It’s the ultimate comeback whenever anybody tells me I’m unpatriotic, and I don’t get to btch about my government because I didn’t vote. When any other reason fails, just ask them, “I spent five years in the US Marine Corps. How long did you voluntarily serve?” And when the answer comes back as “Zero,” you can say, “Then shut the fck up.” That usually shuts them up.
I agree with that in principal, but what do you feel about me? I’ve lived here for 10 years, fully legal immigrant the whole way, but simply cannot get a green card or become a citizen on my own (need an employer to do it). All while paying more taxes then your average US citizen, but I’m not eligible for most of benefits I’m financing and have no say in any of it. I’ll probably pay about $15k this year in income, payroll, and property taxes. Since I’m single and don’t have kids I have virtually no deductions or exemptions so I just get royally screwed down my 1040.
^Do you pay into SS and Medicare?
Not to discount your service, but Nidal Hasan served 10+ years in the Army. Is he a patriot?
Of course, not voluntarly but it’s required by law… I consider that to be additional income tax since I have zero faith those programs will be there when I’m that age. I figure they’ll be completely dead or I’ll be means tested out of them.
Sorry, unless you get citizenship I don’t want you deciding who governs me. Why are you not able to get a green card though, have you not been a legal permanent resident for at least 5 years? You clearly find some benefit to living here that outweighs your extraordinary tax burden.
I didn’t know whether non-citizens had to pay into them.
Fair enough. Not that 1 vote matters anyway but I’m sure I could form more informed decisions then many voters out there. But again, like I said, will my vote really matter? There are way too few sane people out there for us to make a difference.
But to your question I’m on an H1B visa. If and when I get a green card is the sole decision of my employer. And yes, I do enjoy living here. Reasons include the fact that I don’t like snow and the jobs, compensation, taxes, and over quality of life to me is better here compared to where I’d be back in the motherland.
Greenie I didn’t have to pay SS when I was on a student visa, but once you’re on a work visa you have to pay it like anybody else.
I don’t know what that has to do with whether or not a person should vote.
Maybe I should clarify: When I say that I don’t vote, I get called a lot of names.
Also, out here in good ol’ white boy Republican Christian country, everybody hires somebody to come out and plant a flag on July 4 and Memorial Day and Veteran’s day. I’m one of the very few that don’t. I don’t really care that much. And when people confront me about it, they usually follow up with “You’re not proud of America” or “You don’t love your country” or “Have you ever thought about all those people who fought and died” and sht like that. If I can’t ignore it, I try and reason with them. When that fails, I pull out the Marine card.
A lot of people criticize me for not buying a yellow ribbon, or not donating to HOT (Honor Our Troops) and sht like that. And I usually tell them, “You want to do something for the troops? Join up, and give those guys who are doing double-pumps in the Middle East a break. After all, that’s what I did.” That usually shuts them up, too.
So you’re not allowed to apply for LPR while on your H1B without your employer’s okay? One of my guys started here one H1B and recently got his LPR. I didn’t realize that my company had to okay it…
You’re the one who made the connection between voting and patriotism, not me. Unless I misunderstand your statement, when people say you’re not a patriot because you don’t vote, you respond that you don’t have to vote to be a patriot because you served 5 years in the Marines. I interpret that to mean military service = patriotism.
It’s an even higher hurdle than just “ok-ing it”… the company has to apply to the Dept of Labor and get a certification that there is not an available US resident (not sure how they do it, its called a PERM certification) for your job then the company has to apply for the LPR on your behalf. Also involves thousands in fees that have to be paid to the govt and likely thousands more in attorney fees to move the process along.
^ Wow, I had no idea. I assumed being here legally under any status made things easier, not harder. So, you could have been freezing your stones off in Canada for the last 10 years and it would actually be easier for you to become a citizen?
^ Thats the thing… US residents have no clue how insanely complex and expensive it is. Not to mention you’re handcuffed to your employer. I was lucky, I changed jobs and my new company was fine taking over my visa. Getting the H1B the first time is the hard part because of the annual cap, but once you have it its pretty easy to transfer between employers, for a $2000 fee each time its transferred, payable to the US govt.
I could have stayed in Canada but it wouldn’t have been any easier to get into the US from there. I’ve known people who get on with a company there, then come to the US on what’s called an L class visa (intercompany transfers). I’m just lucky I got my visa last year when there was relatively little demand for the H1b. This year the cap was fully used up after only a week of them accepting applications.
This is why mention of amnesty for illegals makes my blood boil. Because what’s the incentive of complying with the crazy complex rules?
Yeah, I guess that is an underlying assumption. And while I don’t belive that military=patriot, most of the idiots who say, “No vote = no btch” usually believe it.
Welcome to the club, KKK. I deliberately refused to buy a house when everyone around me did in 2003-2006, because I thought prices were too high. I should have bought one, then refi’d it, and taken the money and bought a brand new car, then walked away in 2008.
Hmm, I’ll have to ask my wife how she became a citizen. That happened several years before we met and I know it wasn’t a result of marriage to a US citizen. I was under the impression that getting citizenship was pretty easy for her.
To you last point, I was very surprised the first time the issue of illegals came up and my wife was all for amnesty. I expected that someone who had gone through the process the right way would actually be very much opposed to any type of special treatment for people who basically said FU to the system. We don’t talk about immigration anymore.
Getting citizenship is relatively easy, it’s getting your permanent residency thats painfully difficult.
I still don’t understand why the US refuses to introduce a citizen ID system. It would be one of the most useful services in the country, with potential for integrating social security, driver’s licenses, voter identification (or even CFAI identification), and basically any process that requires an ID. Many countries have national ID systems, which they implement with great success.
I agree with everything that has been said about the unnecessary difficulty of the path to permanent residence for highly skilled workers. I know people who have been unable to change jobs for years, and one guy for 9 years and counting, because they are waiting for their green cards. During these waiting periods, they are not allowed to change employers or even job functions. Each of these people has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes. It is a pity that they are left waiting and forgotten while the US discusses amnesty for illegal immigrants due to political demographics.