Okay, I am an official "cat person." It was all over the internet yesterday about cats being able to identify the names of other cats in the household. Last night. as our 2 cats and my husband and I gathered in our "cool down room," a room where we review the events of the day and get our cats settled down for bed, I tested our cats to see if they knew each others' names. Fell flat!
I am not surprised that more Americans are interested in the Johnny Depp trial than other, more pressing events of the day!
When I read the story about the immigrant and his struggles to become a resident, I realize how lucky we are who were born in the U.S. I realize how for many, many people, coming to the U.S. and either being allowed permanent resident status or eventually, perhaps, citizenship is a dream for so many. It may be a complicated status but think of how thrilled he was when he got his green card. Though there is a lot of bureaucratic red tape, the demand to live in the U.S. is so great, they probably have to have a lot of hoops to jump through. I think of what people go through just to get here in the first place such as the southern border.
We had two toy poodles. They understood each other’s names as well as another dog in the neighborhood. One could pick out different toys from her toy box by name and color. But then, poodles are the second most intelligent dog behind a border collie. We now have one moyen (small standard) poodle and he is just as intelligent.
WF has not used plastic bags in the 20 years we’ve been shopping there. If I stop by the local grocery store (and have forgotten my cloth bags) they don’t even ask my preference and immediately reach for plastic bag, trying to place only 1-2 items in each bag. When I ask for paper a search commences and bags are often found at another register. We have an assortment of cloth bags WF provided through various promotions over the years including a handy cooler bag.
Wow. Thank u so much for this. As a “natural born citizen” I can’t imagine the heartache and pure fear this fellow went through. Blessings to him and his family.
It's heart warming to hear how important it is to immigrants to become citizens of our great country and how relieved and happy they are to get the green card. Maybe those of us born here should appreciate our citizenship and freedom as much as those who have to work for it. And welcome to the newest American citizen.
Wow, what a journey and beautiful story! Thanks for sharing this. It certainly supports the idea that those of us who were fortunate enough to have been born here should be grateful each and every day for the opportunities we have and to never take them for granted.
What a horrible situation. How in the world does our immigration system become so mired in administrative BS? Stupid question isn't it? If you answered - Trumplicans - bingo. They only want Norwegians and Swedes - you know - white people. Wait, how are all of these Ukrainians getting in - oh, they are white people. Most of these people already speak English because where they live they understand how to get ahead. Are we taking in any of the refugees from Syria or Afghanistan. Most are still waiting to be processed. Ukrainians - come on in. What a sad commentary, especially when we thumb our noses at those of color who are so talented yet because of the color of their skin they must wait years to even start the American dream. What does that say about our Republic and its drift towards theocracy-based dictatorship?
I suspect that his son WILL appreciate his fortunate circumstances of birth. I suspect they will travel as a family and when we do, in my experience, MOST Americans learn to appreciate their situation.
Yay for Huntsville! Sorry Huntsville! We lived there for over a decade and knew it was a great place to live. CRAZY less expensive than Boulder and MUCH better air quality. Great schools. Traffic? What traffic? Except when it snows. 😬
It’s what most legal immigrants go through to achieve their dream. We waited for almost 11 years to get our Green Card(GC) or 18 years from F1(student visa) to GC. During that time, we were always under stress and were mentally prepared to leave the country if by any chance our application does not get approved.
The visa interview starts even before we enter this country. We go through stressful interview at US embassy for getting student visa. Once we come as an international student, we pay way more money for tuition fees compared to instate or out of state, but still lot of international students come to study here.And we are not eligible to majority of the financial aid (make sense). I feel most of the universities are running on the money from international tuition fee.
Once we graduate, some of them are fortunate enough to get a job in a company which sponsors H1B. These jobs pay less than the average salary for that position.
And there are families who still waiting for their GC and their kids who are not US citizens are becoming 18. They spent all their childhood here and this is the only place they know as home. Now they need to apply for student visa and pay international tuition fees. These are some of the stressful circumstances which we as an legal immigrant go through.
So I keep asking myself why did I go through this hardship (definitely way better situation than others who are facing) to stay in USA and I bet most of you have thought the same. Why can’t they stay in their own country? Why do they have to come to USA? These are the reasons which convinced me after living in USA for two decades: (comparing India and USA)
1. Most important is the higher education. We can get the education anywhere but this country teaches you more than the academics. It’s the Soft Skills like communicating effectively with others, being confident, how to manage life, and many more. I love that it’s easier to have a conversation with your professors whether they agree on a topic or not.
2. The best part is every student will go through the same hard work irrespective of their social class or their status (unless you are in top 1% income group). It’s not easy to tell which social class one belongs based on their look and it’s a good thing.
3. Safety: Being a girl, I feel safe to go around alone to run errands day or night.
4. There were less opportunities in India during the time I came here to study Masters (2002), but now it has changed. India has more lucrative opportunities.
5. Bureaucracy is everywhere but it is less here compared to India. Opening a bank account and doing regular transactions is way easier in USA.
6. Customer Service: I like the way store employees are always cheerful and greet you.
7. Last but not least, people are friendly and they respect one’s privacy.
I am not saying India is not good, I love my country. India has its own benefits, rich cultural heritage, family values and most diverse country. Overall, I have two places which I call home, India and USA. Both countries have shaped my personality in its own way. I am glad I was able to achieve my American Dream.😊
This is entirely written based on my experience and my opinion.
The main story is very relatable to me in multiple ways. I worked at both Embassies (India and Singapore); and my ex-wife and I had to live through the immigration process. By being married to a US citizen and having US citizen child, the process was much simpler & quicker; however, I wouldn't categorize any part of it as simple or quick. From one day to the next you could be provided different and contradictory policies on how the process works, what is next, what documents you need, etc. The biggest problem is that all of the contradictory directions were supported in policy somewhere along the way so it really just depends which agent you get and which policies they are tracking. They "system" has been broken for a very long time, and our bureaucrats and politicians (both parties) do not have any functional ideas how to fix it; and it seems they have no incentive to do so either.
If I could award you a Pulitzer Prize, I would. Some of your writings reach all the way into my soul. Glad you’ve skipped over the drama scene. Thank you. 👌
The lead story does make me wonder if the process would have been simpler if the writer had chosen to come to Canada instead. Hmmm.
Okay, I am an official "cat person." It was all over the internet yesterday about cats being able to identify the names of other cats in the household. Last night. as our 2 cats and my husband and I gathered in our "cool down room," a room where we review the events of the day and get our cats settled down for bed, I tested our cats to see if they knew each others' names. Fell flat!
I am not surprised that more Americans are interested in the Johnny Depp trial than other, more pressing events of the day!
When I read the story about the immigrant and his struggles to become a resident, I realize how lucky we are who were born in the U.S. I realize how for many, many people, coming to the U.S. and either being allowed permanent resident status or eventually, perhaps, citizenship is a dream for so many. It may be a complicated status but think of how thrilled he was when he got his green card. Though there is a lot of bureaucratic red tape, the demand to live in the U.S. is so great, they probably have to have a lot of hoops to jump through. I think of what people go through just to get here in the first place such as the southern border.
We had two toy poodles. They understood each other’s names as well as another dog in the neighborhood. One could pick out different toys from her toy box by name and color. But then, poodles are the second most intelligent dog behind a border collie. We now have one moyen (small standard) poodle and he is just as intelligent.
WF has not used plastic bags in the 20 years we’ve been shopping there. If I stop by the local grocery store (and have forgotten my cloth bags) they don’t even ask my preference and immediately reach for plastic bag, trying to place only 1-2 items in each bag. When I ask for paper a search commences and bags are often found at another register. We have an assortment of cloth bags WF provided through various promotions over the years including a handy cooler bag.
How on earth ate they able to prove what cats know? Maybe the cats were just yanking their chain.
Wow. Thank u so much for this. As a “natural born citizen” I can’t imagine the heartache and pure fear this fellow went through. Blessings to him and his family.
It's heart warming to hear how important it is to immigrants to become citizens of our great country and how relieved and happy they are to get the green card. Maybe those of us born here should appreciate our citizenship and freedom as much as those who have to work for it. And welcome to the newest American citizen.
Wow, what a journey and beautiful story! Thanks for sharing this. It certainly supports the idea that those of us who were fortunate enough to have been born here should be grateful each and every day for the opportunities we have and to never take them for granted.
What a horrible situation. How in the world does our immigration system become so mired in administrative BS? Stupid question isn't it? If you answered - Trumplicans - bingo. They only want Norwegians and Swedes - you know - white people. Wait, how are all of these Ukrainians getting in - oh, they are white people. Most of these people already speak English because where they live they understand how to get ahead. Are we taking in any of the refugees from Syria or Afghanistan. Most are still waiting to be processed. Ukrainians - come on in. What a sad commentary, especially when we thumb our noses at those of color who are so talented yet because of the color of their skin they must wait years to even start the American dream. What does that say about our Republic and its drift towards theocracy-based dictatorship?
I suspect that his son WILL appreciate his fortunate circumstances of birth. I suspect they will travel as a family and when we do, in my experience, MOST Americans learn to appreciate their situation.
Yay for Huntsville! Sorry Huntsville! We lived there for over a decade and knew it was a great place to live. CRAZY less expensive than Boulder and MUCH better air quality. Great schools. Traffic? What traffic? Except when it snows. 😬
great story and shows a different side to how people view this country that we take for granted.
Great last paragraph and a sentiment many of us should ponder.
It’s what most legal immigrants go through to achieve their dream. We waited for almost 11 years to get our Green Card(GC) or 18 years from F1(student visa) to GC. During that time, we were always under stress and were mentally prepared to leave the country if by any chance our application does not get approved.
The visa interview starts even before we enter this country. We go through stressful interview at US embassy for getting student visa. Once we come as an international student, we pay way more money for tuition fees compared to instate or out of state, but still lot of international students come to study here.And we are not eligible to majority of the financial aid (make sense). I feel most of the universities are running on the money from international tuition fee.
Once we graduate, some of them are fortunate enough to get a job in a company which sponsors H1B. These jobs pay less than the average salary for that position.
And there are families who still waiting for their GC and their kids who are not US citizens are becoming 18. They spent all their childhood here and this is the only place they know as home. Now they need to apply for student visa and pay international tuition fees. These are some of the stressful circumstances which we as an legal immigrant go through.
So I keep asking myself why did I go through this hardship (definitely way better situation than others who are facing) to stay in USA and I bet most of you have thought the same. Why can’t they stay in their own country? Why do they have to come to USA? These are the reasons which convinced me after living in USA for two decades: (comparing India and USA)
1. Most important is the higher education. We can get the education anywhere but this country teaches you more than the academics. It’s the Soft Skills like communicating effectively with others, being confident, how to manage life, and many more. I love that it’s easier to have a conversation with your professors whether they agree on a topic or not.
2. The best part is every student will go through the same hard work irrespective of their social class or their status (unless you are in top 1% income group). It’s not easy to tell which social class one belongs based on their look and it’s a good thing.
3. Safety: Being a girl, I feel safe to go around alone to run errands day or night.
4. There were less opportunities in India during the time I came here to study Masters (2002), but now it has changed. India has more lucrative opportunities.
5. Bureaucracy is everywhere but it is less here compared to India. Opening a bank account and doing regular transactions is way easier in USA.
6. Customer Service: I like the way store employees are always cheerful and greet you.
7. Last but not least, people are friendly and they respect one’s privacy.
I am not saying India is not good, I love my country. India has its own benefits, rich cultural heritage, family values and most diverse country. Overall, I have two places which I call home, India and USA. Both countries have shaped my personality in its own way. I am glad I was able to achieve my American Dream.😊
This is entirely written based on my experience and my opinion.
The main story is very relatable to me in multiple ways. I worked at both Embassies (India and Singapore); and my ex-wife and I had to live through the immigration process. By being married to a US citizen and having US citizen child, the process was much simpler & quicker; however, I wouldn't categorize any part of it as simple or quick. From one day to the next you could be provided different and contradictory policies on how the process works, what is next, what documents you need, etc. The biggest problem is that all of the contradictory directions were supported in policy somewhere along the way so it really just depends which agent you get and which policies they are tracking. They "system" has been broken for a very long time, and our bureaucrats and politicians (both parties) do not have any functional ideas how to fix it; and it seems they have no incentive to do so either.
If I could award you a Pulitzer Prize, I would. Some of your writings reach all the way into my soul. Glad you’ve skipped over the drama scene. Thank you. 👌