An interesting angle on immigration matters from a reader in Turkey:
“Hi John—Concerning your words: ‘…there is nobody, nobody, in the U.S. who watches the consequences of U.S. immigration law as keenly as would-be immigrants in foreign lands…’
“Quite right. Indeed so do I. And as you can see, I haven’t even attempted to immigrate, though I have dreamed all my life to become an American one day. In fact, I don’t believe I ever will, either. I’m at the start of my 4th decade on this miserable planet, and unless I raise something like $ 2 million, I don’t think I will ever be able to do it the legal way honorably ( i.e. things like fake marriages, even the H1-B visa are also out of question for this colonel’s son – the son/nephew/grandson/etc. of countless soldiers who’d each shoot themselves rather than violate some code of honor, like the laws of a sovereign nation.)
“I’ve just decided not to read anything about immigration anymore. Why bother – those who should have in good time have shirked their duty to deal with that material, and we know the results. Why should I do it, since I’m nobody and nothing, and I sure ain’t immigratin’?
“You’ve just made my day, John. Perhaps I should just find a small town on the Aegean sea where the population is 57, grab a little village house there, and resign from the world.”
[My reply] Before doing so, I strongly recommend you read Maryann Forrest’s novel Here, Away From It All, assuming Abebooks delivers to your neck of the woods. (And forget about the Highway Book Shop’s hardcover version — I just bought it, having fond recollection of reading the book circa 1975 but not possessing a copy.)