But who would do the migrant farm labor of picking crops? (serious) That is an industry as I understand, can not really support a minimum wage. I hear that stable work is also not a minimum paying wage.
I'm willing to pay more for my lettuce. Besides, it's not necessary to pay them Federal minimum wages if they're not citizens. And it's not wages that concerns me as much as working conditions and work hours.
England prevails! When I first moved here, post-9/11 (so, almost exactly eight years to this day), only my step-dad was work visa application was accepted for some unknown reason. My mother wasn't able to work for almost four years while we lived in the States. We were given a temporary visa that expired every two years. When this happened, we had to travel to a US Embassy in a foreign country so we took the ten-odd hour drive to Toronto. In the end, it took us seven years to get our green card which is considered long compared to the other stories we've heard. Once you get your green card, there are still a bunch of other rules that you need to follow. I believe you have to stay in the United States for seven months every year or they have the right to revoke your citizenship. Then again, I'd say the system is quite smooth assuming you aren't illegal.