US politics - cooked

Yeah I get that. Even if he didn’t actually do anything, he could have at least looked like he gave a fark. He couldn’t even do that. Socially and morally bankrupt. Narcissist in chief.

2 Likes

Romney is right. While I doubt Trump runs again but he will hold that (him running) as a threat, a loaded gun to the head of the Republican Party for the next 3 years.

This is fine

Good. Headline is misleading.

2 Likes

I watched the 4 Corners report on Saudi women trying to escape the draconian “male guardians”. Made my blood boil.

4 Likes

So a little bit of personal good news. I deliberately did not post much about what I am about to say below as I did not want to jeopardize anything while Trump was in power.

My mum (who lives alone in India) applied for a family-based visa 3 years ago to be able to live here in the US where both her US Citizen kids and her grandchild reside. It was always a lengthy process if you are Indian due to various factors but the moment Trump (or, should I say, Stephen Miller, the self-proclaimed protector of Western Civilization) took over they went out of their way to make it incredibly difficult for folks from the top-3 legal family immigrant nations - Mexico, India, and the Philippines. You can tell why.

First, they ramped up the fees required mid-way through our process. Fortunately that was not a hurdle for us so we paid up the difference.

Second, they ramped up the amount of money the relatives in the US needed to have. We met that too.

Next, and most sneakily, they changed the address to which we were to send our new, increased fee without informing us. 6-months later our lawyer (lucky we had decided to go through one) gets a letter saying that since the increased fee was never sent they were canceling our application and that we would need to restart the entire process (18 months in at this stage) including paying the fee again. The lawyer raised a stink and got the ruling reversed after a couple of months.

So now we are about 24-months in, my mum has cleared all the hurdles (financial, legal, health, background checks) and is approved to go in for a final interview and get her passport stamped at the US embassy in Mumbai in 3-weeks. Flights to and hotel in Mumbai booked.

Then COVID strikes and Stephen Miller launches his master plan. Trump uses COVID to “temporarily” (first for 3 months then for another 9 months) ban legal immigration. The US embassy in Mumbai cancels my mum’s appt and we have been in limbo for 12 months.

Yesterday, Biden rescinded this ban. We are now hopeful my mum can get the final piece sorted and that we won’t have to redo many of the hurdles. As a 70+ year old, financially independent, widower she poses no threat to any “American” jobs or benefits.

It was cruel, inhumane, and debilitating to go through this. Just so that a fascist’s vision of a nation based on “Western Civilization” (aka white ethno-state) could be realized.

47 Likes

Good news DM.

Yet another sad example of the lasting damage that the Trump administration has done to the US and the wider world.

1 Like

Weren’t you considering leaving the US? I guess not now.

Still considering leaving. My sibling is happy here so it makes sense for my mum to have legal residence here.

2 Likes

Might have to start calling her mom once she’s made the move

1 Like

:slight_smile: so true!

Really, it’s spelt Mom in US? Never knew that.

Great news @DonMania after your unnecessarily lengthy and difficult wait. :crossed_fingers:that the last piece of the puzzle slots easily into place.

1 Like

1 Like

That’s great news, DM. My experience so far going for a marriage green card has been nothing compared to that, but still a major pain in the ■■■■. Can’t imagine what it’s like for people from less privileged countries.

1 Like

Trying to get a partner visa for the partner of an Australian citizen is also a nightmare. Particularly if they are not from a wealthy country. After paying almost $10k upfront and then waiting around five years they then get to take an English proficiency test that many native speakers in Australia would fail. It is completely set up so those from non English speaking backgrounds, particularly if they are coming from developing countries, fail. White Australia revisited.

4 Likes

That’s the craziest part. My parents were legal immigrants to the US in the 70s. They had green cards but voluntarily gave them up as my dad’s job moved outside the US. Did everything the right way instead of sneakily maintaining “a residence” here.

One would reckon folks who did everything by the book would be judged fairly.

But no.

3 Likes

The crazy is endless

5 Likes