February 4, 2013
The Alpena News

Sept. 24, 2012, is a day of great importance in my life. On that day I became a legal citizen of the USA. It took over four years and thousands of dollars to go through procedures to achieve one of my life's goals. When I first arrived in America I came on a legal visa and complied with conditions specified for a temporary stay. At the same time I applied for citizenship and was given a conditional Green Card which allowed me to stay while I finalized United States Citizenship and Immigration Services' procedures. I was required to make many trips to USCIS locations around the State of Michigan. I filled out dozens of forms, was fingerprinted, given physicals, refingerprinted, and interviewed in Detroit on numerous occasions. Four years later I was finally told to come to Federal Court in Detroit for swearing in as a citizen. Now I hear that the whole immigration process will be cheated 11 million times.

Around the world there are hundreds of thousands of people wishing and waiting to gain USA citizenship. There are Engineers, Doctors, Scientists and other high quality people looking for a way to come here and contribute to our way of life. Instead it is being proposed that those people be left in a queue line and 11 million people who have entered the country illegally be given preference. These citizenship seekers may have entered on a visa but have over-stayed, snuck across a border or used other means of penetrating our country.

A major reason America attracts people from around the world is rights are protected by law. A new immigration plan being formed in Washington rewards 11 million people for breaking American law. If enacted, these proposals will cheapen the accomplishment for past and future legal immigrants.

May Ma

Alpena

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