What's Happened to California??? (Los Angeles, San Francisco: to move, deal, money)

[Cyanna]

Originally Posted by Highnlite

words have meanings.

Yes, they do, and people sometimes use the wrong word to desribe that of which they are speaking. Its called an error and is something that is sometimes committed by those who suffer from a minor memory deficit due to blunt force head injury trauma. I'm sure once the injury has healed more fully I'll be able to remember the RIGHT word to suit your sensabilities

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Cyanna

Yes, they do, and people sometimes use the wrong word to desribe that of which they are speaking. Its called an error and is something that is sometimes committed by those who suffer from a minor memory deficit due to blunt force head injury trauma. I'm sure once the injury has healed more fully I'll be able to remember the RIGHT word to suit your sensabilities

Not to leave out traumatic brain injuries from concussive explosions durng military operations and my favorite, senior moments!

[SacTown11]

The smart ones are getting out while the getting is good. There is no answer to the fiscal calamity coming. Meg Whitman will try valiantly, but its too late. Jerry Brown will only ensure it happens sooner. The state and its citizens beleive they can have their cake and eat it too. We will all get what we deserve...well, not I, I plan to be part of the exodus. I sure as hell didn't vote for this, alas, I'm always in the minority - and when I am in the majority(Prop 8), my vote is overturned. lmao Not that I care anymore...I stopped being a Californian about 18 months ago. Now I just need to get my physical body out of California to rejoin my mental state.

Overpopulation? Maybe in LA or SF...plenty of room out here in Sacramento.

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by Cyanna

What many people aren't aware of is that the Legal Immigration process serves an important purpose...to protect the citizens of the United States, in more ways than one. Before someone can immigrate they need to prove a number of things...

1) that they do not have a communicable disease. We pretty much eradicated diseases such as tuberculosis, small pox, German measles and other such highly communicable diseases, With the influx if illegals from MANY countries we are seeing a rise in these diseases again. Not all countries innoculate.

2) the prospective immigrant must be deemed mentally/psychologically stable

3) the prospective immigrant must be able to show that they will be able to earn a living and not be a burden upon society. They must either have a job waiting for them upon their arrival, have enough in savings to support themselves (and family if applicable) for 1 year (roughly $25,000), or have sponsors in the United States who themselves earn enough to be considered able to support the immigrant.

4) must be able to prove that they do not hold a criminal record, are not wanted for a crime or have a drug addiction.

These are just four of the very valid reasons for our strictures on immigration.

Regarding the time it takes to get a Resident Visa from Mexico...it all depends on a number of factors. If the Mexican immigrant is married to an American National and they did not over-stay a visa or visa waiver while on American soil, it could take 9 to 12 months. If they DID over-stay a visit to the USA and allowed their visitor visa or visa waiver to expire, it will take at least 18 months, and could actually be a reason to refuse the Resident Visa application. If the application is denied a hearing can be requested on the matter. At this point, if it is decided to allow the application to go through, the applicant could be required to pay a penalty fee of anywhere from $1000 to $2000 as punishment for allowing a previous visitor visa or visa waiver to expire BEFORE they left the USA and returned to Mexico.

That is just in regards to a resident visa for the Mexican National spouse of an American citizen. It gets more complex for other situations, which also have longer waiting periods.

Personally, if someone wants to come here legally to live and earn an honest living, I think they need to lower the costs and cut down on the gross waiting times.

Great information, and I'd have to agree with your last statement. The need for cheap laborers is obviously there. But there is no decent realistic path for them to come here legally to work.

The funny thing is, my wife, an American citizen born in Mexico City, has family in and around Mexico City who cannot even get a Visa to come visit because they either don't have jobs at the moment or haven't held their current jobs long enough. They simply won't grant them a Visa for fear that they'll come here and stay here. And the truth is, they have no desire to come live here. If it's that hard to get a Visa to visit, I'd imagine it's very difficult to get one to live here, and her family has told us that's the case.

[Cyanna]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Not to leave out traumatic brain injuries from concussive explosions durng military operations and my favorite, senior moments!

I suspect the senior moments are not too far away for me, LOL! Is it true that each new grandchild causes the further progression of "senior moments?"

[Cyanna]

Originally Posted by Ludachris

Great information, and I'd have to agree with your last statement. The need for cheap laborers is obviously there. But there is no decent realistic path for them to come here legally to work.

The funny thing is, my wife, an American citizen born in Mexico City, has family in and around Mexico City who cannot even get a Visa to come visit because they either don't have jobs at the moment or haven't held their current jobs long enough. They simply won't grant them a Visa for fear that they'll come here and stay here. And the truth is, they have no desire to come live here. If it's that hard to get a Visa to visit, I'd imagine it's very difficult to get one to live here, and her family has told us that's the case.

Yep, whats going on here is that they want them to be able to prove that they have something to GO HOME TO, like a job, ownership of a house or business, other property holdings, etc... Can they not just do the Electronic Visa Waiver before boarding a flight?

In many ways the immigration process was even harder under the Clinton administration, which is why my British husband and I ended up leaving the States and living in the UK for eight years. Just to change his status from visitor to Permanent Legal Resident was an expensive and convoluted nightmare and atthe time it was estimated that it could take 10 to 20 years for his application to be looked at and approved or denied We were in Arizona at the time. Now, another little fact that many don't know about is this... if you plan to live in a State with a lower rate of pending immigrant applications you can get approval in as little as 6 months.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Cyanna

I suspect the senior moments are not too far away for me, LOL! Is it true that each new grandchild causes the further progression of "senior moments?

OMG! We hope not. We already have nine, and counting! Dang kids aren't done yet, but for a few!

[Cyanna]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

OMG! We hope not. We already have nine, and counting! Dang kids aren't done yet, but for a few!

I hope not, too! I have three so far, all girls. I'm sure that fact alone will speed up the process, along with rapidly graying hair, LOL! Since my son is planning to marry now I have MORE grandkids to look forward to, I hear Vitamin E slows down the slide into dementia. I'm ordering a case today.

[californio sur]

Originally Posted by SacTown11

The smart ones are getting out while the getting is good. There is no answer to the fiscal calamity coming. Meg Whitman will try valiantly, but its too late. Jerry Brown will only ensure it happens sooner. The state and its citizens beleive they can have their cake and eat it too. We will all get what we deserve...well, not I, I plan to be part of the exodus. I sure as hell didn't vote for this, alas, I'm always in the minority - and when I am in the majority(Prop 8), my vote is overturned. lmao Not that I care anymore...I stopped being a Californian about 18 months ago. Now I just need to get my physical body out of California to rejoin my mental state.

Overpopulation? Maybe in LA or SF...plenty of room out here in Sacramento.

Republicans generally find their real home: Mississippi! Y'all don't come back!

[RiverBird]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

If Iceland were annexed to the US and Icelanders started coming here, how would they be illegal?

It would be illegal, if they were coming here illegally, just as in the case of the Mexicans. I was using Iceland as a polar example (no pun intended ).