people not having US-citizen children, or not buying houses, or just not jumping on the boat to reach the US come what may, or just not being too optimistic in general (essentially not tying yourself to a country when the country hasn't done the same with you in terms of citizenship), things will maybe get a bit more sane.

Sorry I disagree. The decision to make it a temporary visa has to be based on the employer's decision to continue their employment and not some politician's whim. Going by your logic, no one should be optimistic in life because the government could do some random thing and ruin your life. Tomorrow, if Trump decides that the dollar is worthless, you'll not be saying that 'Ah well, I shouldn't have been too optimistic in life'.

I never said to not be optimistic; I said to not be too optimistic. On personal level, immigration decisions and everything that comes after needs to be tied to reality and consider what could happen in the future, including all the nasty stuff. You need to consider all realistic scenarios, including all the political, financial and personal issues and shenanigans which can crop up. As the above poster said, none of this is new.

> has to be based on the employer's decision to continue their employment and not some politician's whim

While everyone here would love for this to happen, clearly nothing's working as it should be, or how we want it to be. It hasn't been, for quite a while. This is realpolitik.