The High Cost Of Immigration
When I was in Kenya last year, I bumped into someone who used to work for at my folks farm in the 90's. I was at a cyber-cafe in shags where we met. After exchanging pleasantries, the Paul went on to tell me that he had just received a letter informing him that he had won the US green card lottery.
As much as he tried to show some excitement, Paul was very worried about his future prospects. A high school mate of his who now resides here in the US had applied for the lottery for him and his family. To his surprise, he was one of the lucky winners. In his wildest dreams, he had never thought he could win in the lottery.
And this is where his problems began. Paul is employed in a clerical job and therefore his earnings are meagre. With an unemployed wife and young kids, the amount of money required to process his green card application and buy air tickets was staggering.
By his own estimates, he needed well over half a million Kenya shillings to see him and his family through to the promised land. The thought of applying for passports for his family was enough to send him into depression. With each passport costing approximately 3,000 shillings and the trip to Nairobi, Paul would need close to 20,000 shillings which was a lot of money to him.
As much as I was happy for him, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Paul. Compared to him I was in a totally opposite scenario.
My story starts many years ago when we have having dinner with a family friend. During the course of the meal, I came to find out that the he had been denied a visa to visit the United States. As is the case with most people who are denied a visa, the consular staff did not believe that the guy would return despite the fact that the reason for travelling was genuine and he had no intention of over-staying.
This made me angry at the Americans and I went on to declare that Americans will one day come looking for me a give me a U.S passport despite what I perceived to be discrimination against Kenyans, and our family friend in particular. To which my mum warned me to be careful about what I ask for.
Little did I believe then that my rant was going to come true one day. Even though I do not hold an American passport (and I have no intention of doing so), my words turned out to be true. To cut the long story short, Americans have done everything that is humanly possible to guarantee my residence in this country.
My path towards obtaining residency has been a very interesting one. For one, it was completely driven by my employer. I remember days when I felt that the attorneys were becoming a nuisance because of their persistence in handling my immigration matters. I want to believe that there enthusiasm was driven by the fees that they earned for processing my papers because there was a time I couldn't tell what my status was. There was a time I didn't know what visa to apply for because I had several approved immigration applications. The number of documents in my immigration folder at the attorneys website can attest to their zeal.
I find it ironical that while I could have afforded to foot my immigration bill, the only money I ever paid out of my pocket was for the passport photos. And I could have expensed these minor costs to my employer.
On the other hand, Paul who can't afford to apply for a Kenyan passport, needs to pay for his way to America. And when he gets here later in the year, he will have to carry the burden of the people he leaves in Kenya. You can be sure that almost an entire village will be looking up to him. To them, he is their hope of a better tomorrow.
