Living the undocumented life...

[iWantToLiveFree]

Usually when I explain to people that I would love to move to NH if only these federal goons would stay out of the way, I either get one these 2 from sympathetic Americans genuinely trying to help:

• that sucks, swallow your pride, get in line and do what it takes to get your visa
• forget the government papers and come live as a free man

Make no mistake, I am very happy with the support I have been getting, but as you can imagine, this is becoming very frustrating. Nice and friendly people all over the place, making it even more desirable for me to move.. unknowingly telling me that I'm screwed.

Now, the first option makes sense to me. This is just not gonna happen because companies want you to have proper documentation in order to even secure an interview, and the bureaucrats want you to have a job offer and be sponsored by the employer in order to, maybe (quotas/rules/fees) grant you the precious sesame. Still, this is what I am trying to do.. completely unsuccessfully so far.
The funny thing in all that is that I don't really need a job.. I am self employed and could move to NH tomorrow, I am financially independent and would buy a house in about a year or so. But there is NO visa available for people like me, even if I could prove all that.. there simply is NO visa for self employed guys not willing or able to invest $1M in the US and hire 10 americans or more right away (and even these are subject to quotas). An other fun fact is that 95% of my clients are Americans.

That's the second part that people really don't seem to understand. Because some people made it to America and lived there undetected most of their life doesn't mean I can do the same, nor does it mean that I am willing to put up with what they have to put up with.
Lots of them came at a time where getting state documentation was much easier and would allow them to live relatively well in the US. Getting across the border was easy and it still is. Opening a bank account without a SSN or with a fake one was possible. Many knew that amnesty would be granted if they could successfully evade the federal authorities for a few years. But get this: things change.
If I were to move to the US and live there illegally, I'm sure I could live like a dog and go on undetected. But here's a list of the things that have changed and/or make it impossible for me to live a descent life in the US as an illegal immigrant:

• there is now a tourist visa program which automatically detects those who do not leave the country after 3 months.. it raises all sorts of red flags but I'm not sure how well integrated it is with other systems (for now)
• local authorities are getting more and more involved in immigration policing, and federal efforts have been greatly stepped up as well
• it is almost impossible (and more difficult every year) to travel in and out of the country without proper documentation, and even if you can get out, there is no guarantee you can get back in, to your life in the US
• it is increasingly difficult to find a descent job with the new rules and the most desirable employers are simply not willing to hire illegals at all. The job pool is not only much smaller but also of a much lower quality for undocumented aliens. I would be my own boss at first.. but that could easily change
• it is advised to hide your undocumented status from pretty much everybody in order to not live in fear of being snitched out by lovers/coworkers/bosses/unhappy employees/local cops/local politicians/rivals of all kinds. You have to lie your way out of all sorts of situations to explain why you need to do things differently from the rest of them good ol' American citizens
• as the years go by, you have more and more to lose.. and if there is no amnesty law in preparation, your worrymeter goes up every year and that is just not living
• forget about buying a house with a loan from an American bank, and hope that the government doesn't attempt to find out which houses are owned by illegals (if they don't do it today, they may very well do it tomorrow)
• you better pray hard every night that they don't arrest you for driving without a liscence, or that they don't run your fake one through the system, and of course, there is the issue of the license plates and all that good stuff
• get ready to live with a foreign bank account which is more expensive to operate and much less convenient for business transactions with US businesses (by far!), which would also make it difficult if not impossible to work with many reputable and less expensive payment processors out there
• running a business as an illegal is also much more complicated as far as filing for DBAs or getting an LLC formed (whatever your feelings about that, clients like LLCs and don't like personal names).. yes it's still possible, but you better be careful with that as you'll have to give a fake address in a foreign country, and that is more complicated to set up and more expensive - setting up a foreign corporation is just a big, risky mess I don't want to go back to - and there are perks to having a US based LLC that would actually save me money (believe it or not)

And I'm sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. This is already complicated as it is with everything in order. I'm sure the things I mentioned above would impact many other aspects of my life, from paying for utilities to actually running the business.

These are the reasons why I decided to go the legal route.. even though I seem to be failing miserably at it. So far, lots of interest in my resume in NH.. but they all run away when they find out that I am not authorized to work in the country. Those websites which ask for one's authorization status got me no contacts at all - and since I won't lie to get the interview, I'm officially out of the job market for them.
Employers don't mind my being French (which is somewhat of an encouragement) but they just won't go through the sponsorship process and won't even set up an interview at all because of that. And who can blame them?!

So yeah: I'm screwed! Thanks for the support anyway 

Nicolas

[Kat Kanning]

I think there's a form you can fill out to do this.

[iWantToLiveFree]

  cool, never thought it'd be that simple

Is there a form to make the government go away altogether? 

[kola]

cool, never thought it'd be that simple

Is there a form to make the government go away altogether? 

a form?

The Constitution.

Kola 

[iWantToLiveFree]

Nah sorry.. that document had a good run, now it's just a GD piece of paper that belongs to a museum. I'm sure it's not even on the congress' reading list anymore.

The constitution does give congress the power to create rules in regards to naturalization only.. I don't believe it allows congress to regulate immigration into the United States (I believe the states can, and in fact did do that, including for citizens from other states). I personally don't think the constitution is of much binding power as far as you and I are concerned.. but at least these thugs are supposed to uphold it.

Edit
Just found that:

Resolved, That alien friends are under the jurisdiction and protection of the laws of the state wherein they are; that no power over them has been delegated to the United States, nor prohibited to the individual states, distinct from their power over citizens; and it being true, as a general principle, and one of the amendments to the Constitution having also declared, that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited to the states, are reserved, to the states, respectively, or to the people," the act of the Congress of the United States, passed the 22d day of June, 1798, entitled "An Act concerning Aliens," which assumes power over alien friends not delegated by the Constitution, is not law, but is altogether void and of no force.

[Russell Kanning]

When you ask for ways to get here ... then people will try to help. If you are looking for reasons why it won't work .... we can make really long lists.

I just don't want to spend my time doing that.

[iWantToLiveFree]

If you are looking for reasons why it won't work .... we can make really long lists.

I'm sorry it sounds so bad. But it is. I'd love to be positive, I really would.

When you ask for ways to get here ... then people will try to help.

I did that. People usually tell me to "get here and ignore the laws" or "get in line and get a visa". And again, I appreciate the support.

But the first alternative will simply not work out for me (I explained why) and the second one is what I am trying to do. But before I can get in line.. I need to find an employer willing to sponsor me. And I also explained why that is not likely to happen. Indeed, I just don't feel it will work at all.

So really what I'm saying here is that I need to think of more creative ways to get these government papers. Sorry, I know you hate government papers but I don't have much of a choice here.

[Russell Kanning]

then I am the wrong person to ask .... I have burned the remaining paperwork I had ... so I am no good at this stuff.

[iWantToLiveFree]

I guess my hope in posting on this forum was to find out whether any free staters had jobs available for me and were willing to go through the sponsorship process, since other employers seem to be reluctant to do that (to say the least).
I was/am open to other ideas as well, just not to one that would make my life miserable once in the free state (this is my conclusion when considering moving over here illegally). Among these options, I would consider a fake job.. something that would be on paper only, and then quit after some time (assuming I can do that). I would even work for little to no money at a real job. The only thing is, the salary must be the average wage for the intended area of employment to qualify for a green card. But that could be for show as well (which again, would require a complicit employer).

See, I am open to underground ideas to some extent. Just not outright no papers lifestyle (or lack thereof).

[Russell Kanning]

aha
well maybe someone can help you

[John Edward Mercier]

It would help if they happen to mention the profession.

[iWantToLiveFree]

Hey there, thanks, I'm a web programmer. There's more info about me there.

[kola]

umm

i'm afraid to click on it. 

Kola

[srqrebel]

Hopefully someone from among us can sponsor you, so you can come home soon!
Unfortunately, I am not currently in a position to employ anyone, and besides if that ever is the case, it will be a private relationship that the government won't be party to

[iWantToLiveFree]

Hopefully someone from among us can sponsor you, so you can come home soon!

Working on it
May or may not work but at least the idea is sound.

Unfortunately, I am not currently in a position to employ anyone, and besides if that ever is the case, it will be a private relationship that the government won't be party to 

No problem, thanks for your willingness to help. Yeah I'd love to simply ignore the thugs.. but I need that stupid green card for now. And I intend to open a bank account, buy a house and a car in the near future as well.