Wow - up to 17,775 people giving up on their green card EACH YEAR!

[OnTheGo]

I am still preoccupied with the pros and cons of moving to the US...and one thing still really bothers me, even though it would not really affect anyone for as long as they continue to live in the US (until they die)!

If however you EVER consider living outside of the USA after you have become a permanent US resident (i.e. moved there and decided to return to your former home or any other country down the track, either temporary or permanently) - read this:
http://www.economist.com/news/unite...merican-citizenship-overtaxed-and-over-there/

Then have a look at this:
Google Doc from USCIS FOIA (Freedom of information act) response, with numbers of green card holders per year that have returned their green cards:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7VqDyDIAgW2YTQyQmZ3QjZyT2s/edit?pli=1

Staggering, isn't it?

 

[Princedriss]

If u dont have american diplomas, dont even try to think u gonna work easily, that is the truth, u gonna so so so much struggle

 

[Hexa]

Struggle is relative. I got many friends from my country who are undocumented, working in restaurants but making decent money and live rather comfortably. They are able to maintain a standard of living that's pretty much impossible to attain with a high school diploma in our country, even if they work just as hard.

The docs says 'abandonment', which also covers LPRs who happen to stay too long abroad and slapped with abandonment against their wishes. To make a better conclusion we need to know how many of them abandoned LPR status voluntarily.

 

[saunj11]

So frustrating to read that, and I realise alot of people actually enter DV , get chosen and then never follow through with it because they didn't think it through when they entered. The stats from my country showed that quite a few percent of selectee's actually didnt proceed with the visa. For people like me (and there are alot of us) , who are studying in the US and can contribute a significant amount to the US economy once we graduate, this is very annoying! Waste of an opportunity for people who stand a genuine chance of making a life for themselves here.

 

[Hexa]

So frustrating to read that, and I realise alot of people actually enter DV , get chosen and then never follow through with it because they didn't think it through when they entered. The stats from my country showed that quite a few percent of selectee's actually didnt proceed with the visa. For people like me (and there are alot of us) , who are studying in the US and can contribute a significant amount to the US economy once we graduate, this is very annoying! Waste of an opportunity for people who stand a genuine chance of making a life for themselves here.

Don't get me started...

I have US university education and a decent tax-paying job, yet it's a royal PITA to get a green card through employment. I could have waited for another four years, and if I lose this job I would be SOL unless I can find another employer willing to sponsor me. Meanwhile up to 50,000 random people with high school education get the card just like that. I lucked out that my wife won DV; it's funny and depressing at the same time that despite all my hard work and contribution to this country, in the end it's a matter of plain dumb luck.

Rant over.

 

[SusieQQQ]

For people like saunj11 and hexa, the new immigration bill should it ever get passed makes a lot more sense than a green card lottery - happy as I am to have won the latter. I turned down a job in the US a few years ago because my spouse would not get automatic right to work - something else they might want to look into.

Although, I would also point out that 17k people abandoning their green cards is still a very small number compared to around 500k green cards being issued every year.

 

[Hexa]

The executive branch of the U.S. government in its infinite wisdom decided that H-1 spouses can't work while L-1 spouses can. The actual law passed by Congress doesn't say anything on the matter, it's purely a regulation decided by a president in the past.

 

[OnTheGo]

The point of my post was not to illustrate how frustrating it may be for those seeking permanent resident status to see how many people are giving up on theirs, but to actually HIGHLIGHT the fact that the USA is the ONLY advanced nation in the world to have a CITIZENSHIP/PERMANENT RESIDENT based tax system...and that it is important to understand the implications!

 

[SusieQQQ]

The point of my post was not to illustrate how frustrating it may be for those seeking permanent resident status to see how many people are giving up on theirs, but to actually HIGHLIGHT the fact that the USA is the ONLY advanced nation in the world to have a CITIZENSHIP/PERMANENT RESIDENT based tax system...and that it is important to understand the implications!

This has been mentioned a number of times on here, and in some detail on some threads re the implications* so kindly forgive people who thought the point was what you were exclaiming in the title you gave your thread.

* for example: you activate your green card and go back home and change your mind and don't emigrate after all.. You're still liable for US tax until you officially abandon your green card; as soon as you activate you need to submit a form to the IRS for the relevant year even if you earned most of your income outside the US, if you were there just one day of the tax year, etc.

 

[jayo2k]

If u dont have american diplomas, dont even try to think u gonna work easily, that is the truth, u gonna so so so much struggle

It is like that everywhere... I know I grew up in Europe and now live in Canada... The matter of fact, it is way worse in Canada /Europe than in USA...
For instance, about 50% of immigrant leaves Quebec after 5 to 10 years... Why? Because they do not get jobs... many of them are unemployed, taxi drivers, cleaners...

 

[samershahin]

Then it looks more attractive to stay in my current residence with our zero taxes country and high wages!!

 

[scusyxx]

I hate it!.. My spouse can't work although she has US Master's degree...

The executive branch of the U.S. government in its infinite wisdom decided that H-1 spouses can't work while L-1 spouses can. The actual law passed by Congress doesn't say anything on the matter, it's purely a regulation decided by a president in the past.

 

[Hexa]

I hate it!.. My spouse can't work although she has US Master's degree...

She can work if she somehow manages to get sponsored for her own H or L visa. The H visa for 2014 ran out within 4 days after the registration period was opened. Unless you are already employed by the company under OPT, it's pretty much impossible to get. How many companies are willing to wait a year just to employ a foreigner?

 

[scusyxx]

She has an MBA degree (B.A economics) so it is nearly impossible to get H1B sponsor and since she was an H4, she didn't have OPT chance too. We thought to change her status to F1 but then the tuition would be doubled. I hope I get my GC soon and all trouble will be gone...

She can work if she somehow manages to get sponsored for her own H or L visa. The H visa for 2014 ran out within 4 days after the registration period was opened. Unless you are already employed by the company under OPT, it's pretty much impossible to get. How many companies are willing to wait a year just to employ a foreigner?

 

[c1984]

For people like saunj11 and hexa, the new immigration bill should it ever get passed makes a lot more sense than a green card lottery - happy as I am to have won the latter. I turned down a job in the US a few years ago because my spouse would not get automatic right to work - something else they might want to look into.

Although, I would also point out that 17k people abandoning their green cards is still a very small number compared to around 500k green cards being issued every year.

I am in a similar situation as Hexa.

You can't imagine how troubling it was when I went over the so-called comprehensive immigration reform act and realized that even through that I couldn't qualify for a GC because it's been more than 5 years that I got my Master's from a US university, although I have been consistently working and paying a higher rate tax over these years.

The immigration process in this country is a cluster-f***.

 

[Hexa]

I am in a similar situation as Hexa.

You can't imagine how troubling it was when I went over the so-called comprehensive immigration reform act and realized that even through that I couldn't qualify for a GC because it's been more than 5 years that I got my Master's from a US university, although I have been consistently working and paying a higher rate tax over these years.

The immigration process in this country is a cluster-f***.

The proposed immigration law supposedly has a provision for "merit-based visa". One way to qualify for this visa is to be lawfully present in USA for 10 years or more. This is very good, because it acts as a safety valve. Regardless of the immigration avenue you're pursuing, it's guaranteed to pay off in 10 years. When I left to renew my visa in 2011, I had been lawfully present in USA for 12 years with GC tentatively still 6 more years away.

If you do undergrad + grad + PhD you'll be here 10 years. If you do undergrad + OPT + 6 years of H-1B you'll hit 10 years as well.

 

[c1984]

The proposed immigration law supposedly has a provision for "merit-based visa". One way to qualify for this visa is to be lawfully present in USA for 10 years or more. This is very good, because it acts as a safety valve. Regardless of the immigration avenue you're pursuing, it's guaranteed to pay off in 10 years. When I left to renew my visa in 2011, I had been lawfully present in USA for 12 years with GC tentatively still 6 more years away.

If you do undergrad + grad + PhD you'll be here 10 years. If you do undergrad + OPT + 6 years of H-1B you'll hit 10 years as well.

I did MS + 0.5 OPT + H1B. Still wouldn't qualify. Actually worked harder to finish the MS in 3 semesters, which would be held even further against me with this non-sense of a system.

The most sensible thing in my opinion would be to grant a GC to anybody that holds a tax-paying job for 5 consecutive years (and entered the country legally). The higher the degree (MS & PhD) the shorter that required time. Simple and effective.

 

[Hexa]

I did MS + 0.5 OPT + H1B. Still wouldn't qualify. Actually worked harder to finish the MS in 3 semesters, which would be held even further against me with this non-sense of a system.

The most sensible thing in my opinion would be to grant a GC to anybody that holds a tax-paying job for 5 consecutive years (and entered the country legally). The higher the degree (MS & PhD) the shorter that required time. Simple and effective.

The first thing the new law would do is wipe out the backlog, so if you have an approved I-140 you would be good to go. New people will take advantage of the new point system.
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_23608180/immigrants-ranked-us-senate-points-plan

One other nice thing is that student visa under the new law would be considered dual-intent, which makes perfect sense.

But this is all a pipe dream. Republicans in the House have said that they don't like the senate bill, so they won't pass it.