- Stop me if you've heard this before.
A foreigner moves to America,
no wait, he applies for a green card to move to America
and then that takes two to four years
so we've got some time before I get to the punchline.
(upbeat jingle)
The immigration debate isn't exactly
a new conversation in America
but lately, that debate has gotten even more heated,
what with talk of travel bans
and multi-billion dollar border walls.
Lots of people have their own ideas about the solution
to the so-called illegal immigrant problem
but few realize, or care,
how the immigration process in America actually works.
Spoiler alert, it doesn't work.
For those who aren't in the know,
why can't they just get in line to come here legally,
seems like a pretty reasonable question
but this isn't the old-timey days
when 98% of people who showed up to Ellis Island
were let into the country.
Today, America's immigration process
is super long and super expensive.
Follow me, if you will, through the hellish landscape
that is green card land, it's like candy-land
only way more depressing.
So you want to live and work in America?
There are several ways to achieve this
and none of them are easy,
or necessarily guaranteed to make you a citizen.
First, you've got to figure out what kind
of tedious application journey
you're about to embark on, let's talk about a few.
If you're from a country with a low immigration rate
you could apply for the green card lottery
in which, over 11 million people worldwide,
each year, apply for only 50,000 available visas,
gotta love those less than .5% odds.
But for argument's sake, let's say you apply
for the lottery and don't win,
you could file an employment based application.
All you need is an eligible employer in the United States
to sponsor you and pay for the application process
and prove you're not taking away
a valuable job from a U.S. citizen.
Don't worry, this will only take a year to get approved
by the Labor Department if you have a Masters or PhD
and only two to five years if you don't.
Plus, you have to be outside the U.S.
if you don't have lawful status and on top of that,
you haven't even applied for the actual visa yet.
Isn't waiting for years on slim hopes the best?
But if you're really special, you can apply
for a shiny EB-1 visa, that's for aliens
of extraordinary ability, basically anyone
who's managed to excel in the arts,
business, academia or athletics, and fits at least three
of 10 special special-people requirements
or they've made a cool one-time achievement
like winning a Pulitzer, an Oscar or an Olympic medal.
What, you don't have a Pulitzer?
Let's say maybe the employer thing didn't work
and your Pulitzer was lost in the mail,
well, you could have a family member petition for you
if they're already living in the United States legally.
If you're flying solo, your last option is to find a spouse
just be prepared to prove it's real.
Contrary to every 90s sitcom sham green card marriage plot
the whole process doesn't take place in 30 hilarious minutes
but over the course of several months to a year
and you may even have to prove it again,
two years later, if you haven't been married that long.
But if you don't have an American bae, well, bye.
Did I mention the cost of all of this?
Cos no matter what application you file,
it's going to be a pretty penny.
A standard green card application costs $1,760
and a lawyer to walk you through the filing process
can run you anywhere from $500 to $10,000
depending on how complicated your case is going to be.
Plus, there are literally hundreds of different forms
that you may have to file and all of them cost something,
you'll be shelling out money on fees to the government,
lawyers, passport photos, biometrics,
mailing costs, and so on, all while trying to,
you know, live your life.
Alright, so let's say you've managed to raise the money
to pay all the fees and maybe you get a decent lawyer,
you've gathered all the necessary documents
and filled out your applications
to the best of your ability,
good job on answering no to are you a terrorist.
You win, right? You've reached green card castle.
No, the Department of Homeland Security,
which now manages immigration is notorious
for its backlogged, outdated system.
An application can get rejected for all kinds of reasons,
maybe your passport photos aren't the right size
or you forgot to check a box on page 19
and even if your application is perfect,
you can wait up to four years for a response
and in some cases, even 10.
Plus, if you're rejected after all this,
you could face deportation or go back to starting
this long and costly green card land adventure.
Look, America is a country of immigrants,
except Native Americans, of course,
and African Americans who were, you know,
brought here against their will.
Obviously undocumented immigration is a complex issue,
which means there's no easy solution,
but maybe before building a wall
or issuing highly specific travel bans,
we should focus on building a better system
for welcoming new folks in.
Thanks for watching, we'll see you next time
right here on Decoded.
(futuristic jingle)