Immigrating to the USA!

[Victor Pross]

Immigrating to the USA!

Saying good-bye to Canada! :brr:

I would like to know if there is anybody out there who has immigrated to the US or who else is thinking of it. As many know here, I am a Canadian. I am looking for any advice as to how best to go about leaving the land of maple syrup and hockey to the land of the…um…semi-free. :whistle:

I am tired of living in a country that has limited opportunities for a person of my immense talents. (Harrumph!)

I think I may be heading out West. I’m looking for fame, fortune...and love. (Okay, I’m looking for fame and fortune now).

Hey, is there anybody who wants to hold me up for a while? I'll need a place to crash.

Home of the brave, here I come!!

:super:

Edited January 29, 2007 by Victor Pross

[Danneskjold]

Good luck my friend! Not that you'll need any. Be careful of any state that is touching the coast though. I'm not sure about Washington, but Oregon is like a large-scale San Francisco (without the parades). California, well it has San Francisco in it. Other than that, if you like heat Cali is the place to go on the coast. Oregon is actually pretty nice right now, little on the chilly side though. Then again you're from Canada. Our temperature range down here is mid 90s at the hottest time of summer and low 30s in the coldest of the winter. It's really not bad though. Also, we don't get much traffic here in Oregon as opposed to California. Definitely a bonus. Also, if you draw your artistic inspiration from hippies and those types then look no further than the Portland Art Institute. Should be plenty of material for you there.

Edit: Those temperatures are fahrenheit.

Edited January 29, 2007 by Jeff Kremer

[Victor Pross]

Jeff, my sights are on California--the center of the universe. That's where all the hot chicks are.

Edited January 29, 2007 by Victor Pross

[CNA]

Jeff, my sights are on California--the center of the universe. That's where all the hot chicks are.

Oh, oh, that's just so not right. So you're looking for fame and fortune now and "eventually" love. Oh, okay, I see how it is. Uh-huh, we're going to have a nice long talk about this one and you better brace yourself. LOL Shame, shame. LMAO

Yeah, it's true. ALL the hot chicks are out in Cali. Wooohooo !!

Edited January 29, 2007 by CNA

[Victor Pross]

Oh, hi Angie...sweetie....just some little jokes. Hee-hee! Er....do you have a dog house for me out there to sleep in? :logik:

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

I immigrated to the USA from Brazil.

Good luck with your move. I am sure you will make it easily if you move near Tinsel-town, where the rich, famous and vain are. Your caricatures will probably make a huge success there.

I am excited for you and Angie.

Michael

[Victor Pross]

I immigrated to the USA from Brazil.

Good luck with your move. I am sure you will make it easily if you move near Tinsel-town, where the rich, famous and vain are. Your caricatures will probably make a huge success there.

I am excited for you and Angie.

Michael

Well, thank you, Michael. It’s interesting how my life is paralleling your own. I met the love of my life on line—like you. I’m moving out to be with her—like you. What’s next—marriage? Huh? Hey, stop second-handing me! :turned:

Edited January 29, 2007 by Victor Pross

[Danneskjold]

Have fun down there, Victor. I gotta say in this weather I wish I was down there too.

[Rich Engle]

You can always shack up in Cleveland for awhile. It would be a great transistion...

It's bleak and cold and miserable right now, and we make the most of it. You'd be sleeping either on a sofa or an air mattress (I'd recommend the former, it's a 9 footer and hasn't had the, er, "mission hours" put on it like the mattress). You'd be with me (yikes), and my two roomies, both pro musicians, and engaged to each other. Oh, and Lila, an 82 lb. German Shepherd sweetheart.

Frozen Bohemia.

Night one would be going to a biker bar called "Sidetracks" (we call it Headquarters) for good food, and basic orientation. You can take a punch, right? Good.

After that I would recommend a tour of the city, especially the more obscure establishments. I'd take you to the Cleveland Art Museum, but, hey, it's been closed for renovations for like 200 years or something, so we'd have to skip that.

On the upside, all your swanky Canadian thermal gear will work out grandly if you choose to accept the mission. And you'll be only a half-continent away from your sweetie!

rde

We'll leave the light on for you.

[Victor Pross]

Thanks for the offer, Rich. But I'm looking at moving away from the cold. Plus I have a dog house waiting for me in California. The space is a little small, but I have a private entrance...so it's not too bad. :turned:

Can I take a punch? Yes, been there and done that. Once, some Harley dude didn't care for the fact that I was a Yamaha dude ... and decided to pick a fight with me. Even in the biker world, [which I was never apart of] there are tribes. Damn, can you believe it?

[Rich Engle]

Hell, biker world is all about tribalism.

You dirty little rice burner!

Well, even if you have your own doggie-door exit out west, the least you can do is visit in the springtime. I know just who you can bring with you, too.

I recommend a triple double-date: me, Kat, my roomies and you guys. We can go to the junkyard and shoot rats-- that's how you really impress a broad.

rde

Always there to help.

[Victor Pross]

Hell, biker world is all about tribalism.

You dirty little rice burner!

Well, even if you have your own doggie-door exit out west, the least you can do is visit in the springtime. I know just who you can bring with you, too.

I recommend a triple double-date: me, Kat, my roomies and you guys. We can go to the junkyard and shoot rats-- that's how you really impress a broad.

rde

Always there to help.

Rich, when I become an American citizen--with red, white and blue blood coursing threw my veins --it's a date we'll have to make for sure. Shoot rats, you say? Hell, let’s do an Alice Cooper type deal and bite the little fucker’s heads off. Now that will really show our ladies that we are He-Men!

[Charles R. Anderson]

Victor,

Welcome to the USA! If you are not here yet, at least we know your heart is here. There is always room here for someone with intelligence and a commitment to hard work, this being the Land of Opportunity. Canada is a good place and I have some fine customers up there, but the USA is where it is happening. Besides, Angie lives here! Well, at least way off there in CA.

[Victor Pross]

Victor,

Welcome to the USA! If you are not here yet, at least we know your heart is here. There is always room here for someone with intelligence and a commitment to hard work, this being the Land of Opportunity. Canada is a good place and I have some fine customers up there, but the USA is where it is happening. Besides, Angie lives here! Well, at least way off there in CA.

Charles,

Thank you for rolling out the welcome wagon. No, I’m not in the states yet--but yes, my heart is there. Angie will be first visiting me here in Toronto, and from there the plans to move forward will take place. It may take a year, I'm not sure yet. Meanwhile, it is important that Angie and I meet waaaaay before that—important for many reasons: We want to see how we groove face-to-face and besides…we’re both about to explode! Lordy-lordy! Seriously, Angie alone is reason to move, but indeed I look forward to professional opportunities that aren’t available here. You know, I should have moved a long time ago, but I didn’t have a dog house awaiting me...till now. I’ll be in my little space reciting the Battle Hymn of the Republic (or something pro-American) and hopefully Angie will come out and feed me.

-Victor

Edited January 30, 2007 by Victor Pross

[Judith]

Hey, Victor --

It will be great to welcome you to the US. Maybe we can trade you for a bunch of those people who promised to emigrate to Canada if Bush won the '04 election and then reneged on their promise.

At last summer's TOC conference, I talked to a couple who had met and fallen in love at a previous conference. He was from upstate New York, she was from Canada. Apparently, it was very important that they NOT get married UNTIL she got her citizenship; she said that she would have been denied her citizenship had they married before she was a citizen. It seemed kind of counterintuitive to me, having heard all those stories about people getting married to get the spouse citizenship (Ayn Rand being one of them), but so she said.

If you like, I can try to find their contact info and ask them permission to put you in touch for help with details.

Judith

[Victor Pross]

Hey, Victor --

It will be great to welcome you to the US. Maybe we can trade you for a bunch of those people who promised to emigrate to Canada if Bush won the '04 election and then reneged on their promise.

At last summer's TOC conference, I talked to a couple who had met and fallen in love at a previous conference. He was from upstate New York, she was from Canada. Apparently, it was very important that they NOT get married UNTIL she got her citizenship; she said that she would have been denied her citizenship had they married before she was a citizen. It seemed kind of counterintuitive to me, having heard all those stories about people getting married to get the spouse citizenship (Ayn Rand being one of them), but so she said.

If you like, I can try to find their contact info and ask them permission to put you in touch for help with details.

Judith

Judith,

Yes, by all means. I am in touch with an immigration lawyer now, but I don’t see how it can hurt to hear from people who have lived it. A few options will be explained to me at the time of the appointment.

Hey, I’m not so presumptuous as to assume that Angie would want to marry me! :turned:

-Victor

[Victor Pross]

California Here I Come

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTPZN8agFTI

Hey sweetie, you know this one.

[Michael Russell]

Victor, welcome to California, in advance. Although I never promised, I was one of those who considered immigrating to Canada after the idiot Bush won for the first time in 2004. Alas, Paul Martin wasn't any better. Whenever I get angry at my native country, I'm reminded of a quote from the late Eldridge Cleaver: "I'd rather be in jail in America than free anywhere else".

Mick

[Charles R. Anderson]

Victor,

Yes, there are some strange things that happen on immigration issues. Anna's nephew is an oral surgeon in the Cleveland area and married a young lady from Toronto (they are both Ukrainian). He paid a lawyer handsomely to get her citizenship papers, but he did not file some form or other. The result was that she had to return to Canada for many months after they were married, which strikes me as insane policy. I have myself had to deal with some pretty ridiculous requirements to help one of my Indian employees return to the US after she visited India. The bottom line is be careful to cross all your t's and dot all your i's.

Good luck. I hope you and Angie have a great time when she visits Toronto. By the way, I found Toronto a nice city to visit the three times I have been there. The last time was great fun, being the wedding of Anna's nephew and his soon to be deported bride.

[Fran]

Hi Victor

Congratulations! All the best with your immigration to the USA - I hope it all works out well for you.

Wishing you and Angie a lifetime of happiness together

I'm interested in hearing what you have to do to immigrate - I'm guessing that it's easier for Canadians than UK citizens - last year when I checked, they weren't even giving out Green Cards to UK citizens.

Fran

[Charles R. Anderson]

Fran,

Was that because some Green Card quota had been filled already by UK immigrants? Or is that because US government policy is not wise enough to welcome intelligent and hard-working professional immigrants with legal status?

[Victor Pross]

Hi Victor

Congratulations! All the best with your immigration to the USA - I hope it all works out well for you.

Wishing you and Angie a lifetime of happiness together

I'm interested in hearing what you have to do to immigrate - I'm guessing that it's easier for Canadians than UK citizens - last year when I checked, they weren't even giving out Green Cards to UK citizens.

Fran

Hi Fran,

Thank you for the wishes, much appreciated. I'm looking forward to having some apple pie with Angie when I arrive. ;]

Listen, I am new to all of this, but I will keep updates on this thread as things progress for those who are interested. I’ll let you know the snags, red tape and such as it moves along. Are you thinking of moving to the states yourself? :turned:

-Victor

Edited January 31, 2007 by Victor Pross

[Fran]

Fran,

Was that because some Green Card quota had been filled already by UK immigrants? Or is that because US government policy is not wise enough to welcome intelligent and hard-working professional immigrants with legal status?

Hi Charles

The Green Card quota for UK immigrants had exceeded so many thousands over the previous five years, so they weren't giving out any at all last year. I'm not sure how long the exclusion will last for. I'll check on the website again sometime this year to see if anything has changed.

Fran

[Fran]

Listen, I am new to all of this, but I will keep updates on this thread as things progress for those who are interested. I’ll let you know the snags, red tape and such as it moves along. Are you thinking of moving to the states yourself? :turned:

-Victor

Hi Victor,

Yes, I have been considering it. I'm tired of living in the UK - the current government seems hell-bent on turning the country into a dictatorship. I am not exaggerating. UK citizens are spied upon by their government more than any other country in the world, bar China and Russia.

I'm living in Cyprus at the moment because they joined the EU in 2005, making it as easy for me to live here as it would be for me to live in the UK (I knew there had to be something wortwhile about the EU). Cyprus is a zillion times freer than the UK, it has a gorgeous climate, little crime, yummy food, and the people are lovely. They also speak good English - which is good news for me as my Cypriot-Greek is non-existent. The only major headache is trying to figure out what some things are when I go shopping - the Greek alphabet means that I can't even make an educated guess!

I'm very interested to hear how things go with your immigration - I do hope that it all goes smoothly and you're living in the USA in no time.

Fran

[Matus1976]

Can I take a punch? Yes, been there and done that. Once, some Harley dude didn't care for the fact that I was a Yamaha dude ... and decided to pick a fight with me. Even in the biker world, [which I was never apart of] there are tribes. Damn, can you believe it?

Great, just what we need, another Knook! (SP??) =P Just keep your socialized medicine across the border.

As for your Harley assaulter, well you shouldnt have joked about his bike being made by a bowling ball company. Harley riders are nuts, tattooing the brand logo of a shitty company. Hey how about that refund for the tarriff they instituted on 700cc bikes to help 'get back on their feet' I don't see them shelling out thousands of dollars to everyone who bought an import bike during that time.

Good luck on your move, if I ever make it out to the peoples state we can start up an objectivist biker club, though discussions of innate talent shall be off limits...