SEATTLE — As crowds of illegal immigrants march through
America’s streets, I peer down at the protesters from my office
here and wonder, “Why don’t I march with them?” Well, because I’m
not illegal. In the last six years, while visiting this country and
starting my new job with the free-market Discovery Institute, I
have paid the U.S. government nearly $20,000 in visa and
application fees. Of the money I’ve earned I have spent 90 percent
of it in this country. I have volunteered nearly 2,000 hours with
local non-profits.
If you are a native-born American, you probably have no idea how
U.S. visas work or how difficult they are to acquire. Briefly, a
non-immigrant visitor’s visa operates as follows:
Let’s say you decide that you want to visit the U.S. to see a
relative for a few weeks or speak at a conference. First, apply for
a B visa (B1 = Business visitor, B2 = tourist, B1/2 = business and
pleasure). After filling out numerous forms and paying a $100
non-refundable, cash-only fee to the U.S. government, you sit for a
visa interview. A one-year visitor’s visa costs $100 cash (atop
that first $100). A two-year visa costs $200 cash. Don’t forget to
have your fingerprints taken. If you don’t pass your interview, you
get rejected and go home, leaving the first $100 behind in Uncle
Sam’s hands. U.S. consular employees need not give a reason for
rejecting you.
The B visa, the cheapest and most basic, forbids you to work.
When you get into J-1, F, L, L1, E1, E2, EB-1, E-3, TN1, H2-B, H1-B
(the one I carry), etc., fees can climb as high as Mt. Rainier. To
demonstrate this process’ bureaucratic insanity, consider the visa
application procedures a foreigner must undergo to work legally in
the U.S.
Start with basic expenses, payable to the U.S. government in
cash or check only:
*Consular visa processing fee — $105.
*I-129 filing fee — $190.
*Fraud Prevention and Detection fee — $500.
*American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act fee —
$750 per applicant for employers with up to 24 foreign workers,
$1,500 thereafter.
*Premium processing (for a response within two weeks) —
$1,000.
Before all this occurs, the employer has to endure a very
complicated verification process and receive official approval to
hire a foreigner. However, this can happen only after additional
cash fees are paid and an examination performed that could rival an
IRS audit.
Now, add half a year of waiting and paperwork, enormous
attorneys fees (it is nearly impossible to satisfy these
requirements without costly professional legal assistance), a
3-inch stack of documents, and constant miscommunication among the
Labor Certification Administration, U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services, and the Department of Homeland Security. Each
of these agencies has its own set of regulations that contradict
the others’ and confuse applicants and their lawyers alike.
To limit the Discovery Institute’s legal fees, I started reading
The Federal Register daily at 6 a.m., to see if some new
regulations had obviated a dozen hours of legal work performed days
earlier.
When all the applications are filed and fees paid, an invitation
for an interview arrives by mail. My interview was in Vancouver,
British Columbia — the nearest U.S. Consulate. If I were rejected,
I packed up all my belongings so I could return to Russia to
undergo another interview at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
Fortunately, I didn’t fail my interview. However, while preparing
for it, a Canadian thief broke into my car and stole my laptop,
camera and all my clothes.
After I paid yet another $200 cash fee and spent about three
hours in Soviet-style lines, I received my visa. Relieved, I headed
south to Seattle. At the border, the U.S. Customs officer saw my
car’s Washington state license plates and jokingly asked the
question he had to pose: “What is the purpose of your visit to the
United States of America?”
I answered, “Hmmm…to go home!” Then I paid one more $15 cash
fee for his precious time and hard work.
So, here I am: a law-abiding worker in the United States of
America. But, I am no resident alien. If I lose my job, I have 72
hours to pack up, forget about my bills, car, rent, friends and
lifestyle, and fly back to Moscow.
THIS ALL MAY SEEM CRAZY to the average American, but it defines so
much of my life, just as it does for many of my foreign friends,
who live and pay taxes in the U.S.A. I pay federal, Medicare, and
Social Security taxes, although I cannot vote or use any of the
system’s benefits. I volunteer at summer camps and churches,
because my visa doesn’t prohibit it — though some visas do!
I am not whining. I am happy to live in America and pay taxes
and appreciate being a part of such a big and powerful nation. I
enjoy composing music, volunteering, skiing, swimming, and the
rest. I lack the right to vote, but I love liberty and the freedom
to do all these things. When Americans speak about freedom, they
think about education, voting, and sometimes, welfare. When I say
freedom, I think of giving piano lessons, driving Washington State
Highway 20 through the Cascades, and buying Mexican dinners for
$5.75.
If I were in Russia, I couldn’t afford to ski. It costs $3,000
per trip, and you have to fly to Austria, versus spending $40 and
driving two hours from Seattle to Mt. Baker. I wouldn’t have the
time to produce music. Even if I did, it’s more expensive to do so
in Russia since you have to fly to London or Los Angeles to master
quality recordings. Besides, Russians rarely buy legal, non-pirated
CDs. In Russia, I wouldn’t spend time with kids or donate my spare
time to the community. Volunteering raises only one question from
Russians: “You’re doing what? For free?!”
I have worked hard to be here, and I enjoy living in America and
contributing as much as I can to this great country. I think it is
unfair for others to work off the books, evade income taxes, and
then scream in the streets for new laws so that they can come to
America illegally and leapfrog patient applicants like me in the
citizenship line. I can’t even understand why illegal aliens
protest. Doesn’t the word “illegal” mean “prohibited” or “bad”? I
support securing U.S. borders and making it easier for people to
enter and work in America according to the law.
I’m no one special. My parents are in Moscow, and they didn’t
help me get here. For anyone who dreams of becoming an American
legally, there is always a way.
