IMAGINE

Imagine having a dream for more than 20 years, of moving to the country of your dreams, ambitions and sentiments. The country that has been the subject of your wishes and longings, where you have felt connected with throughout your whole life.

Imagine finally being able to settle in a place where you feel you belong and where you feel that you can provide an honest future for your kid, your wife and yourself.

Imagine seeking ways to make that dream come true, even though everyone around you tells you that you are chasing a pipe dream.

Imagine finding a way, if only the first steps, to actually move to that country and have a job there. So you take the plunge, pack up everything and start on your journey.

Imagine being on this journey and one by one ‘providence’ throws ‘tribulations’ at you, you never anticipated, expected and was prepared to counter.

Imagine feeling you will get stronger from it and learn and grow to be better prepared and take what comes, because you are convinced that it will get better in the long run.

After all, what comes around goes around, and the stronger you believe in your future, the longer you will last in the fight.

Imagine fighting for this believe for almost five years and constantly taking blows, constantly getting the ‘worse’ end of the deal. People who make promises and don’t keep them, government agencies that work at a pace that defies all reason, being denied any rights because the skills, knowledge and experience you bring to this country are not worth anything to the US system.

Imagine finding the strength and conviction that all this must lead to a favorable outcome, getting support from the people around you that matter, but have no influence.

Imagine having to battle day in and day out to keep yourself and you family going, surviving and keep smiling, even though inside you want to scream and shout and tell the whole world that this is wrong.

Imagine that the rules and regulations even prevent you from going back to your home country to visit loved ones whom you have not been able to touch and see for several years.

Imagine reading the newspapers at the same time and seeing other people with lesser skills and intentions, easily being awarded permits to work and stay in the country you used to admire, but are slowly questioning.

Imagine telling this story to anyone and everywhere you think there might be people that do have influence and can make changes, if only they would stop and listen.

Only to find out that they are more interested in issues that have to do with laws that provide people from entering this country and not with embracing the people, like yourself, that want to contribute to the future of this country with their skills and experiences. Or to find that they only want your money.

Imagine being stuck, but keep on fighting because it's the only thing left to do.

What would you do?