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You are correct. As I have stated in the thread before..........Every LEGAL Immigrant in Canada has a Government photo ID card, that they have to produce..............To rent an apartment, open a bank account, get a health card, get a driver`s license, get car insurance, get a job, get a loan, register a child for school.
And our Police are encouraged to ask those that they have dealings with......What is your immigration status `, and show me your Immigration ID card please , now. No ID card, you are under arrest, for Immigration investigation, and detention. That is how we control things in Canada. It works for us.
Yesterday, my wife and I returned from The Bahamas, by air, to Toronto. At the Immigration check point, there are two lines, one for Canadian citizens returning, and permanent residents , and one for visitors to Canada.
As citizens we simply insert our passports into a computer slot, along with a form that we filled in on the aircraft, and it scans the passports, and the form, and in less than 30 seconds we are given the `green light `and walk to the CBSA agent, who checks the form, and waves us through to baggage pick up. Visitors on the other hand are subject to a personal interview with a CBSA agent, and a thorough check of their documents and baggage. Permanent residents can also use the computer check in system, by inserting their PR card and the on board form that they fill out on the plane.
Jim B
Toronto.
There are also 2 separate lines for US citizens and visitors at US international airports.
LOL, the last time I visited Canada (granted it was before 9/11) my personal interview consisted of three questions. 1. What are you doing in Canada? 2. How long will you be here? 3. What are you bringing with you? The only documentation they checked was my customs declaration form, that I had filled out. They checked that between asking me question #2 and question #3. They never asked me for any ID and didn't even look at my baggage. They cleared me in less then two minutes. For all they knew I could have been a terrorist from a third world country, with a bag full of assault rifles.
We have visited Canada several times since 9/11. I am a US citizen and my wife is a dual US/Mexican citizen. We entered at the airports in Calgary and Vancouver. We were NOT interviewed at all and the process took just a minute or so. We just showed our passports and that was it.
I guess 'remote' is relative; I was born and raised in what is now the fourth-largest metro area in the United States (Dallas-Fort Worth) and have lived in other major cities in Europe, so I'm very used to the big city scene. Halifax would not be the smallest city I've ever lived in, but pretty darn close to it...and I did not like living in a small city.
I'm sure it's lovely, I'm just not sure it would be a good place for ME.
Make sure you have lots of money. The cost of living is much higher in Canada, especially Toronto, than in Dallas.
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
There a lot of misconceptions regarding immigration to the US, both legal and illegal.
1. Legal immigration into the US is very difficult to qualify for. Virtually none of the illegal immigrants from Mexico would be able to immigrate legally to the US so that path is closed to them period. Having a child born in the US does NOT give legal status to the mother nor father. The child has be 18 before they can petition for their parents and even then it still takes a few years after that.
2. You can't compare the US/Mexican border with the Canadian/US border. Canada doesn't have a poor country bordering it so the incentive to immigrate to Canada illegally via the US just isn't there.
3. Canada does appear to do a much better job on enforcing their laws regarding illegal immigrants though I think item 2 is the major reason for not having the same problem.
There a lot of misconceptions regarding immigration to the US, both legal and illegal.
1. Legal immigration into the US is very difficult to qualify for. Virtually none of the illegal immigrants from Mexico would be able to immigrate legally to the US so that path is closed to them period. Having a child born in the US does NOT give legal status to the mother nor father. The child has be 18 before they can petition for their parents and even then it still takes a few years after that.
2. You can't compare the US/Mexican border with the Canadian/US border. Canada doesn't have a poor country bordering it so the incentive to immigrate to Canada illegally via the US just isn't there.
3. Canada does appear to do a much better job on enforcing their laws regarding illegal immigrants though I think item 2 is the major reason for not having the same problem.
I will just address your point #1. If it is so difficult for a Mexican to migrate here then why do they hold the highest quotas for legal immigration into our country? Another point to be made is that there are more potential immigrants from Mexico that want to come here than we can accomodate in jobs and resources. Some would suggest that it doesn't matter and that they should be able to come anyway even if illegally or we are discriminating against them. WTH? You're right that giving birth on our soil in theory does not entitle the illegal parents to stay here but Obama and company and the pro-illegal advocates are crying "separation of families" and are working towards making that happen.
"I am a legal immigrant who is now a U.S citizen (2002) and it took me 11 years to go through the whole process. The total cost even back then if you add up all the lawyer fees was close to $10,000. The fees have gone up since and the total cost would be closer to $15,000."
The fees have gone up even more since he posted that. Make it $20,000 with including legal fees, $10,000 for do it yourself. Thats why people don't do it legally, but I'm sure you wont believe that.
Those fees maybe be good and fine for someone coming from a developed country. But from someplace like Mexico, forget it. Unless they have rich friends or relatives already in the US, who are willing to give/loan them the money. Which is probably what is now accounting for most of the legal immigration from Mexico.
This would be the equivalent of a US citizen paying $100,000 in fees to immigrate to another country.
For the umpteenth time, it is not that expensive to ENTER this country legally. The person you quoted is a legal immigrant, now naturalized, whom I assume entered through our legal immigration process. Regardless, why are you trying to blur the lines by comparing those costs, including attorney fees, which, in many cases far exceed USCIS fees, with the fees for routine legal entry? It stands to reason, the naturalization process takes longer and involves more fees than the process to legally work or attend college. Moreover, you don't need an attorney to apply for a work or student visa. Nor is legal representation a necessity to naturalize, unless it involves complicated matters. How can we have an honest debate, if you are being deliberately obtuse?
Furthermore, as indicated by the data I previously posted, Mexico is the top country for naturalization, FAR exceeding all other countries. In fact, Mexico is over twice the number of the second country on the list. Clearly, it can't be too expensive for Mexicans to enter legally, if no other country even comes close to their naturalization numbers.
If you review the USCIS fee list, you will see that visa fees, even using the most recent increases, are still lower than fees charged by coyotes. If the going rate for a Mexican to be smuggled is between $2,000 and $2,500, and the total fees for employment-related entry is $1,215: $585 to file an I-192 (Application for Advance Permission to Enter as Nonimmigrant), $380 for an I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization, $165 for Immigrant Visa DHS Domestic Processing, and $85 for Biometrics, I ask again, why don't they pay the lower fees and enter legally?
In addition, if a Mexican is coming to the U.S. for legal employment purposes, he/she will most likely be sponsored by an employer, who would cover many fees. Thus, the out-of-pocket costs would be substantially reduced, and even a greater savings than the amounts paid to coyotes.
You'll have to think of another excuse for illegal immigration from Mexico, because it certainly can't be attributed to cost, nor discriminatory U.S. immigration policies.
There a lot of misconceptions regarding immigration to the US, both legal and illegal.
1. Legal immigration into the US is very difficult to qualify for. Virtually none of the illegal immigrants from Mexico would be able to immigrate legally to the US so that path is closed to them period. Having a child born in the US does NOT give legal status to the mother nor father. The child has be 18 before they can petition for their parents and even then it still takes a few years after that.
2. You can't compare the US/Mexican border with the Canadian/US border. Canada doesn't have a poor country bordering it so the incentive to immigrate to Canada illegally via the US just isn't there.
3. Canada does appear to do a much better job on enforcing their laws regarding illegal immigrants though I think item 2 is the major reason for not having the same problem.
Fabulous post, but one correction: The sponsor is required to be 21 before being able to petition for parents, must have a residence in the United States, and meet all sponsorship requirements (financial). The parent(s) must also be qualified to immigrate (in other words, if there was any illegal presence, that bar must be served first).
I will just address your point #1. If it is so difficult for a Mexican to migrate here then why do they hold the highest quotas for legal immigration into our country? Another point to be made is that there are more potential immigrants from Mexico that want to come here than we can accomodate in jobs and resources. Some would suggest that it doesn't matter and that they should be able to come anyway even if illegally or we are discriminating against them. WTH? You're right that giving birth on our soil in theory does not entitle the illegal parents to stay here but Obama and company and the pro-illegal advocates are crying "separation of families" and are working towards making that happen.
Rather than debate issue number 1 you need to read the official immigration rules for qualifying.
Fabulous post, but one correction: The sponsor is required to be 21 before being able to petition for parents, must have a residence in the United States, and meet all sponsorship requirements (financial). The parent(s) must also be qualified to immigrate (in other words, if there was any illegal presence, that bar must be served first).
I stand corrected. I couldn't remember if it was 18 or 21 since it was a few years ago that I checked. On the other points you are absolutely correct. I just didn't want to go into that much detail but just wanted to point out that it is not such an easy process as many people think.
I am not arguing the issue one way or the other. I am simply presenting the facts.
Why? Did I not make valid points in addressing your point #1? The fact remains that there are more Mexicans and other Latinos here legally than any other ethnic/national groups by far. The fact remains that just because it isn't easy to migrate here, the fees may not be affordable or that our quotas are limited that does not justify them coming here illegally.
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