Welcome to the United States ... after 13 years

Yesterday I received what is considered the Holy Grail for every immigrant to the US. Tiny in size, it is nevertheless monumental in significance, as it changes your status from the "unwashed" to the "you're one of us!" One magically transforms from an individual who is seen as a problem for the country, to one that adds to the diversity of the country. Doors open, opportunities come knocking, and best of all, this Tool of Freedom rends asunder the Shackles of Restraint. The Green Card is truly a magical thing.

Although I arrived in this country in 1994 as a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed student at the University of Virginia, it has taken me thirteen (yes, thirteen) years to get to the point where I'm a legal permanent resident. The length of time spent in liminality has been due to the various visas I've had to subsist on (from student to worker to some sort of hybrid), as well as the plodding inefficiency of the INS (now known as the USCIS). And the wait isn't completely over - citizenship remains at least three years away.

It is precisely because of the length of time it has taken me that I feel this whole immigration amnesty things needs to be rethought. It galls me that rather than go through the legal process, and spend over a decade doing so, I could have arrived here illegally and just obtained permanent residence through the amnesty. The solution lies in making the USCIC more efficient so these ridiculous waits vanish.

Just this last week I read an article (either in the Chicago Tribune or Wall Street Journal) that discussed how the USCIS is resisting the current proposal in the Senate because it would streamline processes. Because of the reduction in bureaucracy, the USCIS would no longer be able to charge multiple fees to fund its operations - due to insufficient government funding, the USCIS has come to rely on these fees heavily. Talk about economic disincentives.

Still, I am overjoyed that I have the green card now. Although I am not a citizen - which means that I won't be able to vote, and will still have to face horrified stares at foreign airports whenever I whip out my Pakistani passport - I have acquired rights and freedoms that many will risk their lives to obtain. For that, I am immensely grateful.