remember that if you come to the southern U.S. there are extra things you have to know to become a citizen:
it’s “may I have some grits”?, not “may I have a grit”?
tea is sweat and iced
shag is a dance done standing up
we play football, ya’ll play soccer
you can earn extra credit if:
you learn how to Bar-B-Q
you learn how to throw a cast net
you can still hit what you’re shooting at after a 12 pack
you can name at least 4 NASCAR drivers by the sponsors on the car
[quote]milktruck wrote:
going rate to marry for a green card is $10k in Miami. I know because my Colombian friend floated the idea of me marrying his gf for citizenship the other night. A venezuelan frind of mine did it years ago for the same price, we gringos are getting cheaper indexed to inflation.[/quote]
Funny, I was just about to offer 10k for green card (also the going rate here in NYC).
OP will of course pay for all legal expenses and split all living costs, as well as do all the leg work on opening bank accounts, filing taxes, etc. Just don’t go falling in love with me, ok?
[quote]inkaddict wrote:
Just go into Mexico first, and the it’s easy to get here. Find someone that calls themselves ‘El Coyote’ and they’ll bring you in the back way[/quote]
Got it, otherwise I was going to get voice lessons, perfect an american accent, then while on holiday in america I would pretend to completely lose my memory thus tricking everyone into thinking I am american![/quote]
Which american accent? Theres about 30 different ones lol. I say you go for a Minnesota accent. [/quote]
This is less and less true. Southern accents, for example, seem to be rapidly disappearing. I think TV is swiftly homogenising the country. Minnesota is cool though - sounds like Canada!
[/quote]
OH hell no they’re not! Work in a hotel and you will hear Southern accents all the time. SHEEEIT, boy! Dad Gumit! (I work with a man from 'Lanta, Joeja and he says that all the time!)
Not sure how the US immigration system is compared to Canadian, but given how many Asians I work/go to school with it’s clearly not very hard to get into Canada at least.
[quote]milktruck wrote:
going rate to marry for a green card is $10k in Miami. I know because my Colombian friend floated the idea of me marrying his gf for citizenship the other night. A venezuelan frind of mine did it years ago for the same price, we gringos are getting cheaper indexed to inflation.[/quote]
Only 10k? I know a Swiss woman who was offered 100k (SWF) by a Russian to marry him. (she said no.)
My parents immigrated to Canada and then applied for immigration to the US a year after I was born (mid 80’s) They only got a response until my 1st year of university (2004). After spending a shit load of money and doing a bunch of crap through the American embassy’s located here my parents and I all have received green cards. They only did it to give me the opportunity to move, they had no intention. Now I have until June 2011 (this is an extended date as I applied for an extension) to move or I will lose my Green Card status. Though it was probably easier coming through Canada than Europe.
So basically what I’m saying is its a long, expensive arduous process and be SURE this is what you want.
Here’s my take:
The United States is a great place to live if you’re a young professional. It has better paying jobs (maybe not right now) and a much lower tax rate. But it sucks if you’re old… their healthcare system isn’t very good (at least compared to Canada and if I’m not mistaken healthcare is also free in the UK?).
[quote]inkaddict wrote:
Just go into Mexico first, and the it’s easy to get here. Find someone that calls themselves ‘El Coyote’ and they’ll bring you in the back way[/quote]
As someone who has done exactly what you want to do (Newcastle and now living in San Diego). I did a degree, got a PhD then did some postdoc work and applied to postdoc out here for up to 5 years.
First question I’d ask is why do you want to live out here? What are the benefits to you, what are the negatives to you?
I would seriously consider getting a job with a firm that has an American office and trying to get some time out here working and more importantly living out here. You may find you hate it or you may find you love it but you’ll have minimised your expenditure by not rushing in and try to become a citizen first.
It may look like American culture is similar to ours but there are plenty of differences to make it just annoying enough sometimes.
Me personally, after I got over the language difference (Although we may share the same words, it’s a different language) I have grown to love living out here; plus living in nigh on perpetual sun shine helps![/quote]
This is probably the route im going to take.
I have many reasons for wanting to live in the US and not wanting to live here, I’d probably end up going off on a rant with many paragraphs, but all I will say is that I am sure this is what I want.
I am worried though that my university course (special effects) will not open up many opportunities to work in the US. I am considering switching to something more challenging so I can learn skills that will be sought after by american companies.
[quote]milktruck wrote:
going rate to marry for a green card is $10k in Miami. I know because my Colombian friend floated the idea of me marrying his gf for citizenship the other night. A venezuelan frind of mine did it years ago for the same price, we gringos are getting cheaper indexed to inflation.[/quote]
Funny, I was just about to offer 10k for green card (also the going rate here in NYC).
OP will of course pay for all legal expenses and split all living costs, as well as do all the leg work on opening bank accounts, filing taxes, etc. Just don’t go falling in love with me, ok? [/quote]
Every year there is a “lottery” you can enter… my mother has brought several family members through this route… Immigrating to America is actually quite easy if you know what you’re doing or know someone that knows what they’re doing. If you still haven’t found an ideal route… when I go home in a couple weeks I’ll ask her the most successful methods etc… there are a lot… just have to find one that fits you.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
…But it sucks if you’re old… their healthcare system isn’t very good (at least compared to Canada and if I’m not mistaken healthcare is also free in the UK?).
[/quote]You don’t know what you’re talking about when it comes the quality of healthcare. I think the Newfoundland Premier, Danny Williams, would agree with me.
BTW, NEWSFLASH - there is no such thing as “free” healthcare…anywhere.
Maybe you’d do better staying put in Canada until you get some of these things figured out. We here in the US don’t need anymore dunces runnin’ around expecting “free” stuff from the US Treasury.
[/quote]
Yes, I know it’s not “free” and it’s paid through the tax system. But it’s universally covers everyone Canadian citizen in Canada which is my point. Most Canadians are happy with the quality of healthcare in this country and the way the Canadian healthcare system is portrayed in the US is plain retarded.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
…But it sucks if you’re old… their healthcare system isn’t very good (at least compared to Canada and if I’m not mistaken healthcare is also free in the UK?).
[/quote]You don’t know what you’re talking about when it comes the quality of healthcare. I think the Newfoundland Premier, Danny Williams, would agree with me.
BTW, NEWSFLASH - there is no such thing as “free” healthcare…anywhere.
Maybe you’d do better staying put in Canada until you get some of these things figured out. We here in the US don’t need anymore dunces runnin’ around expecting “free” stuff from the US Treasury.
[/quote]
I had some treatment in the US on my last trip over there, it was free since it was covered by the UK healthcare. The doctor was amazing and she put in a lot of effort to make sure I was ok (She would of probably gave me a BJ if she wasn’t sure my GF would take care of it), not like the mediocre service over here.
I’m not concerned about free healthcare, since I have made it a point that I will have a sufficient amount of money to support my living rather comfortably, including the price of marrying mascherano (as long as it can be consumated very vigorously).
[quote]Amiright wrote:
Every year there is a “lottery” you can enter… my mother has brought several family members through this route… Immigrating to America is actually quite easy if you know what you’re doing or know someone that knows what they’re doing. If you still haven’t found an ideal route… when I go home in a couple weeks I’ll ask her the most successful methods etc… there are a lot… just have to find one that fits you. [/quote]
Yeah that would be great, but the UK has recieved over 50,000 green cards over the past 5 years from the lottery and is no longer eligible to apply… =/
