Cycle of Stupidity

A friend of mine, who is an international student from India, recently told me a concern of his and many others regarding immigration and visas. In all honesty, I really never understood immigration laws or cared about them like that, however when I got to see how they impact people directly, it hit me. He described to me that people coming from India are having a problem because they need to get a visa in order to come to the United States, but to get the visa they need to provide a special document. However, in order for them to receive the document, a visa is required. A similar situation is presented to those who are already living here. International students are looking for jobs to support themselves while they are living here, but in order to work they need an SSN. But yet again, in order to get an SSN, you need to have a job. This a game. Point blank. Is this a way for the government to keep out immigrants by giving them the run-around? To me...this is completely insane.