If you had to immigrate to America

[wmw999 2,122]

The rules (also summarized in this post).

How many people who post here would be able to immigrate to America if they weren't born here? I left off the marriage and relatives categories -- most of us who are citizens have American parents, and those who are married have American spouses

My employer pretty much hires citizens, and very, very few legal aliens. None sponsored. My degree is in Sociology. I stay where I am.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[kallend 1,623]

I came in 1977 on a visiting scientist (J-1), and switched the following year to an E1(2).

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[remibond 0]

I'm a full time student working towards a science degree who could pay out of state tuition

[GeorgiaDon 340]

This should be interesting! I didn't vote, because I did immigrate here, under the 1st category (science/engineering degree), and I think the poll is to see how many native-born US citizens could get in if they weren't born here. Also just to clarify, the student visa (F1) is for temporary residence only, and there is no direct mechanism to transition from an F1 to a green card (except marrying a US citizen you happened to meet while a student of course). However many students acquire science/engineering degrees that allow them to transition to an employer-sponsored H visa, and from there they may move on to permanent residency if their employer is willing to sponsor them.

Don

_____________________________________
Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996)
“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

[davjohns 1]

Quote

The rules (also summarized in this post).

How many people who post here would be able to immigrate to America if they weren't born here? I left off the marriage and relatives categories -- most of us who are citizens have American parents, and those who are married have American spouses

My employer pretty much hires citizens, and very, very few legal aliens. None sponsored. My degree is in Sociology. I stay where I am.

Wendy P.

Why did you leave out the lottery and other options?

I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

[wmw999 2,122]

I left out the lottery because it's by chance -- you can't qualify for it, you can only be disqualified. As far as the relatives one, I think I explained that in the first post.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[GeorgiaDon 340]

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Why did you leave out the lottery and other options?

Did you check out either of the links she provided? The lottery and other options are discussed there. None apply to Mexicans who do not have an advanced degree or a sponsoring family member.

Don

_____________________________________
Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996)
“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

[Andy_Copland 0]

I missed the boat by 300 years, im as qualified as they were back then.

1338

People aint made of nothin' but water and shit.

Until morale improves, the beatings will continue.

[wmw999 2,122]

And to amplify: I said the reason why I left out the lottery. Since the real target for this poll are people who are already citizens, it's kind of meaningless to ask if they are Iraqi or Afghan translators, residents of countries that are targets for the diversity visa.

Most of the people reading this forum aren't eligible to be adopted, and since we're skydivers, the number who are also eligible religious workers is pretty small

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[davjohns 1]

Quote

Quote

Why did you leave out the lottery and other options?

Did you check out either of the links she provided? The lottery and other options are discussed there. None apply to Mexicans who do not have an advanced degree or a sponsoring family member.

Don

I did check out the links. And as an attorney who has worked immigration law, I will tell you it is not as difficult as that site might make one think. An employer sponsorship is actually pretty straight forward. It takes a bit of time, but I've never talked to an employer who wasn't willing to do it for a solid employee.

I have to disagree with the assertion that none apply to Mexicans without advanced degrees or sponsoring family; but then I did not realize this was a thread about Mexicans. It wasn't stated. I'll opt out of the discussion now, since it is going to be race based.

I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

[wmw999 2,122]

It's not about Mexicans (although the discussion that made me post this was mostly about Mexicans). However, again, the targets for this poll are already US citizens, so most of the nationality-based ones don't matter, only the skill-based ones.

The job option is the best one for most people, and since most of us already work in the USA, that leaves it wide, wide open. And you can feel free to educate us on the options open to the general public. Really.

I only know what I read on the website -- I'm by no means an expert. And I know that there aren't a lot of Iraqi translators on dz.com.

I also know that my brother went through a LOT of trouble to get his wife a green card. They had been married a number of years, and had a child. It included chickenshit things like her having to fly from Brazil to Japan (where she'd lived for 8 years) through Germany instead of LA because they were told that going through LA would re-set some of the process.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[feuergnom 22]

since this is SC my answer goes like this:

If I were to immigrate to the U.S. i'd have to learn the hymn, know what your constitutional ammendments are, follow all the fancy rules regarding flags and other paraphernalia, buy a gun and become a member of the NRA, become some sort of religious fanatic, learn what the real difference between dems and repubs are, forget that anything outside of the U.S. exists and lots of stuff i can't even come up with now and which doesn't look very desireable right now.
and before anyone stars to flame: this is and I know, that despite all the wierd, hard to grasp disputes going on in this website you are probably a civilised, nice to hang out with bunch of people

btw: i voted for none of this applies

The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle

dudeist skydiver # 666

[Shotgun 1]

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Since the real target for this poll are people who are already citizens . . .

. . . it's going to give a skewed view of what it would really be like if we were non-citizens who wanted to immigrate. Partially because none of us will fit into those categories that could only apply to non-citizens (which you omitted from the poll for that reason). And partially because we may have made different education/career choices in life if immigrating to the U.S. was a goal.

This site has more extensive info on qualifications: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis (a link from your original link).

And I don't get the impression that simply having a science or engineering degree is enough to qualify. (???)

At this very minute, I probably do not qualify (beyond family reasons). But, as already mentioned, I might have made different education or career choices if my intention was to relocate to a different country. Or I could probably do the student thing, but since I'm currently paying in-state tuition, I can't vote for that in your poll.

That being said, it is probably more difficult for Mexicans to immigrate here than it is for any other nationality (though they do represent the largest group of people who immigrate legally). For one thing, there are a lot more of them who want to (or so it seems), and I doubt that they qualify for the diversity program. And the types of jobs they tend to take are often with companies who won't sponsor their visas.

Edit: I know you said this wasn't about Mexicans, but at the moment, it's hard to consider U.S. immigration without thinking of what is going on in the southern border states.

[turtlespeed 212]

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I missed the boat by 300 years, im as qualified as they were back then.

You are being persecuted for your religious beliefs?

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[wmw999 2,122]

Most immigrants 300 years ago were economic immigrants. My ancestors (in the 19th & 20th centuries) certainly were.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[turtlespeed 212]

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. . . And partially because we may have made different education/career choices in life if immigrating to the U.S. was a goal.

And that is absolutely true. I am a survivor, I will do what it takes to get what I want to happen, and I would do it legally.

If I needed a degree to get that done, then i would have taken steps long ago to acquire one.

The basic underlying probem here is that the left seems to think that it is a right to have life handed to you on a platter. Life is not always fair. Life is not always just. It is just life. Do what you can with what you have, and stop requiring others to do it for you.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[kallend 1,623]

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Most immigrants 300 years ago were economic immigrants. My ancestors (in the 19th & 20th centuries) certainly were.

Wendy P.

Don't bother him with factual details.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Nightingale 0]

Looking at my heritage, I guess I'd either be born in Ireland, Germany or the Netherlands, probably Ireland given that my family is mostly Irish. Given that and my occupation, I'd qualify for the diversity visa lottery on the basis of country of origin and occupation.

[shropshire 0]

I'm a German Nazi Rocket scientist - so piece of piss to get a Full pardon and visa

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Nightingale 0]

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I left out the lottery because it's by chance -- you can't qualify for it, you can only be disqualified. As far as the relatives one, I think I explained that in the first post.

Wendy P.

The lottery may be by chance, but it is a way for 55,000 people to qualify for entry every year. That's pretty significant.

[Southern_Man 0]

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Most of the people reading this forum aren't eligible to be adopted, and since we're skydivers, the number who are also eligible religious workers is pretty small

Wendy P.

I would qualify as an eligible religious worker or at least would have at one time.

"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

[FreeflyChile 0]

Well, I came over when I was 6 years old when my dad got sponsored by his employer to come to the states, so while it's relative-related, no one in my family has been born here.

However, with your categories, I have an engineering degree (now, I got this at an American university, so whether or not that opportunity would have been there for me had I not been here is another issue).

[CanuckInUSA 0]

I spent 8 fantastic years in Colorado working as a software developer using a temporary NAFTA TN-1 work visa. The visas are easy to get if you meet the basic qualifications (in otherwords you need to possess experience and education in a field that the US considers "careers in demand"). But the TN-1 is only good for one year and only good for one employer and you must reapply for them whenever they expire and by law you must leave the country within 10 days of when the visa expires.

In my first 4-5 years working with the TN-1, INS was nice to me. But as the years progressed they (INS) turned into total assholes to the point when I said "fuck this I am through with your INS bullshit, I am going to return to my native Canada". Of course the TN-1 is a temporary visa (I knew this before I even moved to CO). But the people working at INS can be total pricks when they want to. Around 2001 I applied for my TN-1 at the Alberta Montana border and the INS agent who handled me was awesome. Then a couple of years later the exact same INS agent handled my application and was a total prick towards me. Same job, same INS agent but totally different experience.

Funny how the US ignores illegal immigrants but can be 100% assholes to those who choose to enter the country legally. But it is your country, you can do whatever it is you want to do there. While I miss Colorado, I can still lead a decent life up here in Alberta. The USA needs to get their economic act in order before I consider moving down there again. But Colorado did rock!!! It is an awesome state!!!

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[christelsabine 1]

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I'm a German Nazi Rocket scientist - so piece of piss to get a Full pardon and visa

Sure. And rolling out a red carpet.

Like always offered to German rocket scientists in the past.

dudeist skydiver # 3105

[GeorgiaDon 340]

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But the people working at INS can be total pricks when they want to. Around 2001 I applied for my TN-1 at the Alberta Montana border and the INS agent who handled me was awesome. Then a couple of years later the exact same INS agent handled my application and was a total prick towards me. Same job, same INS agent but totally different experience.

I had a similar experience. Living in Tucson, it was a lot easier (and perfectly legal) to pop down to Nogales to renew the TN than it would have been to go back to Canada. Most years people were fine with it, but a couple of times I got to deal with uninformed pricks who thought that I could only renew at the Canadian border. Although I encountered a few friendly INS/USCIS agents, for the most part I felt the attitude ranged from "why the fuck are you bothering me" to outright hostility. One big advantage of becoming a US citizen is that I don't have to deal with those pricks again. Welcome to America? Not so much.

Don

_____________________________________
Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996)
“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)