Haven't Posted in Forever
I haven't posted in forever. I wish I did more but I don't know how to get this out any other way and i'm just internally raging about it right now.
One of my family members just shared a picture on facebook that says, "Calling an illegal alient an 'undocumented immigrant' is like calling a drug dealer an 'unlicensed pharmacist'"
Um....what?! Seriously, who the fuck thought this up? This is one of the stupidest analogies I've EVER seen about immigration. It's just fucking ridiculous.
First of all: Even if the "drug dealer" did have a pharmacy license, it wouldn't change him being a drug dealer! Because the substances are still illegal, even if you're a pharmacist. ALSO. Drug dealers sell some pretty harmful and even deadly toxins.
So you're going to equate a person who is in the United States, just here, without the government's permission, to a drug dealer? Apparently immigrants are the equivalent to people who sell death.
C'mon.
Maybe if people understood our government's process of immigration, they'd also understand it's not like you walk in and say "I'd like to live here" and they get back to you in any reasonable amount of time. Nor do people seem to understand the ridiculous amount of money they require you to throw at just being a 'permanent resident', even with a U.S. sponsor, nor do they seem to understand that the instructions on how to actually go about immigrating are almost non-existent on the government website. It's incredibly convoluted and missing wide gaps of information about what should be included. Not only that, but even after my husband got here, he has to wait at the minimum 3 months after our marriage/getting a social security number in order to be able to even apply for jobs. But they just expected us to shell out another 1000 dollars. How do people expect someone to do all that? Especially because the process is EVEN WORSE for someone who does not have a sponsor through a family member or employer willing to hire.
To just give a taste of what Ryan and I have been through:
- Figuring out how to even get started. The immigration website is a bunch of broken links and outdated forms.
- 30 pages of paperwork including a ton of personal information, proof of our relationship and us visiting each other, $350 dollars.
- Waiting from Feb. to July just to hear back from them on this. We were approved. Via online because I checked every single day. The physical mail never even got to me.
- Waiting for another couple months while they sent the info. from government department to government department until it got to the embassy in Montreal.
-Another list of paperwork, and another $250.
- Ryan had to go and get a special medical examination in Montreal. So he had to travel in order to have it done. That cost another $100.
- We finally get to set up a visa interview at the embassy. Have to wait until December. Get there, he waits in the place for almost 6 hours for them to talk to him for 15 minutes.
- Gets his visa a week later (only thing that was done fast.) He now has to leave absolutely everything behind within 6 months for the visa to remain valid to enter the U.S. This means on Dec. 6th he didn't even know if he was going to move yet.
- He enters the US. It had been 10 months since our initial file. Has 90 days to marry me, obtain a social security card, send all of the paperwork for his adjustment of status. He cannot work during this time.
- We waited for an hour to have a 5 minute interview for the social security card. We left previously because the wait the first time we can in was almost 2 hours.
- The paperwork for this was 30 pages, including me having to prove that I could financially vouch for him being in this country and take care of him. So I have to send in all my tax information and biography info. We also have to submit a bunch of forms and passport style pictures that they already have received from us at least twice before this. And the fees this time are $1070.
- We may have to wait up to 3 months, just to get approval for him to look for a job while his status is pending. It could take up to a year before he's a "permanent resident".
This is considered one of the easiest and fastest ways to immigrate to the United States.
Fuck these people who think people should 'just do it the right way'. The right way is ridiculous and inefficient. Trust me, the fact we are such assholes to immigrants, there must be a really good reason they are choosing to come here anyway. Because it sure isn't because we're a welcoming and generous nation to our immigrants, whether they are legal or not.
One of my family members just shared a picture on facebook that says, "Calling an illegal alient an 'undocumented immigrant' is like calling a drug dealer an 'unlicensed pharmacist'"
Um....what?! Seriously, who the fuck thought this up? This is one of the stupidest analogies I've EVER seen about immigration. It's just fucking ridiculous.
First of all: Even if the "drug dealer" did have a pharmacy license, it wouldn't change him being a drug dealer! Because the substances are still illegal, even if you're a pharmacist. ALSO. Drug dealers sell some pretty harmful and even deadly toxins.
So you're going to equate a person who is in the United States, just here, without the government's permission, to a drug dealer? Apparently immigrants are the equivalent to people who sell death.
C'mon.
Maybe if people understood our government's process of immigration, they'd also understand it's not like you walk in and say "I'd like to live here" and they get back to you in any reasonable amount of time. Nor do people seem to understand the ridiculous amount of money they require you to throw at just being a 'permanent resident', even with a U.S. sponsor, nor do they seem to understand that the instructions on how to actually go about immigrating are almost non-existent on the government website. It's incredibly convoluted and missing wide gaps of information about what should be included. Not only that, but even after my husband got here, he has to wait at the minimum 3 months after our marriage/getting a social security number in order to be able to even apply for jobs. But they just expected us to shell out another 1000 dollars. How do people expect someone to do all that? Especially because the process is EVEN WORSE for someone who does not have a sponsor through a family member or employer willing to hire.
To just give a taste of what Ryan and I have been through:
- Figuring out how to even get started. The immigration website is a bunch of broken links and outdated forms.
- 30 pages of paperwork including a ton of personal information, proof of our relationship and us visiting each other, $350 dollars.
- Waiting from Feb. to July just to hear back from them on this. We were approved. Via online because I checked every single day. The physical mail never even got to me.
- Waiting for another couple months while they sent the info. from government department to government department until it got to the embassy in Montreal.
-Another list of paperwork, and another $250.
- Ryan had to go and get a special medical examination in Montreal. So he had to travel in order to have it done. That cost another $100.
- We finally get to set up a visa interview at the embassy. Have to wait until December. Get there, he waits in the place for almost 6 hours for them to talk to him for 15 minutes.
- Gets his visa a week later (only thing that was done fast.) He now has to leave absolutely everything behind within 6 months for the visa to remain valid to enter the U.S. This means on Dec. 6th he didn't even know if he was going to move yet.
- He enters the US. It had been 10 months since our initial file. Has 90 days to marry me, obtain a social security card, send all of the paperwork for his adjustment of status. He cannot work during this time.
- We waited for an hour to have a 5 minute interview for the social security card. We left previously because the wait the first time we can in was almost 2 hours.
- The paperwork for this was 30 pages, including me having to prove that I could financially vouch for him being in this country and take care of him. So I have to send in all my tax information and biography info. We also have to submit a bunch of forms and passport style pictures that they already have received from us at least twice before this. And the fees this time are $1070.
- We may have to wait up to 3 months, just to get approval for him to look for a job while his status is pending. It could take up to a year before he's a "permanent resident".
This is considered one of the easiest and fastest ways to immigrate to the United States.
Fuck these people who think people should 'just do it the right way'. The right way is ridiculous and inefficient. Trust me, the fact we are such assholes to immigrants, there must be a really good reason they are choosing to come here anyway. Because it sure isn't because we're a welcoming and generous nation to our immigrants, whether they are legal or not.