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I've spent time trying to get attention from people about this but to no avail, and that is frustrating.
Sad, isn't it? We can look north to Canada, and those of us who earn a decent middle class salary, have education, etc. cannot get a visa to become a permanent resident up there because we would not qualify! We need to have specific skills or money they are looking for, you have to have enough points on their immigration point system to get up there. And I say that's great, why can't we be as selective as they are? They don't let poor or uneducated flood into their country because they know those people would be a burden, they know Canada is a desired place to live- as is the US- so they set it up so only those with skills or assets the country needs can get in. Of course there are exceptions for asylum seekers, or immediate family members to come to live with someone who has already gone there, as there should always be.
But I say we need to learn from Canada before it's too late, we should not let ourselves get too burdened with too many poor immigrants and should definitely not be making it so hard for those with good education or money to get here. My wife is from China, she hears a lot about very bright students back home from families with good money who want to go to college here in the US but just can't get in, so instead they just go to Canada or Australia. Those people are working towards engineering or other scientific degrees- they are the types we need to be sure we are not turning away!
I think we need a freeze on anyone obtaining citizenship in this country until they rid our nation of those that are here illegally. It is never good to reward criminal behavior.
I am all for it. I have a quiet a few clients who have a good pension in their home countries, they do have health insurance in their home countries, they own homes in the United States - I think they should be allowed to stay here as long as they want to.
Currently nobody can permanently reside in the US simply because they want to. There was a proposal a while back to allow wealthy immigrants to get permanent status if they had a bank balance large enough to support themselves indefinitely without needing to work.
The theory being they would spend a lot of money and therefore benefit the economy, buying expensive houses & cars etc. and paying lots of tax along the way. They would not be allowed to ever access social security and so forth.
What do you US nationals think of that proposal. On the face of it it's a win win for America, yes?
Actually, it does exist.
There are two of them. The 500k investment class and the millionaires club. The 500k class waits a bit longer, but the millionaire gets no wait time. They both have conditions to be removed after two years.
And most of them have their conditions removed without an issue because they invest in companies who deal exclusively with government contracts and it only takes one contract to hire 10 more people for two years.
Who's to say most even want to. If the rich want a tourist visa its easy for them. You have to show ya have money, own property, have some reason to go back, such as a business or job. They can stay several months on that. Most don't want to live here, just visit if they want.
For whatever it's worth, I've learned, from friends who immigrated there, that Canada uses a system with multiple qualifying factors for prospective newcomers. Youth, marketable skills, and the desire to be reunited with immediate family members (immigration-centered marriages are common among Filipinos, but it's the ladies who emigrate first and then go looking for spouses) are the most common, but a substantial net worth will also open a lot of doors.
Of course, a number of nations with weak economies also impose "exchange controls", which prevent wealthy citizens from taking their money out of the country, though it's my understanding that the globalizing economy has weakened this stance. And I believe that some countries (India at one time, IIRC) allowed money to leave only under certain conditions -- investing in real estate was OK, but cash accounts and equities were not. I'd appreciate it if some other poster could furnish a little more on this.
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