In Persian there is the slang phare “burning phosphorus” that is (sometimes) used to refer to “thinking“.

Looking at the website of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, we see that the Producer Price Index for Phosphates, which tracks the average change in the selling prices received by U.S. domestic producers for phosphate products, is going UP, and is going up FAST!

Maybe the price going up because of the amount of phosphorus I (and my fellow Iranian colleagues) have to burn these days just to keep up with the rapidly evolving US immigration policies.

It’s an opinion that might sound a little narcissistic, but I’m going to state it anyways: I makes no sense to put me in a position where I have to worry this much about immigration issues.

My presence in the U.S. is unequivocally beneficial to the country. I am a Ph.D. student at an Ivy League school, conducting research in Machine Learning, which is arguably the hottest topic of the day. I hold a Master’s degree from the number one business school in the world, and my undergraduate degree was in the most selective major at the top university in my country.

I am productive, and I am on a path that could lead me to contribute significantly—whether through an academic career or by joining the U.S. industry. Given these, why am I put in a place to have to worry this much?