Marrying an Alien: A Drama in 317 Acts

[pne]

Well, maybe not quite that many, but what this guy had to go through to have his Polish sweetheart join him legally in the US sounds like quite an Odyssey.

Comments

[jpallan.livejournal.com]

Getting the amnesty, from the work I've done (admittedly sort of sideways -- I've worked with battered women seeking amnesty to stay in the U.S. while fleeing their citizen husband, so I've not faced the issues head on) can be a pain in the neck, and I know the people I've spoken to in that situation didn't want to do things to "attract attention". (How getting a taxpayer number is significantly different from sending your kids to the local public school is a good question, though.)

There's also the fact of getting W-2s and 1099s from employers who hired you under the table, documenting earnings from someplace sketchy enough to pay you without certifying your INS status, etc. . . . the entire thing swirls into a maelstrom of paper that can confuse college-educated U.S. professionals, let alone someone for whom English is not a first language and is uncertain on the jargon.

I sympathize deeply with the illegals and I want the barriers to be torn down for them -- but I also have heard many times *how* the resentment built up among Californians and Texans and New Mexico and Arizona residents, and that needs to be addressed too.

Of course, my Libertarian dream of "green cards for everyone who asks" is unlikely to happen anytime soon. :(