Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I actually currently live near Kansas City, I've not been to Rolla but I really love it here in KC.
I've taken to the state (and the country in general, but on a less specific basis) like a fish to water at the start. I just enjoy talking to the people here so much in my everyday life, and I love how people here are so friendly and open to conversation, and so warm hearted and kind. The standard of conversation that I enjoy here on tap is not an occurrence in the place I was born. Not in the least. People there don't even have a sense of humor, it's sad. I won't be able to find so many people that I meet whom I can talk to there. Never had a problem enjoying the US in terms of "transplant issues", been a Christian since I was 10, love chatting with and engaging people to make them open up (it was actually a big aspect of my previous job).
Yes it's a greencard issue. Flyover Country is correct. It's too sad that illegals in this country avail themselves to a free and permanent stay without repercussions or consequences and soon will have a red carpet rolled out for them to the path of citizenship by Obama while transplants like me who can't dream of being illegal and some instances are able to speak perfect English and assimilate to local culture are forced to leave this great country.
Last edited by sadgirl80; 05-07-2013 at 08:24 PM..
I was from a ultra-densely populated landless state and never used to have to drive much though I had my driver license before I came. Only 10% of the people in the city I was from could afford a car because the cost of a car is about 4-5 times that in the USA and gasoline costs about double as that in the states. Even then within less than a year here, I started to super love the driving lifestyle here, the amazing freedom it affords me, I love opening the windows and feeling the wind blowing my hair, I love blasting the music loud while I drive home from work, I saw quickly how and why Americans love to drive and how it ties in with their love for independence and individualism.
I feel so heartbroken but I cannot change an unchangeable situation. I know if I stop fighting it and stop focusing on how nice Missouri is, I'm sparing myself and would feel happier about my impending fate, but I just can't do it. I can't tell myself to just pretend the truth isn't the truth to delude myself.
"It's too sad that illegals in this country avail themselves to a free and permanent stay without repercussions or consequences and soon will have a red carpet rolled out for them to the path of citizenship by Obama while transplants like me who can't dream of being illegal and some instances are able to speak perfect English and assimilate to local culture are forced to leave this great country".
Yes it really is, and its a bloody insult to those that have done it legally and have to wait a very long time to get here too. It just makes me furious to reward those breaking the law. It's just not right. And good luck getting a tourist visa if from a poor country, they are so 2 faced being hard on that issue and giving with the other hand. If you haven't contacted a lawyer, you should do so. They will talk to you without a cost. I do know a decent immigration lawyer from NYC if you want to give him a holler just to get another opinion. Just send me a msg if you decide you want his name and number.
Some ethnic communities do have local associations that provide support and help available for things like this. An example of that would be the Filipino community associations. I don't know where you are from, but that might be something to look into. Good Luck.
My country has a 90 day tourist visa waiver program with the USA so I can come in anytime but only for 90 days each time. I was from Singapore, my ethnicity is Chinese but I feel Missourian.
To be fair, I can see crystal clearly the rationale for limiting visa waiver for tourists to select countries. We're talking about letting people come in without additional documentation for short stays (leisure purpose) and you have to understand, the whole world wants to come to the United States. If the US gov didn't limit visa waiver to only the wealthier countries, we're talking about the floodgates opening, all hell breaking loose.
Already, the US has to deal with illegals crawling under fences from Mexico, and the reason you have this blight to deal with is because Mexico shares a land border with the States. Imagine for a minute, if instead a land border, it was a sea border of over 1000 miles, US wouldn't be having this illegal problem it has on its hands, even if it did, it would be at maybe 20% of the scale it is today.
And so Mexico already got to "enjoy" the fact they share a land border with the country that most people all over the world want to live in, by availing themselves to crossing freely and when they do succeed, the US gov doesn't do enough to deport them. When Obama stepped up on the deportation (fact: the Obama administration in one term deported more illegals than Bush did in Bush's two terms), what did the Mexicans do? They bit the hand that fed them and took down the US flag in California and replaced it with a Mexican flag on US soil.
look at this..horrific and disgusting. No US resident I personally know would ever dream of doing something like this to our host country. Absolutely heinous and disrespectful. http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-new...ornia_05032010
They say rubbish like they were here on this continent first, disregarding the present laws of the land and the fact that the country has been in existence for 200 years and has been largely developed (though not fully) by the whites. Many of them can't speak English and do not make an effort to learn the language, or assimilate to their host country, expecting their host country to bend over backwards for them. That is not right.
Illegals should be deported from the country, and not rewarded for committing a crime. This should be Obama's solution to the problem, and not legalizing them. The worst thing is they could well reduce the number of visa awarded to legal immigrant applicants, in order to now legalize these illegals.
By doing so, not only are they rewarding the act of crime and disrespect for the country the illegals hope to migrate to, they are not practicing selectivity in the kind of immigrants they are taking in.
While the illegals have no problems coming to the US and staying like its Mexico, the selection law for legal immigrants is stringent, the number of available visa limited, and preference given to those with Maths and Science training.
What this means is basically, a unskilled illegal gets to live here, a Maths/Sci PhD holder from China also gets to live here (fine and good, they deserve it and can contribute to the USA), while someone who's a lawyer or a media professional from a developed country elsewhere may not get a visa.
Last edited by sadgirl80; 05-08-2013 at 01:43 PM..
I agree with you. My point was that they are two faced by being so strict on tourist visas from certain countries (these people are doing it the legal way) and then rewarding those that have broken the law to get here. To get a tourist visa to the USA from the Philippines you must have a very good job or be a business owner, own a house, have substantial money in the bank and have strong family ties. Even then you can be denied. Being from an influential family probably helps the most. The immigration officers have way too much individual power and discretion. And many have an attitude about those coming to the states. Take a look at Mexico's tourist visa requirements coming from the Philippines and you see they are equally as strict. I wouldn't say everyone wants to live over here, but many certainly do.
We've gotten way off topic here, but anyway sorry to see you have to leave. You are obviously a bright person, and that's the kind we need here. Take Care.
I heard about this and didn't believe it's true! I knew of an 50 something American guy who wanted to take his Filipino girlfriend whom he met online to the US and apparently, she couldn't even come here as a tourist. I didn't believe it. So it's true? The disparity is so great that for some countries, citizens can come visa-free and stay for 3 months and for third world countries, they can't come even if they applied for a visa?! Wow!
I believe I can come back to the US on a work visa not too long from now, and gradually get a Greencard and become naturalized. I'm sad to leave Missouri but I do look forward to visiting my family for awhile before returning to the US.
What guts me is that I know I won't come back to MO again.
The problem is to get a work visa, the employer has to prove to the government that the job can't be filled by citizens and this severely limits and cities I can live in. I'm highly effective in English and with a 75% ability in Chinese and the best way I can get an employment visa is through that, which means I won't be able to live in Missouri anymore. Most of the jobs that require this skill set of mine (which will give me to get a work visa to live in the US) are mainly found in the west coast cities and the Northeast. And it's Missouri that I'm very sad about leaving. Previously when I didn't need an employment visa to live in the US, I was free to do the job field that I was actually trained in college, in any state I want, because there was no criteria to fulfill.
My heart is broken in more way than one. Leaving Missouri because of my love for the people and the place is one part of it. There's another part which is more personal. I guess my fate with the state (and who it holds) is just not meant to be.
Last edited by sadgirl80; 05-09-2013 at 08:30 PM..
Well, the best I can do is keep my fingers crossed for you. I really appreciate your love for this country and its freedoms and your love for Missouri. All too many citizens take such things for granted.
Over the course of my many years I've had the privilege of spending years each in mainland China, Japan and Korea. In fact, being very young at the time I lived in China, I spoke Mandarin Chinese before I spoke English. That was fun because my parents didn't speak it. While I always enjoyed the experiences and the people, it was always good to come home again.
I sincerely hope that one day I can say, "Welcome back!" for good.
While I always enjoyed the experiences and the people, it was always good to come home again.
I saw this and my heart sank. Why don't I feel this way about the place where I was born like the way you do? Is there something wrong with me? Everything about that place disagrees with me and besides the small handful of people I know, I hate the people, the government, the laws, and everything I see, feel, smell, taste, experience and know there. What should one do if the place where he's from just isn't right for him? Are humans all bound by the physical constraints of where God placed us for birth and from that moment on, are indentured in some way or another in terms of being obligated to express some form of loyalty to said place, or risk judgment from the rest of society?
But I don't believe that my love for the US is caused (directly or otherwise) by my distaste of where I was from, at least not wholly. I've spent some time in other countries in Europe and Australia and I just don't feel it for those countries. I believe its the freedom that this country holds so dear that I love so much. And I believe its the freedom of the country that over hundreds of years shaped the culture of so many Americans to be so much more open and friendlier than other people.
Reference the guy and his girl friend in the Philippines, yep thats how it is. Unless she comes from money, has connections, owns property, then she could most likely get a tourist visa. Even if he married her there, she still could not immediately leave with him. It can take up to a year! That usually takes longer than a fiancee visa. Some red tape huh. Same applies to other 3rd world countries. But the illegals, no fees to INS, no waits, potential benefits on the system. It's very unfair to those playing by the rules. And I think people have a right to be upset.
"Are humans all bound by the physical constraints of where God placed us for birth and from that moment on, are indentured in some way or another in terms of being obligated to express some form of loyalty to said place, or risk judgment from the rest of society"?
The poor ones usually are. That doesn't mean they are all waving the flag. But they are stuck where they are. Their words mean little to the ones running the country. In poor countries such as the Philippines they are most concerned with trying to get by another day. Sometimes that happens to people here too, money issues and other things and one gets stuck in a place they wish to God they could get out of.
How soon are you leaving? Keep in touch with us on CD.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
