The immigration system is a mess. The problem is that if you want to go to America to work. You are simply refused unless you have some skill in short supply or a relative sponsors you or you are a refugee of some sort. As a result America is full of people who barely speak English and don't want to and who often come from countries which are often actively hostile to US interests.
The alternative is to apply for a lottery Visa. 50,000 are issued each year in a big draw. You can only apply if you come from a country that has less than 50,000 immigrants in the last year.
It's interesting to note that certain countries are excluded because more the 50,000 emigrants came from these countries. :
CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, EL SALVADOR, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PHILIPPINES, RUSSIA, SOUTH KOREA, UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and VIETNAM.
From the State department website. It interesting to the UK in there. All the others except Canada are basically third world countries. How come so many Brits manage to enter the US?
If you don't win a prize visa the only way in to be illegal. That applies to most Europeans, who in the past made up a lot of immigrants. The result is a total distortion of legal immigration. Being illegal is no picnic either. There was a story before Christmas where some Irish guys overstayed their tourist visa. They were arrested, chained and locked up for weeks. They were only released and deported after intervention by the Irish goverment. Meanwhile the southern border is wide open and I doubt if many Mexicans are treated like that.
There are several instances of people been deported without appeal or arrested for trivial stuff at airports. One British guy had failed to pay a speeding fine on his last vist. Next time he arrived he was immediately arrested taken donwtown and locked up. When he paid the fine he was deported immediately. Another Brit, a woman was accused of overstaying by one week on her last visit. She was put in leg irons, held in detention and deported. Meanwhile of course the Mexican border is only protected by a cattle fence.
There was a report on British TV the other night. The reporter talked to South American illegals who told them all they had to do was go to a forger in Texas who supplied them with false Social Security cards and Green cards. Easy. You have to wonder where the INS or the Police or Homeland security are in alll this.
It's nuts. The whole system.
