My family came to the US as refugees and had a very easy time of going through the naturalization process. We may have been a happy exception. I have a friend, an internationally known writer, who submitted his green card application several times, with substantial fees attached to every one of the. They were all “lost”. Upon a call from his state senator, they were miraculously found.
This morning, I read a this on a blog of an acquaintance whose writings I’ve been following for years:
February will mark the two year anniversary as to when my husband submitted his application for a change of status – a Green card.
He hasn’t even been called for an interview yet.
I have now received yet another notice from the State Department stating that his application is incomplete – even though it isn’t. They keep writing and asking for documents we’ve already submitted, each time it changes. Never mind that we have receipts stating they’ve received the appropriate forms.
I am FURIOUS. our lives are on hold.
I am tempted to take this to the media, I’m sure it would make a good story for someone – how impossible immigration is even for a citizen of England who has been married for two years and has a good savings account and a job.
In theory, US is a beacon of freedom to the world. Yet people without permanent residency are much restricted legally in what they can do here. And I get a distinct impression that having qualifications in science, business or any other useful area means nothing to the bureaucrats when it comes to approving applications. They’d rather bring in third-world savages with no skills beyond brigandage than smart, hardworking people who already speak the language, have an education and have manifested a work ethic.
I have another talented friend, living in Texas on a work visa. If he had a green card, he could produce several of his inventions here. I have no idea how to expedite the process of getting a green card for him, but would like to learn the options.
I’ve observed a greater work ethic in many illegal immigrants than your average American possesses. I think their anger over the husband’s immigration problems is coloring their perception of others and the issue as a whole. Painting people with a broad brush is never a good practice.
Quite possibly. My own comparisons were between legal immigrants — for example, substantial portion of criminal activity in Minneapolis comes from certain recent imports who were able to come in with direct facilitation of the State Department, while less criminal and more productive candidates were being kept out.
It’s very, very simple. Married, with a good savings account, skills and a job? You’re far less likely to vote Democrat, or to tolerate the Demo-publican authoritarian regime. Thus they have no use for you. Especially so if you’re white. Worse yet, you’re probably one of those they’ve been targeting– When the “community organizer” types, the agitators, speak of “Social Justice” it is people like you they want brought to “justice”.
If you don’t get it by now, Man, what’s it going to take?
A friend of mine from Canada, despite being well-educated, well-employed, and married to an American woman, waited (IRC) NINE years for citizenship. I used to tell him to go on holiday to Mexico, dump his Canadian papers in the drink, wade across the Rio Grande and, if stopped, claim that he was coming to do jobs Americans wouldn’t do. It would be a much cheaper and easier way to become a citizen.
The laws seem increasingly aimed at hampering the law-abiding. Why, therefore, should anybody obey them?
Reason Magazine has a handy flowchart explaining the US immigration system.
It took my wife and I 14 years and 20k to become US citizens the legal way, as to your your friend in TX I would recommend getting a good immigration lawyer, if you shoot me an email to the supplied address I can put you in touch with one (he’s not in TX but will have contacts).
Ross
Why’d you want to become a citizen, though, if you are a lawful resident? Isn’t the only real difference whether or not you have any political rights?
One man I know has been living in Texas for the past 15 years.
He doesn’t want to become a citizen, as he often works abroad and the amount of tax paperwork he’d have to file would be greatly increased. IRS really has it in for Americans earning any money abroad.
Of course, only for the little people who can’t afford 300$ per hour lawyers..
I wanted to be able to vote, I also live in NC and state law requires US citizenship to get an NC concealed cary permit, I was carrying on a UT non-rez permit for 10 years but could not purchase handguns on it (NC requires either a concealed handgun permit or a pistol purchase permit issued by the Sheriff’s Office, I had to use those).
My son-in-law is Danish. He married my daughter in 2004. They had to exit the USA for two years so that he could acquire the appropriate visa, and I had to submit a small mountain of paperwork to guarantee he wouldn’t be a deadbeat, wouldn’t be a “burden” on the State.
They finally got his green card in 2006 and returned to the US.
He has a Masters degree in civil engineering, speaks English fluently, is currently the vice dean of the science department at the private school where he and my daughter work.
He has years to go yet before he can become a citizen.
He and my daughter have spent a pile of money, a bunch of time, and endured years of self-imposed exile to get him what he needs, and they’re not done yet.
It is as though this country erects whatever barriers it can to erudite, educated, industrious, moral, productive, self-sufficient immigrants, while operating a speakeasy entrance for random riff-raff whose only qualifications are a strong likelihood of growing the voting base of a Marxism-infatuated self-appointed elite.
(And it probably doesn’t help that my son-in-law, being Danish, is kinda … y’know … [whisper] white [/whisper] … and not even remotely “ethnic,” whatever that might mean.)
Your husband might be the British jihadist in ISIS. Who knows
“And I get a distinct impression that having qualifications in science, business or any other useful area means nothing to the bureaucrats when it comes to approving applications. They’d rather bring in third-world savages with no skills beyond brigandage than smart, hardworking people who already speak the language, have an education and have manifested a work ethic”
I found my self thinking the same thing only difference been my wife and I were trying to stay in Canada. If you read the Canadian govt website they claim the aim of there policies is to bring in immigrants who have the best chance of economic success. Yet they wouldn’t let us stay even though we had science/engineering degrees, English is our first language and we had job. They will how ever let in illiterate uneducated immigrates who’s cultures are incompatible with mainstream Canadian culture sigh
I admire illegal aliens over legal ones. At least they have the gumption to ignore insane rules and thuggish bureaucracies, and get on with life. They sound more like the original Americans, who had no time or patience for government, one of the main reasons they came here in the first place.
The problem I see is that for at least the past 30 years, that has not been the case. Most of them now seem to be here for the benefits/handouts, and aren’t worth a damn.
Most importantly, they have no intent of fitting into our culture, but insist on importing their own really bad culture, and replicating it here. Importing gangsters from multiple, worldwide, countries is really stupid. This is not going to end well, and it will be the end of our country. Simply a matter of time, now.