With the final elections for the American Presidential nominee just around the corner, the potential candidates are being barraged with a tsunami of attacks, focusing on everything from their stances on the economy to the never ending War in Iraq. As an English observer, I find myself drifting in and out of these debates, mostly watching for curiosity’s sake, trying to grasp just what it is that America values as a nation.
For me, immigration is always the hotspot. I’ve been in this country for four years now and the way immigration works over here has always confused me. For a start, it is beyond me why America still has a national Green Card Lottery. Why? In a country who’s sides are already splitting and contentious with diversity, why would America need to promote further diversity with an influx of different nationalities? I understand the melting pot theory, that all races and ethnicity’s are blended into one to create an American identity, but what I find most amusing is that when I ask someone who they are they will respond “I am Irish-English” “I am German-Italian” “I am African American”. With all of these subcategories that seem to come to mind, individualism with one’s birth culture seems to dominate over nationality. It’s so very interesting. Back in Europe, nationality comes before anything else. For example, my Nana is Scottish, my Dad’s family is Spanish – but I was born and raised in England, therefore I am nothing but English. A man born in France could have both English parents, but to his dying breath, he would be nothing but French. This leads me to believe that perhaps Americans associate with their cultural roots more than the average European.
Back to immigration. Wandering around the Internet, I discovered that I am not eligible for the Green Card Lottery, even if I wanted to live in America permanently (which I don’t, I love this country but I miss England too much!) Here are the stipulations which would exclude me from being part of the Lottery:
USA Greencard Registration Requirements
To participate in the Green Card Lottery, you must satisfy TWO requirements.
* FIRST : you must be a native of a qualified country. Persons of all countries of the world are eligible to participate in the Green Card Lottery except for people from the following countries:
You are not eligible for the lottery if you are born in one of the following countries:
- Colombia
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Great Britain (and its dependent territories, except Northern Ireland)
- Haiti
- India
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Russia
- South Korea
- Vietnam
HOWEVER, you may still qualify to participate in the Lottery even if you were born in one of the countries listed above. If your spouse was born in an eligible country, then you can claim your spouse’s country of birth.
OR if one of your parents was born in an eligible country you may be able to claim your parent’s country of birth.
* SECOND :
you must have a high school education or the successful completion of 12 years of elementary and secondary school education.
OR you must have 2 years of work experience in an occupation requiring 2 years or more of training or experience.
The first one bumps me out – boo hoo. Still for kicks, I took a Citizenship quiz and I scored 100%. I must admit, they weren’t the hardest of questions.
