I should never have read this article about a French bakery owner and her US immigration problems. It is a heartwarming story and an affirmation of the power of community, a made for Hollywood tale of visa woe and salvation, but it is also completely heartbreaking for me. I shouldn’t read anything at all about US immigration. I loathe US immigration. LOATHE it. I haven’t completely hidden my feelings on this topic from this blog, so this probably comes as no surprise.
Thanks to US immigration officers in Beijing, I recently lost $3000+ and a whole lot of my sanity. Thanks to US immigration officers in Beijing, a US company lost the opportunity to make over $15,000 from us. We are the US’s dream – we make money overseas and want to travel to the US to stimulate the economy. Instead, we visit Europe, Canada and Asian cities where we spend, spend, spend.
People sometimes ask me why I don’t live in the US. That’s a difficult question. I’d have to say the major reason is that the DH and I really do want to experience more of the world, and since the aviation industry in the US is currently in a slump, this makes sense for us right now. But there is also a part of me that is angry and bitter. After all, I’ve never encountered the kind of immigration officer or community featured in the NYTimes article. Facing a monolith like the US embassy is extremely intimidating and that’s the way they want it. Never have I felt more powerless than when attempting to extract information and answers from the US embassy in Beijing. For now I consider completing further paperwork for yet more visas, but I am completely disillusioned and disgusted with the whole process and while the mentioned article should stir feelings of hope within, it has only left me bewildered and sad. On the other hand, it is nice to see an immigration-focused article that is about something other than illegal aliens!
Alright, now that all this whining is off my chest, let’s see if I can blog something light and humorous? Travel photos, anyone? Because while hating US immigration is a sometimes hobby of mine, it is not something I dwell on… In the words of a Grölsch beer commercial that has become a kind of life philosophy for the DH and I: It ish what it ish.
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Comments ( 2 )
I sure complain about Spain a lot but sometimes I forget the problems in my own country’s bureacracy. This just reminded me of it. It definitely makes you feel powerless and at their whim.
blues’s last blog post..This is me. There’s a freak show going on in my brain.
[Reply]
blues added these pithy words on
Jun 05 09 at
03:19
globalgalJune 5th, 2009 at 16:02
I’ve been really fortunate with Spain’s bureaucracy, getting my residency worked out without any issues, but I find that immigration in most places is fairly unpleasant!
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