Yep, I really AM going to talk about it...

IMMIGRATION

There, I said the... lets see... 11 letter word that no grino wants to mention in front of me.

No worries, I'm not going to get into details of laws, my thoughts on laws, illegals, and the like. Just my personal experience with the INS.

Many of you know that on September 17, Jean Paul and I took a little trip to the US Embassy in Mexico City. It was a loooong day, our bus left QRO at 2:30am, we, along with about 50 other visa seekers, were dropped off at a hotel about 3 blocks from the Embassy, and we waited there for litterally several hours. I slept in a chair in the lobby. I also met a girl from Celaya Guanajuato who is now studying at UW in Seattle. SHE got a visa.

Jean Paul's appointment was at 10am, so about 8:45 we headed over to the embassy. I was not allowed to enter with him at all. However, I unfortunately got to see over a fence at what goes on in the first waiting area. Oh, first, you have to leave everything but your paperwork outside the embassy, can't even bring in a bottle of water, and of course there's none available to you for the 3-4 hours that you're in there. I don't believe there's bathrooms either. (I now understand when my friend Edith said she doesn't want to apply for a visa again because she doesn't like being treated like cattle). Everyone is crammed under a tent for an hour or so with a couple of metal benches to sit on. Officials walk in circles around the tent making sure everyone behaves, while yelling at them with loud speakers (the kind they use at youth camps) about how if their application isn't filled out correctly they'll immediately be turned away.

So, I decided to leave. I walked to Chapultapec park and back to kill time, then decided to settle into the Starbucks for a hot chocolate and to read my book. I honestly think that particular Starbucks gave me the biggest cultural shock I've had since I've been in the country. Ok, I've gone to Starbucks in Salem Oregon, and many other US cities lots of times. Being a 26 year old girl, from middle class USA, and pretty ordinary-looking, I'm the kind of person who goes to Starbucks. Not THIS one though. I was wearing jeans and a sweater (a little causal I guess) and was WAAAAAAAY out of place. Everyone stared at me when I walked in. And I seriously doubt that it had anything to do with my skin, hair, or eye color. Not even with my height. Those are usually the reasons for which I get stared at here. No, all the women, and many men, in THIS Starbucks were white and blonde-ish. (In general, people with lighter complexions here are rich people). It was because I am not part of corporate rich snobby Mexico. It's because I'm the kind of person who cringes to think of paying almost $10 USD for a hot chocolate and a blueberry muffin (is it that expensive in the States now?!) But I stayed, surrounded by tall, skinny, blonde ladies in suits that would make the Hilton family think twice about the price before buying; and tall, in-shape men in pink and purple buisness attire (PLEASE don't tell me that THAT is a fad in the States!) Anyhow, more about this in another post...

Upon returning to the embassy to see if JP was out yet, I saw him exiting the building to look for me. Immediately he told me that they denied the visa! We had EVERYTHING possible for him to take in with him. The embassy wants proof that you're going to return to Mexico. We brought: a letter from his work (which happens to be an international bank), a letter and grades from his college, a letter from our pastor saying that he volunteers at church, a letter of invitation AND ability to pay his expenses from my parents, his bank statements with a rather large sum of borrowed money in it (didn't mention the borrowed part to the embasssy!), the exact address and phone number of my parents saying that that's where he'd be staying, we even brought in MY Mexican documents as proof that, as his girlfriend, I am a leagal resident for Mexico and plan to live here. And he didn't get the visa. The lady in front of him in line, for the question, "Where will you stay in the US?" put, "Maybe L.A. or Miami." We put my parents' address. For the question, "How long do you plan to stay in the US?" that lady put, "However long they let me." That's pretty much TELLING the embassy that she's not coming back!! JP put 15 days, with the exact dates that he planned to be in the States.

No visa.

Why do people go illegally to the US?? For many many reasons of course, but one of those reasons is that it's next to impossible for a law-abiding mexican with a job, who's a student, and has sponsors in the States to actually GET a visa to go leagally. And that was for a TOURIST visa. Imagine if someone actually wanted to WORK leagally there... they might as well forget it. Then there's the issue of how the mexicans are treated once inside the Embassy. If a government agency in the States disallowed US citizens to bring water with them for a 4 hour wait, and didn't provide bathrooms, they'd have a huge lawsuit to deal with. So how about they put a goverment office in a foreign country and treat the people in a way that they could never get away with in the States. Apparently it seemed like a good idea.

Anyhow, pretty much the only way JP will ever go the the States leagally is if we get married... And let me tell you, we'll have a really good immigration lawyer with us every step of the way! (Thanks to Rebecca for free tips and the names/numbers of the laws that we need to be aware of!!)