Why are Poles still comming to the US and staying illegally?

When they can go to so many other countries and be there legally?
Don't they know how difficult it is to get legal status here in American?
I'm American and I went to Poland to teach English a few years ago and I met the love of my life there. We spend lots of time together in Poland and then we both moved to America. We eventually got married ,out of love, of course. However, the USCIS (INS) gave us a very hard time, despite all the evidence we had to prove that our marriage was genuine rather than a marriage of convenience. If my husband, who married a born-American citizen (bona fide), had such a hard time getting a work permit and green card then how do these illegal immigrants think they're going to get it?

There is a great deal of hope that Obama changes things to make it easier for Poles to become citizens of the US.

archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/jan/18/magazine/chi-mxa0118magazinepolespg8-14jan18

With the economy doing so poorly the INS has stepped up thier agenda of deporting Illegals, last year was a record breaking number.

The Poles have a history of overstaying thier visa`s and getting caught with fake marriages, thats why the INS are so hard on them.


Ill believe it when I see it...?????

maybe it's in the Polish blood to screw the system up as much as you can....
;)

Polish illegals are staying because they dont care to become legal! They think of it as a part of their life, to make tons of cash and head home. Its when the time spent here gets longer & longer and then they forget about the plan to return home, because life here is good.

In many polish communities, Poles can get by without any documentation, without knowing the language. One illegal gives another illegal ideas on how to outsmart the system and keep on going. Its just the way it has been for decades.

The reason EmmaL had issues with USCIS is because she didn't follow immigration policy. If you are intending for your husband (or then fiance) to stay in the US and marry, he should have come on a family based visa (fiance visa). If he came under a tourist visa, he escaped a whole bunch of paper work for the fiance/family visa, the US was out a chunk of cash. It also showed he came as a tourist with immigration intent. You had a hard time proving it wasnt a cash for GC marriage because the way he came showed fraud.

First of all don't make assumptions when you don't know the situation!!!!
My husband came here as a student to finish his degree. We got married a year after he was living here. I didn't smuggle him into the country with every intention of getting married. He wanted to make sure that he likes it here first!

Why anyone wants to go to US at all is beyond me, too far from home to go work for, and the place dosnt respect Polska

I have never witnessed that. Poles have been here since Jamestown. I have lived here all of my life and have yet to see any hatred toward Poles. America has been good to Poles ,and Poles have been good for America.

i mean on wider scale, internationally and debts and stuff thats not well covered, politics and so on..... sure many Poles and Americans get on, i want talk mainly for the people in general, im not fan of usa but becuase of the main people there, and well 9 million or so people say of Polish descent in usa, i doubt they could be bullied there..... hope to see Polish president then one day

Cenowski, the Americans greet you much better than UK folk. If you are staying for a few years, you soon forget about the long flight which took you across. America is in debt, yes, but that doesn't mean that you can't carve out a living. You just need contacts.

Cenowski, I will be the first to agree that America has faults. But they are brought on by our corrupt politicians. ( They are in every country). The majority of people that came to America as immigrants from all countries, came for a reason. They were not happy where they came from. America had something to offer.We are a nation of many nationalities. Mostly Europeans, Italy, and the Balkans. All good hard working people. We co-existed with each other and built a mighty nation. My Father always talked about Poland.. I remember asking him one time if he would like to return. e replied, (Only to visit) He took great pride in being an American.

some are different then, is all i can say..... i think situation in usa maybe ion soem areas thoight is that you can live in area were is so many other Polish you wont even need to speak english in daily use, Polish shops, klubs, societies and so on..... this aspect i would say is good, least the new generations can still be Polish to certain extent, but i dont think it woulc ever replace the real land, it cant..... but true, politicians suck, i long for the day when another Piłsudski comes to power

Jozef Piłsudksi was good in his time but things have changed markably. Please don't tell me you are one of those Poles that lives in the past, that yearns for 'the good old days'. Replace the real land, what?

Lmao, ofcourse not, im just going back to the last good leader who gave a shit about Poland and Polishness..... i dont live in past but remember, becuase if you forget then it wqas nothing and nothing will change...... One man with good ideas and others who listen is better than 100s who sit in high paid chairs in parliment argue all day and achive nothing, becuase each has to sign it.....that is rubbish

Please define Polishness, Cenowski. What are the values and qualities that define it? Piłsudski was a man of action, not words. I agree that bureaucrats are hampering the efforts towards real progress. Seriously, what has Tusk done? This man is like a ghost. Lesser, a poster here, is right that bureaucrats twiddle their thumbs, get paid a fortune, but achieve precious little.

Cenowski, Allow me to try to paint a picture of present day America.
America today is not like I remember it as a kid. I am 49 yrs old now, but I still recall the days when the Polish immigrants gathered together in their own neighborhood.I went to an all Polish school taught by Polish Nuns. In them days everybody was Polish, the Grocer, butcher, baker,candy maker and all the rest. There were Polish banks,clubs, mass was said in Polish.

After WW2, things began to change.. The old folks died off, the younger generation fled to the suburbs. Polish was on its way out.There are still Polish enclaves in Chicago, Hamtramck

Michigan And a few other places as rule, the young people are scattered all over the US.. The Ability to speak Polish no longer exist.

aha, i know of this but i was refering to the Chicago areas, and stuff like this, where Polish community still exsist, but also in Kanadia is like this too, know some people who went to there while back and said apart from airport they didnt speak english once whole months were there..... actually i looked at lsit n Wikipedia of Polish americans and iw as supprised at how many people just changed name and had long lost anscetry

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Polish_Americans

Yes , My brother who was raised very Polish changed his name from Krawczyk, to Taylor.. His reason was that a lot of Americans could not pronounce Krawczyk. He went on to become a multi millionaire.. Even Chicago is on its way out.. It is just a matter of time.. The old people are dying off.

DTaylor here needs to go to Chicago :) What do Poles in Chicago tend to do anyway?

americans couldnt say Krawczyk but i would of just told them everytime, lol..... it happens also in uk, the ww2 ex guys stayed but lot of them kept names and passed on, it dosnt appear as strong as in usa with community or maybe just not as numerous, but now as more Polish came to work it has revivied, you can send kids to special schools, dont have to even have them uk educations, which is good if ask me becuase its mess.....

it comes down to money also i think, you need a community organisation to keep things going within a another country, withiout it noneone can organise or make places that.....

no supprise to me also i found on list of Polish amerikans the biggest ever hitman in usa todate Richard Kuklinski.....killed over 100 or more people in hits

guess there is work for us all lol

LOL! Actually I never heard of him. But I do not question your claim
But there are a lot of great American Poles in Chicago. To name a few.

Maly Wladziu
Bernie Wisnieski.
Sledz
Eurola
Krysia LOL

Jescze Polska nie zginila

na pewno

The oldest lines anybody tell you I Love You, which mean they wanted to live in America but not with you. It have been like that all the years.

Sure our countries do give us hard time to get legal papers and wanted make sure if you are follow rules legally. Then go back home. Some of you don't, you break laws by running away and hiding somewhere. My family don't allowed our relatives to behave like that. We do really HOLLER OUT ALOUD so they listen to us properly manners and go back home and visit America some years later.

give poland visa free to US this problems will be over..when you deprive them they think there is something good in US when there is nothing there......i am an american citizen and i am sick of the system there and had moved to spain to live happly ever after....

so no bragging about US citizenship..US is for all not for one...hence its name immplies..
ACE

that's really still up for debate.


and sometime that is the best thing.. gridlock is better sometimes then some "progress"


still happens just like that in Chicago, NY, Hartford, etc..


are you kidding me? vodka of course. lol


you must be a real winner..


not polish but close enough. :D

Why?
Even in the middle of communism, a great majority of Poles believed, that US is the greatest country of the world. Seriously, I thought that too.

Today, this belief is not that strong, but some of it still lingeres.
So, if you have to emigrate, why would you opted for the second best option, while you can get THE best. Maybe illegally, but as there is no a legal way...

There is a legal way, a Pole can apply for immigrant visa to US, but it's more difficult though not impossible to obtain it. I know several Poles who arrived here in last several years as permanent residents. For the last 30 years or so, Poles had been coming in on tourist visas and overstaying the 6 months stay these visas granted. In the 80's it was worth their while - while Poland was in political & economic crisis the exchange rate for US $ was exorbitant, 100 zlotys to a dollar, so even enduring hardships of low-paying, menial illegal employment and often substandard living conditions made the excursion worthwhile. Chicago & New York in particular swelled with these Polish "tourists" who stayed on average 2 - 3 years, long after their visas expired. Unfortunate side effect of this was the tally US Immigration Dept. keeps of visitors by country who overstay their alotted time. Polish averages don't look very good. These days, with the EU countries allowing citizens of other member nations legal employment, and dollar to zloty exchange rate brought down to earth, the prospects of going to US to work aren't as tempting, though a certain number still comes every year to work, and I guess some still overstay their visas.

As for INS attitude to American/foreigner marriages - it's the same no matter what country the foreigner comes from. The couple always gets grilled. Thy're always assuming a "green card marriage" & have to be convinced otherwise.