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My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

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Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#251

Post by yardie »

rdl wrote: post #232

In this case, the minimum patch to fix his situation (and that of those very similar to him) is probably to remove the 10 year ban requirement. Let him leave, reapply immediately as an O-1, etc., without prejudice, based on having come here as a minor, and/or having graduated from a US university. While I'd like to see comprehensive immigration reform, I am always afraid of the perfect being the enemy of the good. Th…

Can't he already do this?

I've heard of quite a few speakers and musicians that were technically banned, Nelson Mandela comes to mind, but had so much overwhelming support from businesses and congress that ICE had no option but to overturn it. He's got a Pulitzer and a few bestselling books, I'm sure he can spin that into a proper visa.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#253

Post by roel_v »

bad_user wrote: post #240
tokenadult wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spouse of first-generation immigrant to the United States here. And back in the 1990s I used to be an immigration lawyer for a small law firm on the west coast. Yes, the personal story of Jose Antonio Vargas is rough on him personally, but a better basis for setting the policy of immigration in the United States would be the stories of the many people who patiently wait in line to be admitted to the United States thr…

In Europe it's a lot easier to immigrate in general. Especially as an EU citizen. And if your country is also a member of the Schengen space, you can just move around using only your ID. My uncle immigrated in Spain for instance; entered and worked illegally at first (since a Schengen visa was required of him, and he could find illegal work more easilly anyway), but forward 15 years later, and now he has full citizen…

"In Europe it's a lot easier to immigrate in general."

Within Europe, yes. It's hard to immigrate into Europe coming from outside.

"Especially as an EU citizen."

Only as an EU citizen. If you're not, it's hard to travel around Europe - you need a lot of papers, for each country you go to, and it's not a matter of filling in a form online and they'll send you the papers; it involves certified translations, several appointments with embassies and the like, etc.

As to the last sentence, there is a reason people flock to the US - because it's simply a better climate there to start a business. Good luck in Zurich (of all places! the Swiss are as close-minded and protective of their nationality and 'independence' as it comes!) or anywhere else in Europe. Of course it can be done, many companies are founded and are successful; but nowhere near the same level as in the US.

(European here)

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#254

Post by gdilla »

anonymous246 wrote: post #226
dennisgorelik wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

gdilla, by pointing Vargas to the end of the line you are shooting yourself in the foot. You are imagining that if Vargas would get green card your wait time would be longer. It's not the case. If it would be easier for illegal immigrants to get green cards, it would be even easier to make a compelling case for you and your wife. Why do you think that number of granted green cards per year is a fixed amount? It's not…

There's a finite amount of bandwidth any society can spend on immigration, not an infinite amount (and hint: it's negligible). At the moment, so-called liberals whatever reason are more concerned about ILLEGAL immigrants than legal immigrants. Do you know how many legal immigrants' green cards got delayed the last time there was an amnesty program for illegals? Do you think the US govt. will hire more immigration dep…

Exactly. The bw issues are tremendous. How do you process 10m + illegals whose cases are all so varied, documentation are various levels of sketchy, while there are millions waiting in line LEGALLY, and somehow think 1) it's fair and 2) it's more efficient than now.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#255

Post by daniel1980fl2 »

pyre wrote: post #172
lupatus wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are a criminal and not a "homebred American". You should stop punishing yourself and return to your home country. It sounds like you have the skills to be very successful there.

So is 'American' culture or tribe affiliation? If he/she grew up in America then deporting him/her is like sending them to a foreign country for all intents and purposes. What if he/she doesn't even know her/his native language? It's not such a black and white issue, as much as you might want it to be.

none of this is relevant. if you don't know, I have you know in US there are tens of thousands abortions legally made every day. There are thousands of court orders to separate natural born children from their parents, legally, every day. What on earth would made you think someone at DHS or ICE or BIA would cry a single tear over this or another person's story?? this is United States of America! We bomb foreign countries in the name of peace in US by using remote drones killing hundreds of thousands mothers, fathers, wifes and children. If the world is like a school class, then US is a bully rich brat that can do whatever it feels like and there is nothing you can do!

but rest assured the party will be over soon. thanks to its foreign predator policy, us always had 40% less expensive oil than others, so this could be so called "dream land" because human dreams are made of pleasures and needs, and both are cheaper in us than anywhere else. once dollar weaken even more the euro/yun basket will replace petro dollar and noone will be interested to discount cruide to us. thanks to supply and demand, within couple weeks you will see prices of everything, starting with diapers, ending on houses skyrocketing. the country will literally implode. game over! but this is already another thread...

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#256

Post by iqster »

ojbyrne wrote: post #39
phillmv wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried Canada? We're kind of like the US, but better.

As a Canadian living in the US, I think you need to mention the snow.

Indeed it snows :) Funny! But seriously, the cold in Toronto is as bad as New York.

Also, programmer salaries aren't exactly the same. A top notch coder in SF Bay area or NYC makes x2-x6 than a Canadian. Apart from money, I felt that there were few hardcore jobs that would improve my skills. Nortel was an exception before it closed down.

That said, Canada is a pretty nice place to live. Immigrants aren't expected to assimilate. Rather, society is supposed to be enriched by your diversity. My family immigrated to Canada when I was a teenager and I've always been grateful to the country for accepting us. It's unfortunate that I've had to leave her to pursue educational and professional growth opportunities in the US. Not sure where my future lies ... but I miss Canada dearly.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#257

Post by lelele »

nick-dap wrote: post #51

I'm in the same boat. It's been difficult. I cannot express how grateful I am to Jose Vargas for writing this story. I was brought here as a kid 13 years ago. I'm 24 now. I also graduated from a "top" university -- like that matters. I guess my parents weren't smart enough to get a fake social security card for me back then, I wish they were. I've also been fighting for the Dream Act for what feels like an eternity.…

Why do you want to stay in a country which does not want you? Send them all to hell, and take your knowledge and abilities where they are appreciated.

USA are not the World. I've heard Canada is very open to knowledge workers from outside. Learn about other countries.

Good luck.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#259

Post by Maxious »

ebiester wrote: post #71
nick-dap wrote: post #51

I'm in the same boat. It's been difficult. I cannot express how grateful I am to Jose Vargas for writing this story. I was brought here as a kid 13 years ago. I'm 24 now. I also graduated from a "top" university -- like that matters. I guess my parents weren't smart enough to get a fake social security card for me back then, I wish they were. I've also been fighting for the Dream Act for what feels like an eternity.…

Trust me, there's nobody on this board that is more sympathetic than I am. I am 110% behind you with the DREAM act, and my money has gone to Immigration Equality which has lobbied for this issue. (For different reasons, but suffice to say I'm an ally.) There's one simple problem with changing immigration, and that's the system is working as intended. Farm workers can't unionize nearly as easily if they are undocument…

Georgia's tough anti-illegal-immigrant law drove a sizable fraction of the migrant labor pool out of the state, and as a result, "millions of dollars' worth of blueberries, onions, melons and other crops [are] unharvested and rotting in the fields." http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/06/georgias...

Surely there would be some way to legalize low cost unskilled workers at the expense of giving them some basic rights.

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