I recently read Time magazine's article by Jose Antonio Vargas, "Not Legal, Not Leaving." While the subject of undocumented/illegal residents is a touchy subject, the article does discuss the process of legal immigration which is daunting in and of itself (see this flowsheet).
My mother is a naturalized American citizen, born and raised in India. Kelvin, his parents, and two younger siblings (Theresa was born in the U.S.) immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam in 1991 and later became citizens. Hearing their story makes me really appreciate the "ease" of my own life, i.e. the privileges of having been born into citizenship here, especially on this fourth of July.
Kelvin's two uncles, Tuong and Tu, and Tu's wife and daughter just came over from Vietnam to make their new lives in Texas. It took 10 years after their application for their sponsorship to be "approved." They were able to attend Kenn and Lisa's wedding their first month in this country and we celebrated Tuong's birthday last week (with a delicious fruit cake).
These individuals are now in the position to "start over" in a foreign country in which they don't speak much of the language, ten years after having expressed their desire to move. They have left behind their family and everything they have known.
On this fourth, we celebrate the birth of our country, but I also celebrate the attributes of the U.S. that makes this country welcome others and also the bravery and contributions of all of our residents.
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