>SNIP
>
>the point is that if a citizen, or a group thereof, have something to say about any law they have a mechanism to do something about it. We don't,
>
>
>I disagree. That is what the right to demonstrate in this country is all about.

I somehow don't feel comfortable about organizing demonstrations here, or taking part in them. First, I'm alone on this - I'm not affiliated with anyone else, so it would be a bit pathetic. Second, I'm not sure there would be no consequences at all. May be a reflex from Milosevic's times - but then I knew what I'm up against, and I did demonstrate, with thousands of others.

>You can certainly petition congressman and senators and human rights groups, etc even though the congressman and senators don't represent you. There are many non-profit and also for profit groups whose sole purpose is minority and foreigner rights. Most mainly focus on a specific nationality due to the numbers.

That may be a good thing to do. And it doesn't have to be organized per nation, but by visa status. The status problem is the problem. Thanks for the idea.

>Your real only hope is to gather sufficient support for foreigners and their rights and benefits among the voters so that they (the voters) can press their congressmen and senators to change the rights and benefits of foreigners in this country. If you were from Mexico it would not be a problem as foreigners from Mexico have more benefits that I do right now

This sounds so familiar. We had all of them refugees which had more rights than we did. They were getting aid when we didn't even get our salaries, they were given jobs when locals were being fired en masse etc. Milosevic actually confessed to this - bragged about it would be a better word.

I can understand why would he keep them in a privileged position: they knew they could be expelled from the country with a single sentence by the government, and they were kept obedient that way. Both carrot and stick applied at the time. I can also understand the purpose of keeping so many Mexicans on funny or no papers - the logic may be pretty much the same.

>and soon may have even more. For other nationalities however, there is not enough of them in this country to sway popular opinion I fear. The typical American response would be: "If you don't like it then go back home."

I've heard that a few times, even here. Except that it doesn't work that way - if you stay somewhere for a while, you begin to build your livelyhood in that place, the kids go to school, and get married, and the longer you stay the harder to just go back. We can't be plugged back into another box just like a video card. That's what some people don't really understand.

>My personal opinion is different, I'm sorry. I do not feel that foreigners in the U.S. should have any more rights or benefits that they already do which includes basic human rights and also that they should not have their own representation in congress or the senate.

Agreed. The most I would wish for would be a (permanent?) committee in one of those bodies which would address these matters from time to time.

> Everyone in this country is protected under the law, but I feel if that if you want the additional benefits afforded citizens of the U.S. then
>you should become a citizen of this country. As a citizen of your own country I'm sure you are afforded benefits that I am not if I were to move there and try to work but not become a citizen.

It's the length of the process that varies from country to country - here, I assume, it takes a couple of years to get a green card first, then seven more to get to be a citizen. In some countries it takes just months - but then, it's up to each country to decide, and so they did.

>I'm afraid that I am rather on both sides of the fence on this one. Personally I would love to see you beat out all other contenders for whatever job you apply for simply because I know your capabilities and value your contribution to the UT and the Foxpro community as a whole. Nothing would sadden me more than if you had to contribute to the foxpro community from another country (since I know you wish to stay here or in Canada for the near future) unless you willingly chose that option.

I would like to stay, simply because I like it here, like the people. But then, if the law becomes an obstacle, I'd simply be forced to go elsewhere.

> *I should add that since you excel in your field you should be a top contender for all positions you compete for, but the typical foreigner does not. Many are not even trained or experienced in any specific field when they arrive in this country looking for work. Yet personally I also feel that there are too many foreigners in this country working when we have such a high unemployment rate and so many qualified citizens are without jobs. There is also a growing tendency in this country these days
>to expect to be taken care of and to receive everything for free without exerting any effort or earning anything. A minority of the taxpayers are actually paying the majority of the taxes. Also, why should foreigners be allowed to compete for scholarships?

It's up to those who give those scholarships (and yes, one of my daughters has got her scholarship partially paid by the college, because of her excellent record). There may be a good reason - a talented student is an asset for the university, regardless of citizenship, and foreigners are either future citizens or future business partners in most cases. Anyone who has studied in a foreign country has a warm spot for that country, and is likely to do business with that country once he becomes someone at thome. This is known. So, such a scholarship is an investment in the future. Even my country has done that in the past - no matter that we weren't that rich. For most of the 60s-80s we always had a bunch of students from non-aligned countries at our universities, at state's expense.

The whole mention of the scholarships was to serve as just an example of some points where we aren't exactly in the same position as the citizens are. I don't complain about that really - just wanted to point out where the differences may be.

I've stated my actual complaints some time upstream of this thread, don't want to bore everyone by repeating them.