To those overseas:How would a second generation American with a parent born in your country be treated? (fit in, living in)

[stevechang103]

Hello,

My question to those overseas is the following:

Let us suppose someone from your country immigrated to the United States. They had a child born in the USA. They raised this child in the USA, but:

1. The child was to some degree culturally of the original country, rather then 100 percent American.

2. The child spoke the language of the country (or English if an English speaking country).

3. The child spent summers in the country with relatives.

Let us suppose the child grows up and decides that he belongs for any number of reasons that he belongs in his parents homeland rather then the United States.

If the child decided to relocate to your country to live full time:

1. How easy would intergration be (In this case, the child had family ties there and having spent summers there had some idea what to expect.)

2. Would he or she be viewed as just an American, a Native, or somewhere in between?

To give a concrete example: There are many second generation Brazillians, Chinese, Indians, Mexicans, etc. There is some anti-gringo sentiment in these countries among various people Would someone whose father or mother was native and who had cultural and family ties get some level of "honorary native status" or would they be seen as just "another gringo."

I would be tremendously interested.

Thanks

[Trimac20]

I would the child would be viewed as an 'American' first but don't quote me on that, it depends on the country. A real life example are the Brazilians of Japanese descent who returned to the 'homeland.' They were simply viewed as Brazilians and discriminated against by Japan. Many could only speak Portuguese, and were culturally more Brazilians than Japanese. Other countries might be different. I think there will still be some ties of kinship through your parents, but it would vary by person.

[thewitchisback]

The child would be an American. At least to people from the English speaking Caribbean.
I call such people nowherians lol. In America they are not considered "true" Americans and in their family's origin country they are considered American. I am black and live in the English speaking Caribbean and like most Caribbean people have family who live in the US. They visit off and on but are seen as my "American cousins". But in the US they do not fit into the African American subculture either.

[Rob702]

I think it depends mostly on the person and not whether he or she is second or 10th generation American. As long as someone speaks the local language and doesn't have the "I am the best, you are nothing" attitude it won't be a big problem to integrate. Language is probably one of the most important factors. If someone speaks the language fluently and doesn't look foreign most people won't recognize that he or she has grown up elsewhere.

I think the bigger problem regarding integration is the culture shock that person might experience. They might think they know their parents' country very well but most often they don't. Visiting relatives or going on vacation can be very different from actually living there.

[Chava61]

Originally Posted by Rob702

I think it depends mostly on the person and not whether he or she is second or 10th generation American. As long as someone speaks the local language and doesn't have the "I am the best, you are nothing" attitude it won't be a big problem to integrate. Language is probably one of the most important factors. If someone speaks the language fluently and doesn't look foreign most people won't recognize that he or she has grown up elsewhere.

I think the bigger problem regarding integration is the culture shock that person might experience. They might think they know their parents' country very well but most often they don't. Visiting relatives or going on vacation can be very different from actually living there.

I agree with the above. It definitely depends on the individual. But I think that the person will be considered American while they are in the USA and then considered the other nationality when living in the other country assuming that they speak the language similar to a native speaker and don't look completely different from the others there. Having also relatives or family roots will also help.

[ben86]

Originally Posted by stevechang103

Hello,

My question to those overseas is the following:

Let us suppose someone from your country immigrated to the United States. They had a child born in the USA. They raised this child in the USA, but:

1. The child was to some degree culturally of the original country, rather then 100 percent American.

2. The child spoke the language of the country (or English if an English speaking country).

3. The child spent summers in the country with relatives.

Let us suppose the child grows up and decides that he belongs for any number of reasons that he belongs in his parents homeland rather then the United States.

If the child decided to relocate to your country to live full time:

1. How easy would intergration be (In this case, the child had family ties there and having spent summers there had some idea what to expect.)

2. Would he or she be viewed as just an American, a Native, or somewhere in between?

To give a concrete example: There are many second generation Brazillians, Chinese, Indians, Mexicans, etc. There is some anti-gringo sentiment in these countries among various people Would someone whose father or mother was native and who had cultural and family ties get some level of "honorary native status" or would they be seen as just "another gringo."

I would be tremendously interested.

Thanks

I don't actually know anybody in real life who this applies to, though I'm sure there are many, but I'd say that yes, they would be accepted and not included in any complaints about immigration, but unless they had a native-level understanding of our ways and customs and had a British accent (unlikely if they hadn't actually grown up here or spent a large period of time here), they'd still be considered American to a large extent.

[jtur88]

I have made queries about Lithuania, since my mother was from there. Apparently, descendants of Lithuanians enjoy absolutely no advantage, with regard to immigration or settlement there, and just get in the queue with everyone else.

However, in Ireland, if you can prove that a grandparent was born there, you can advance very quickly to an Irish passport.

[chascarrillo]

Originally Posted by jtur88

However, in Ireland, if you can prove that a grandparent was born there, you can advance very quickly to an Irish passport.

In Spain also, I think it's in all the EU countries.

[MalaMan]

In the case of an American who have Brazilian parents (or one of the parents is Brazilian), and can speak Portuguese, I believe he will be very well accepted.

Of course people will find his accent "funny" (if he speaks Portuguese with American accent). But I'm sure that such person can very easily integrate in the Brazilian society.

[Stumbler.]

For Canadians, well it kind of goes without saying...