Unless you have firsthand knowledge of this country's immigration system, you have no idea how arbitrary and unfair it is, which is why it drives me crazy when I hear people who have no idea what they're talking about say they only have problems with "illegal" immigrants. They have no clue.
I'm happy for you, Jesus. I know what a test of patience and endurance it can be. Keep on keeping on.
A lot of folks don’t understand how truly transformative something as “simple” as work authorization can be (because it’s so much more than work authorization) and yet U.S. immigration is such a convoluted system that has so many pitfalls. Furthermore, many statuses are “quasi-legal” ones that may confer certain benefits, yet they don’t lead anywhere or have substantive wait times. Complex emotions are not unusual and thank you so much for sharing this oft ignored perspective.
Yes! Legal disabilities have a way of making you believe that there's something incomplete about you. When confronted with the reality that the condition that was keeping you from wholeness was a mere piece of paper/plastic, you realize you were always whole.
Exactly. People who haven't dealt with the U.S. immigration system don't realize that your status can change many times, leaving you in this perpetual limbo even when you've jumped through every administrative hoop. Some close friends of mine came to the U.S. legally with a religious exemption visa. That expired after several years. They jumped from one visa to another, eventually able to get their permanent residency except the eldest daughter (I can't remember why exactly, it's so convoluted). She had been in the U.S. since she was a toddler, bouncing from one visa to another. She went to college and then lost her status in her twenties. At that point, she had done everything legally, had grown up in the U.S., only to have it taken away. She was undocumented until DACA and later was able to obtain her green card. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but she's someone who played by all the rules and was still penalized. This is what we mean when we say the system is broken. It's riddled with exceptions and logical inconsistencies that don't take context into consideration.
Unless you have firsthand knowledge of this country's immigration system, you have no idea how arbitrary and unfair it is, which is why it drives me crazy when I hear people who have no idea what they're talking about say they only have problems with "illegal" immigrants. They have no clue.
I'm happy for you, Jesus. I know what a test of patience and endurance it can be. Keep on keeping on.
This is beautifully written. Thank you for sharing with us. ❤️❤️❤️
thank you for reading, friend 🤍
A lot of folks don’t understand how truly transformative something as “simple” as work authorization can be (because it’s so much more than work authorization) and yet U.S. immigration is such a convoluted system that has so many pitfalls. Furthermore, many statuses are “quasi-legal” ones that may confer certain benefits, yet they don’t lead anywhere or have substantive wait times. Complex emotions are not unusual and thank you so much for sharing this oft ignored perspective.
Yes! Legal disabilities have a way of making you believe that there's something incomplete about you. When confronted with the reality that the condition that was keeping you from wholeness was a mere piece of paper/plastic, you realize you were always whole.
Exactly. People who haven't dealt with the U.S. immigration system don't realize that your status can change many times, leaving you in this perpetual limbo even when you've jumped through every administrative hoop. Some close friends of mine came to the U.S. legally with a religious exemption visa. That expired after several years. They jumped from one visa to another, eventually able to get their permanent residency except the eldest daughter (I can't remember why exactly, it's so convoluted). She had been in the U.S. since she was a toddler, bouncing from one visa to another. She went to college and then lost her status in her twenties. At that point, she had done everything legally, had grown up in the U.S., only to have it taken away. She was undocumented until DACA and later was able to obtain her green card. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but she's someone who played by all the rules and was still penalized. This is what we mean when we say the system is broken. It's riddled with exceptions and logical inconsistencies that don't take context into consideration.