Igor The Troll

I immigrated from communist Russia to Israel with my family in 1971. We had to give up all our money to a few connected people in Russia to be allowed to leave. After living in Israel for two years there was a lot of talk about war! My mother afraid that my brother has to join the Army decided to leave Israel. After going to Canada and then to Germany we made it to America in 1974.

I grew up in America and experienced many difficulties. I actually did not attend school but worked since I as 12 years old to help support myself. My family did not have enough money to buy me clothes. When I turned 18, I took a GED and attended a 2 year community college and graduated with 3.8 average. I applied to NYU and was admitted. I did not have money to pay for school but received scholarships and financial aid. I graduated NYU in 1990 with a degree in Finance and Systems application.

The economy was in recession under George Bush, so it was very hard to find a job. I met my wife, who is Japanese in NYC. She came to visit and travel America. Together we came to Japan. I started my jewelry import business in Japan. But it is really funny how I started the business. During summer vacations while attending NYU I sold friendship bracelets that are made by indigenous Indians in Lake Atitlan Panajachel Guatemala. I use to buy this bracelets from a hippie lady Susana who lived in East Village NYC. Eventually I went to Guatemala and bought them from the people who make them.

In Guatemala I bought them for .02 cents each! I use to sell them on the beach for 1 usd each. It was a lot of hard work walking in the hot sand offering them to people. Anyway when we came to Japan, I had a small bag of these bracelets left over and I brought them with me! I wound up wholesaling them at Harajuku Japan at 1 usd each.

My first intent was to work as an English teacher in Japan, but seeing that I can make an import fashion accessories business I decide to do that. I did it for 10 years. So even though I applied for American citizenship before I went to Japan, I did not attend the interview when was called for.

One day while visiting Hawaii with my wife USA immigration told me that I must surrender my greencard because they did not consider me an American resident! I had a choice to give it up or go to court in USA and challenge their decision. I had my wife and my business in Japan! I decided to give up my green card!

What did I do wrong? I and my family came to America with nothing! We worked very hard all our lives to make ourselves better people. When I did not see a working opportunity in America I went to work in Japan! Am I being persecuted for trying so hard to be a better person?

Cuban Boat Refuges to America

I was born in Leningrad, Russia and immigrated to USA with my family, via Israel, when I was 11 years old. Living in America was very hard for all of us, but I tried my best and graduated from New York University with a degree in finance and computer information technology.

After graduating NYU, I was not able to find a suitable job because of an economic downturn, so I decided to come live in Japan with my new Japanese wife that I have just met in New York. We both came to Japan, I thinking of working as an English teacher and my wife not really knowing what she was going to do. By sheer luck I brought with me Gutamala friendship bracelets which I wholesaled at Harajuku for one usd each. After that I decided to start an import company, which I ran and managed for 10 years.

We were doing really well and saved up some money and even thinking of coming back to live in the USA, but one day when we went on vacation to Hawaii the USA immigration took away my American green card. They told me that because I spend most of my time outside America I cannot have a green card. Both my parents became neturalized American citizens, but because I was over 18 years of age at the time of application I did not become American citizen automatically but had to apply on my own, which I did not because I was busy running my business in Japan.

Now everytime I wanted to go to America I had to get a visa, which I was granted but had to come up with a lot of paper work. During that time, my father died at the age of 65 and I was not able to attend his funeral. My brother died from cancer at the age of 46, and I was not able to attend his funeral. I was not able to attend both their funerals because I did not have a valid visa at the time.

Four years ago, after living in Japan for 14 years, I’ve tried getting a USA visa so I can visit my mother who is 78 years old now and lives all alone, and the USA consulant in Osaka, Japan refused my visa, saying that I cannot prove intent of not wanting to immigrate to USA. My mother is sick and she does not have any living reletives who can help her. A few times when I called her I found her in a hospital on her death bed. God help me, for American is wrong! She is an American citizen and I her son cannot visit her. America claims it is fighting for freedom and democracy, but meanwhile it does not respsect its citizens human rights and The US Bill of Rights