Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
Can't vote yet. I'm not a citizen.
I have to wait until November to even apply for citizenship after having my green card (legal residency) for 3 years through marriage. It would be 5 years if I wasn't married to an American. This was after proving that I had 4 years of funds available to me throughout the course of my education BEFORE they would grant me a student visa.
Trump's right that immigration is broken in America, but he's wrong about what that means. To me, it means that it's nearly impossible to immigrate to this country if you're following the rules, so I fully understand why someone who doesn't have the same opportunities that I've had (professionally educated, married to an American, white, english speaker, no objectionable history) would find a way to enter the country illegally. I've been living here for 6 years, and I haven't had a single vote yet. The tea party and revolution occurred due to taxation without representation, but it still goes on here constantly. Just ask the millions of undocumented immigrants, and those of us who are legal, but still don't have a say in how the country is run.
Sorry for the rant, I'm just extremely pissed that I don't get a voice in this election coming up. You touched a nerve.
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I hear you on this. I got to experience trying to immigrate to the US myself 16 years ago. What a multi year gong show that was, and I ended up leaving the States before the paperwork (eventually) came through.
The big hangup for me was that I couldn't work until I got my proper card...but the card kept getting lost and/or hung up in the red tape gears. It took them 1 1/2 years to 'authorize' me to work legally. All the while, my ex-wife was slaving away at 2 jobs so we could make ends meet.
I've long thought that if you want to immigrate, the process should look something like this. You show up at the border and state that you'd like to immigrate. You say what city you'd like to live/work in. You are given a work permit and SIN. You are sent to that city with the address for the Immigration Office that you will be expected to check in with every 6 months. You start working and paying taxes and after a period of time (say, 2 years) in which you have been working and paying taxes and not gotten into any serious trouble...welcome to you as a new citizen of wherever.
Obviously that's pretty simplified...but something like that. You want to live and work here? Great. Here are the means to live and work. Do so, and you'll be welcome.