Order Quibron…

He went through coursework to become certified as a teacher in Texas, then started the immigration process, spending thousands of dollars on legal fees.

He then moved to California before the process was completed, and had to start all over again. Due to 9-11, immigration was nearly completely halted for years, and even now the backlog is growing larger rather than decreasing, especially for Mexican immigrants.

The upshot of it is, if I had been allowed to sponsor him back in June, 1992, he would have been able to work wherever he wanted, immediately, and been able to switch jobs at will after that point. Instead, he has been straightjacketed into a job as a teacher, which he doesn’t even like very much, unable to even change schools districts, for a decade. In addition, the legal fees he has had to spend were easily 10 or 20 times that needed for a sponsored visa, and he has to reauthorize with the INS every single year (with attendant legal fees) until he attains his green card - and in an INS designed to keep people out this is not as easy as you might think.

The only alternative is a sham marriage to a willing resident, which happens far more frequently than you might think. Oftentimes, however, that sort of relationship goes sour, either they discover they can’t stand each other, or financial problems arise, or any number of other problems. Often the American is asking for cash upwards of $10k or $15k to even consider the union - blatantly illegal.

So after 4 years in Houston, then another 5 years in LA trying the same thing, you’d think he’s nearly there, right? Nope, it’s looking like it’ll be at least another year or two before he’s done. Assuming he doesn’t lose his job for some reason, in which case he gets to start all over again, or just leave.