Immigration, part 4: A Correction

What is the American Dream? I had always thought it was the opportunity to live freely, to seek one's own future rather than having it dictated by a King, a Central Committee, or a Theocracy; it was the hope to take a job, to earn some money, to buy a house, and to raise children as you saw fit. All within reason, of course — although the phrase "within reason" seems to vary over time. Some of the Republic's Founding Fathers, for example, had no qualms whatsoever about the idea that their freedom depended on keeping a large class of human beings enslaved. On the other hand, Thomas Jefferson had a number qualms about it, but he couldn't bring himself to restrain his spending sufficiently to where he could free his slaves, not even after his death.

In some films and television shows, including American ones, the American Dream is portrayed as the chance to cheat, steal, and claw your way to filthy riches. A number of filmmakers seem to take this position quite seriously.

For some immigrants, the American Dream consists in finding a job so that they can earn some money to send home to support their families.

For others, it consists in abandoning their home country altogether, and becoming an American citizen.

Isn't it odd that there is an American Dream? No offense to any readers, but I've never heard of an Italian Dream, or a Saudi Arabian Dream, or a Chinese Dream, or even (sorry, Elliot & qkl) a Canadian Dream. Lots of immigrants go to those countries, too. — Well, maybe not China. In fact, this rambling is partly inspired by a story I read that four North Koreans have sought asylum in America via a consulate in China. A Chinese guard tried to stop them; in a curious euphemism, the news reports that they "overpowered" him.

Plenty of people go to Italy, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. Do they have the same dreams?

A nonimmigrant acquaintance of mine tells me that America is an uncivilized country, because we don't provide universal health care to everyone. To recognize the irony of this statement, you must understand that he's in this country, earning his PhD at a state university, and paid partly by an NSF grant awarded to his advisor, an American citizen. Thus, his in-state tuition is subsidized by North Carolina taxpayers, and his research is subsidized by American taxpayers. Yet he considers this an "uncivilized" country. I know that people have a natural talent for ingratitude (I am one, after all), but boy do some people seem to excel at it.

My acquaintance doesn't consider his country much better, mind; they do have universal health care, but they also have compulsory military service. One reason he's here is to avoid that. European countries, by contrast, have universal health care, and many have abolished compulsory military service. My acquaintance has thought aloud about looking in Europe.

On the other hand, one reads about the Muslim parliamentarian in Holland who will leave the country because her citizenship was revoked. Why? she falsified information on her asylum application. Why? she feared that her family would trace her down, and she sought asylum because, she claims, her family wanted to marry her against her will.

Where will she go? She certainly deserves asylum now. Theo van Gogh worked with her on a documentary, and an Islamist radical stabbed him to death while he was riding his bicycle through the streets, leaving a note promising the same to the parliamentarian. The woman went into hiding, but her neighbors took her to court because (quoting the Washington Post) "her presence was a security problem and a nuisance." She lost the case.

I've read that she's not remaining in Holland, nor bolting to another European country. She's leaving for a job... in America.

Isn't that bizarre? Read the news and talk with academics like my acquaintance above; you'd come to believe that no one in his right mind would want to stay in the United States, let alone move here. I half have that impression myself! The problems include a tanking economy, crumbling consumer confidence, debts surpassing saving, a joke of an educational system, a health care system that people regularly compare to third world countries, with the added plague that we actually have to pay for this third-world health care, and of course American foreign policy, which, to quote some, is the single greatest cause of human misery and suffering throughout the world.

Despite these claims, millions and millions of people have come to this country recently, millions and millions more want to come, and the vast majority of them choose to stay, and what is more, are proud of being Americans. Immigrants are among the least cynical and most grateful Americans I know. Many of them will tell you repeatedly how much they love this country and its opportunities. I'm including Mexicans in this statement, because I remember a Mexican who told me excitedly, I love this country!

A different friend recently told me a little of his experience coming here with his family as a child. He was a little annoyed that my entry on Immigration portrays the process as neat, tidy, and friendly. His experience wasn't quite the same; he recalled, for example, that his sister was standing a little ways beside her family, and an immigration officer barked at her for being out of line.

That's a fair complaint. I felt I had been too optimistic, and I'd been meaning to write a correction. I have dealt with it a little in this entry (part 2 of my immigration ruminations) where I mention a few difficulties of the process. I'll also point to a quote from this entry on my family's entrace to America:

I can't fault the Arabs much for their annoyance, though: most of the immigration officers did seem to be working as slowly as possible. Some of them were eating junk food, standing around, talking, and yucking it up, etc. Don't get me wrong: they were working alright, but it was a rather leisurely approach to work.

I can add more. JFK's Immigration Holding Room is a dark and depressing place, with low ceilings and not a few unfriendly officers, some of whom only barely speak English. I felt embarassed that it was my family's first view of America and the American Civil Service, of which I am typically proud. It's understandable that my wife didn't understand what they're saying, but it's ridiculous that I barely understood what one officer was saying! The atmosphere was not quite as much of a scowl as Moscow Sheremetyevo's Immigration Center, but that's a relic from Soviet times, and besides, a Russian acquaintance tells me that Sheremetyevo is sprucing things up.

Then there are the fees. Losing a green card will cost you a cool $260. A nonimmigrant worker visa is $190, and those are some of the less expensive fees. Marrying a foreigner and bringing her here costs $190 (visa) + $325 (adjust status). If s/he has children, it gets more expensive, but you're lucky if they're below 14; then it's only $225 per child. If you're here illegally, applying for normalization will cost you an extra $1,000. This does not include the amount spent on acquiring and notarizing forms, medical exams, traveling to a US Consulate for the required interview, traveling again later with one of the forms that the Consulate won't tell you that you might need; etc. On the other hand, it will cost you $545 to adopt an orphan. Don't forget the cost of travel, and a lawyer. I managed without a lawyer, and lots of other people do — but boatloads of people don't, pun intended.

I've read that the cost of these forms is due to a law requiring the application process to be self-financing. Fair enough. Do you think that most immigrants can afford these fees? There is hope:

USCIS knows that there are sometimes situations in which an individual is unable to pay the fee for a particular service. Generally, USCIS has discretion to waive any filing fee if the applicant can prove that he/she is unable to pay the fee. USCIS has a policy that explains when fee waivers might be granted. It also provides information on how USCIS defines "inability to pay." The policy on when fees may be waived, and the process to request such a waiver, are found in our Fee Waiver Guidance and our Fee Waiver Policy Memo of March 4, 2004.

The guidelines for this are posted here, and do not seemly unduly burdensome. I have no idea how they're applied in real life, of course.

I hope that helps clear things up a little. This is the last entry I mean to post on immigration.

A note I shouldn't have to mention: any statements made here are based on my experience, or are recollections of what other people told me. I may be misrepresenting their recollections and even the intent of what they were telling me. Corrections and comments are most welcome.