Your reasons for immigrating to USA

[JRF 117]

There's no such thing as "the best country in the world." With that said, my Vietnamese wife says she loves the USA because:

1. No bribery, corruption, constant paying-off officials and under-the-table stuff.

2. Anyone can obtain a good education and good living by working hard (i.e. opportunity and capitalism)

3. Freedom of speech

4. Political and religious freedom and choice

5. Environmental quality and concern (health laws, food safety, etc.)

6. The USA is a large, beautiful country with a lot to see and do

7. Women get treated better in the USA than Vietnam

8. Health care (probably the best in the world. Many foreigners come here for treatment - they don't go to Canada or Europe)

9. Animal welfare. We love our dogs, we don't eat them.

10. Our visa system may be tough, but even a high-fraud country like Vietnam is accepted in most cases

11. Anyone and everyone can become a citizen, own property, and choose their own paths

Great question, by the way. Glad you asked it.

My Vietnamese wife says the same things.

Let's add #12 - our wives came here because they loved us and wanted to be with us. My wife had a nice job in Vietnam, a large loving (and comfortably middle class, well traveled family).

We will purchase a second house in Vietnam when I retire, but we'll spend most of our time here in California. Our life is in the US, understanding it is far from perfect. Besides, how can I reliably watch Ohio State football and San Antonio Spurs basketball in Vietnam?

[mallafri76 1,012]

but the fact USA allows overstays to petition i guess makes it lax in my mind....

Yeah that's true. Forgot about that. And they allow adjustment from VWP and tourist visas, which not many countries do.

Edited June 5, 2016 by mallafri76

[Transborderwife 4,666]

There's no such thing as "the best country in the world." With that said, my Vietnamese wife says she loves the USA because:

1. No bribery, corruption, constant paying-off officials and under-the-table stuff.

2. Anyone can obtain a good education and good living by working hard (i.e. opportunity and capitalism)

3. Freedom of speech

4. Political and religious freedom and choice

5. Environmental quality and concern (health laws, food safety, etc.)

6. The USA is a large, beautiful country with a lot to see and do

7. Women get treated better in the USA than Vietnam

8. Health care (probably the best in the world. Many foreigners come here for treatment - they don't go to Canada or Europe)

9. Animal welfare. We love our dogs, we don't eat them.

10. Our visa system may be tough, but even a high-fraud country like Vietnam is accepted in most cases

11. Anyone and everyone can become a citizen, own property, and choose their own paths

Great question, by the way. Glad you asked it.

Meh..I knew a doctor in Canada who regularly had out of country patients for surgery. It happens more often than you think.

[mallafri76 1,012]

There's no such thing as "the best country in the world." With that said, my Vietnamese wife says she loves the USA because:

1. No bribery, corruption, constant paying-off officials and under-the-table stuff.

2. Anyone can obtain a good education and good living by working hard (i.e. opportunity and capitalism)

3. Freedom of speech

4. Political and religious freedom and choice

5. Environmental quality and concern (health laws, food safety, etc.)

6. The USA is a large, beautiful country with a lot to see and do

7. Women get treated better in the USA than Vietnam

8. Health care (probably the best in the world. Many foreigners come here for treatment - they don't go to Canada or Europe)

9. Animal welfare. We love our dogs, we don't eat them.

10. Our visa system may be tough, but even a high-fraud country like Vietnam is accepted in most cases

11. Anyone and everyone can become a citizen, own property, and choose their own paths

Great question, by the way. Glad you asked it.

That's every country in the west, except that pretty much all other western countries have free health care and free education.

Actually, according to the WHO, the best healthcare in the world is in France. Top five countries on WHO's list are all European countries. The US ranks number 37.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

That's every country in the west, except that pretty much all other western countries have free health care and free education.

Actually, according to the WHO, the best healthcare in the world is in France. Top five countries on WHO's list are all European countries. The US ranks number 37.

http://thepatientfactor.com/canadian-health-care-information/world-health-organizations-ranking-of-the-worlds-health-systems/ Eye opener to say the least

[POA 178]

My husband believed that we'll have a better life here at least during our working years and return to the PH once we're ready to retire. He didn't think he would be able to get a good paying job in my country which can support a family with a comfy life style.

[TabeaK 517]

If you have the money, the US healthcare system is probably the best in the world. It's for profit organization and ridiculous practices of charging $400 for a bag of Saline or $3000 for a couple stitches also mean that the insurance system is a mess. Obamacare has helped, but without price regulation you have a long way to go. If you can only afford crappy insurance your healthcare will suffer and not compare well the the rest of the developed world. Look at infant and mother mortality statistics or things like average cancer survival...the US has a shockingly low place in the worldwide rankings. The bang you get for your buck with regards to healthcare spending in the US is a complete joke in comparison to Europe - because healthcare is just as rabidly capitalistic as everything else.

I have always said that as long as I am healthy and can afford good insurance, the US is great. If I ever fall seriously or chronically ill, back to Germany it is.

There are fabulous aspects about the US - the multi culturality, the goal getting spirit, the gorgeous country side...Then there is a shocking amounts of crime, especially fun related, differences between rich and poor and related effects to the local environments (I.e. Dirty and run down neighborhoods) and crappy access to education.

Every country has its pros and cons.

For couples comprised of two members from Western country the choic will come down to language, job perspectives and local immigration laws not poverty or safety.

Edited June 5, 2016 by TabeaK

[Dutchster 1,107]

As much as my fiancé would do the same thing for me like I am doing now for us, for our future together, I feel like I couldn't provide us a healthy and stable future here. I love my heritage, the grounds that I am from but it never felt like home. I like what I practice but I don't like the environment that I'm doing it in. My fiancé has an amazing job, he gets paid really good and he has a big family, and he feels comfortable in what he does. From the moment we spend time together, the moment I set foot on American property, I knew this was home. It felt like coming home. Him being here would make him uncomfortable because he doesn't know Dutch or where to work like he does now (he loves his job), while I have degrees in English and understand the life there. My family isn't big, I just have a few I talk to, but that's it. The only thing that's keepiing me here is my health care. That's - besides my dad, lol - the only thing I'm going to miss when I will move. I see so many great opportunities for the both of us for our future and future children. I see a happy life together :-) And maybe, maybe one day if we retire, I'd like to see if there is a chance of spending my last years where I grew up. We'll see how it goes.

Edited June 5, 2016 by stephadams

[blondedoc 35]

I wish I could have another good option... This immigration process is taking my family health and is playing a burden on our pockets... Everyday I pray to handle that with at least food on my plate and no debt´s.

[Unidentified 2,930]

My husband's type of job doesn't exist in Sweden and he loves his job. And I also feel that the way Sweden is going economically etc it is not a place I want to live in.

[caliliving 606]

If you have the money, the US healthcare system is probably the best in the world. It's for profit organization and ridiculous practices of charging $400 for a bag of Saline or $3000 for a couple stitches also mean that the insurance system is a mess. Obamacare has helped, but without price regulation you have a long way to go. If you can only afford crappy insurance your healthcare will suffer and not compare well the the rest of the developed world. Look at infant and mother mortality statistics or things like average cancer survival...the US has a shockingly low place in the worldwide rankings. The bang you get for your buck with regards to healthcare spending in the US is a complete joke in comparison to Europe - because healthcare is just as rabidly capitalistic as everything else.

I have always said that as long as I am healthy and can afford good insurance, the US is great. If I ever fall seriously or chronically ill, back to Germany it is.

There are fabulous aspects about the US - the multi culturality, the goal getting spirit, the gorgeous country side...Then there is a shocking amounts of crime, especially fun related, differences between rich and poor and related effects to the local environments (I.e. Dirty and run down neighborhoods) and crappy access to education.

Every country has its pros and cons.

For couples comprised of two members from Western country the choic will come down to language, job perspectives and local immigration laws not poverty or safety.

This is very true!! If you have a good healthcare plan, then america is very good! you can pick up a phone and call any doctor you want and genereally see them that day.. however, if you dont have a good insurance plan a country like canada has a much better system in place. If it is not an emergency, you will have to wait to see the doctor but you wont have to pay ridiculous amounts of money. Also since it isn't 'for profit' and government run, the doctors there arent salesmen trying to upsell you or give you something you dont need!

[squareleg 69]

What I have gathered from VJ -

(a) US immigration laws forgive overstays.....not sure why we reward the violators.

(b) there is path to legal immigration even after failed marriage and the immigrant is allowed to ROC on their own....not sure why the same intent rules applicable to other visas don't apply to deport.

Anyways, the above topics also make it user friendly!

Edited June 5, 2016 by squareleg

[squareleg 69]

© one can get a third-party sponsor if they don't meet the requirements to bring foreign spouse.

(d) for failed marriage the US sponsor is not accountable (legally is but not practically) to the immigration - who can in turn become illegal or do whatever.

This also makes US Immigration very user friendly and lax.

[JFH 12,192]

We initially applied for a spouse visa for my husband to live in the UK but he was denied and has a lifetime ban due to a conviction and prison sentence in the 1990s (20 years before we even met).

The reasons for choosing the USA over the home country will vary around the world. For some the answers and reasons are more material or financially driven. That's understandable. But that's not the case for most of us from western countries. I will most likely be poorer there than in the UK, looking at the salaries for my field and taking taxation and healthcare into consideration (I have a permanent disability). I don't prefer the USA but I don't hate it and I am gradually seeing it as home. My husband is very aware of the huge change this will be for me and thanks me every day for agreeing to leave my home and job for him. And I would go wherever he is. If he lived in Japan, I would go to Japan.

For me the best things about the USA are not the material things. I love the scenery in Washington and Oregon. I love the national parks. I love the variety of domestically grown produce. My husband was shocked at how much we pay for olives and avocados in the UK. He was born and raised in Southern California where such things are not considered luxuries. And apart from CBP officers, I have always been made to feel very welcome here.

We would like to retire somewhere else though.

Edited June 6, 2016 by JFH

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Hubs had joint custody of his kids and therefore moving to Canada wasn't an option. I had sole custody of my daughter and therefore chose to move to the US.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Udella&Wiz