Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Immigrants trying to do civic duty; registered to vote, now getting deported

dippin · 10-23-2010, 08:46 PM

The American immigration system is the weirdest, most illogical system of all I've ever encountered.

Let's just start with the fact that non-US citizens can have an authorization to stay in the country, but not to enter the country. I.e., someone with a valid work authorization or a valid student I-20 can stay in the country, but to enter the country they need a visa. And of course, getting a visa has all sorts of red tape. You need to schedule an interview at a consulate (even for renewals), which depending on the consulate can take 60 days or more, and then the visa is mailed to you a few days later. I know someone who couldn't go to their mother's funeral because their visa was expired and their work authorization was still valid. So this person could stay in the US, but if they left they couldn't get back in. This person tried to schedule an expedited interview with the consulate so she could get a visa in the week she would be there for her mother's funeral, but the consulate determined that that wasn't good enough reason to expedite a visa.

And if you want to become a citizen? First there is the labor certification process, where the department of labor certifies that the person isn't taking a job from an American. Sounds good, right? Except that in the end this process basically entails a text recognition software going through forms to make sure they were filled correctly. I know people who have had labor certification denied because the name of the city was misspelled, and another who had labor certification denied because in the job ad they submitted along it the employer was identified by its logo, which contained its name, but the text recognition software didn't recognize it.

If the person makes through this stage, then the actual process with USCIS starts. Which can take several years. And if the person loses their job in the mean time and can't find another, they would lose their authorization to stay in the US. And then, after having a green card for 5 years THEN they can start the citizenship process.

In my personal example, I have a PHD. I already qualify to become a Canadian permanent resident even though I've never lived there, based on credentials alone. Similarly, if I were to accept a job offer in many European countries, not only I could become a citizen in a much shorter amount of time, certain countries even have tax breaks for highly qualified individuals. In the netherlands, for example, highly qualified individuals can apply to only pay income taxes on 70% of their income.

Meanwhile, the American system is so convoluted and so complex that my green card application still hasn't been approved after over 3 years. And if someone who did voter registration came to me and guaranteed me that I could vote once I got my green card, I wouldn't have known better.

10-23-2010, 08:46 PM	#17 (permalink)
dippin Crazy, indeed Location: the ether	The American immigration system is the weirdest, most illogical system of all I've ever encountered. Let's just start with the fact that non-US citizens can have an authorization to stay in the country, but not to enter the country. I.e., someone with a valid work authorization or a valid student I-20 can stay in the country, but to enter the country they need a visa. And of course, getting a visa has all sorts of red tape. You need to schedule an interview at a consulate (even for renewals), which depending on the consulate can take 60 days or more, and then the visa is mailed to you a few days later. I know someone who couldn't go to their mother's funeral because their visa was expired and their work authorization was still valid. So this person could stay in the US, but if they left they couldn't get back in. This person tried to schedule an expedited interview with the consulate so she could get a visa in the week she would be there for her mother's funeral, but the consulate determined that that wasn't good enough reason to expedite a visa. And if you want to become a citizen? First there is the labor certification process, where the department of labor certifies that the person isn't taking a job from an American. Sounds good, right? Except that in the end this process basically entails a text recognition software going through forms to make sure they were filled correctly. I know people who have had labor certification denied because the name of the city was misspelled, and another who had labor certification denied because in the job ad they submitted along it the employer was identified by its logo, which contained its name, but the text recognition software didn't recognize it. If the person makes through this stage, then the actual process with USCIS starts. Which can take several years. And if the person loses their job in the mean time and can't find another, they would lose their authorization to stay in the US. And then, after having a green card for 5 years THEN they can start the citizenship process. In my personal example, I have a PHD. I already qualify to become a Canadian permanent resident even though I've never lived there, based on credentials alone. Similarly, if I were to accept a job offer in many European countries, not only I could become a citizen in a much shorter amount of time, certain countries even have tax breaks for highly qualified individuals. In the netherlands, for example, highly qualified individuals can apply to only pay income taxes on 70% of their income. Meanwhile, the American system is so convoluted and so complex that my green card application still hasn't been approved after over 3 years. And if someone who did voter registration came to me and guaranteed me that I could vote once I got my green card, I wouldn't have known better.