Legal ways to get in the US

[Darrell]

Paul Mueller is one of the largest suppliers of stainless tanks to pharmaceutical and dairy producers. They build their tanks here, and I know a gunny there who has a bit of the owner's ear.

Could you make tanks?

Wow, so that place is still around! On the corner of Kansas Avenue and Phelps Street, IIRC. Good to know some things never change... that's where ya went to work if you took welding classes in votech school, when I was growing up.

[Erik]

Maybe Erik can pick me up in his Viking longboat and give me a ride next time he crosses the Atlantic

Actually, I saw the announcement for the meetup in Reno in October and got so interested I had to check it out. Turns out the trip wouldn't be that expensive, relatively speaking. But as things are now I dont think I could make it, not to mention it would take over 30 hours travel to get there.

But if/when I get the longboat fixed up and seaworthy, I'll be sure to let you know.

[Dub_James]

Find yerself a willing American lass like I did

Other than that, others here have given the best advice. I wish you luck. My Father has an apartment in Southern Spain, and my Sister wants to move to Spain eventually too. They're both pretty fed up with Ireland, esp. my Sister.

Wondering when she'll wake up and decide to come to the U.S. I've yet to get my citizenship, hopefully next year *fingers crossed*

[Aglifter]

Not to belabor the point, but the parts of S. America I mentioned are considerably more temperate, I think, than you realized.

[Mud_Dog]

Could you make tanks?

Nope sheet metal work I can only do on a hobby level and I haven't any experience welding non-ferrous metals. Thanks anyway though

Chris, I'm just wondering - do you reckon I could get in on a student visa by enrolling at a gunsmithing school ?
Then I could look for an employer while I'm getting a qualification...

There was a Swedish fella who went to our school back when I first started. IIRC, a Japanese man had also graduated from there as well, but I don't really know how that works. The school I went to was the "Pennsylvania Gunsmith School" located in Pittsburgh, PA.

I can get you some contact info if you can't find it on the web. Real nice place, just avoid Bob whenever you can!

[Termite]

You and your wife change your names to Juan and Marie Hernandez, she gets pregnant, you both fly to Mexico, sneak across the border, she has the "anchor baby" here.

We could probably get Aesop to help you......

[SeekHer]

I got my citizenship by marrying an American woman and staying the prescribed time in the US where we then moved back to Canada and are residing here.

I know of lots of cases where the 30/60/90 day tourist/travel visa was extended and extended because of either school or medical reasons...I also know of many persons who just failed to take their return ticket and fly home--cashed it in and hid in their respective nations community and worked with either forged documents, another persons documents or under the table...

I would never suggest something like that to you but the immigrant situation in the US is just mind boggling and nobody knows what’s going to happen…All I know, from reading the papers or from CNN, is that you would have to be here when “whatever” occurs for it to benefit you.

I would never tell you to just fly over and start working for some company...By-the-by, Rapid City, South Dakota where Dakota and a number of other gun companies is located and in Montana where Axtell Sharps (in Sheridan), C. Sharps & Shiloh Sharps (Big Timber) or Meacham Tool in Idaho are located are just kick ass gorgeous to live, mountains, hunting, fishing, cheap living expenses for houses etc (compared to the eastern states and Calif) and did I mention kick ass beautiful...

There are a number of small one man operations that just can't find qualified staff to make the expansion and reduce their backlog from 3 years to 6 months...I'll e-mail you a couple of addresses of people I know who are in that predicament…those are the ones to concentrate on about maybe sponsoring you…

There were two kinds of Student Visas, IIRC, one that allowed unlimited work and the other zero work (these are issued to Arabian, Oil sheikh’s children), so you’d have to make sure of which you’d get if you went to gunsmith school…

You could always come over as a tourist, join a commune, divorce your present wife, both of you marry other people, divorce them, remarry (or not) and you’ve got your Green Card which isn’t as it’s white with your photo on it—showing the left ear…There have been numerous films about that same subject and method—Green Card with that French actor is one…

I know of literally hundreds of Israelis and others who did just that thing…married, maybe just on paper, to a foreign visitor and then immigrated to that person’s country where they split up, lived their own lives but got mail at the other until their papers go through and they get their working and living in the country visas (or citizenships)…Couple of army buddies of mine are living in “jolly olde”, a couple in Holland, one in Sweden, one in Denmark and tons here in Canada and the US---maybe 15% to 20% where legitimate and they stayed together for longer then a couple of days and a few are still together as I write this…

*<]:{)

[DwightG]

.......into facilities in more rural areas like Kansas and South Dakota; because of the friendly legal climate and lower cost of doing business. The problem they have is it's basically impossible to find skilled gunsmiths and machinists who are willing to relocate to those areas.

I have it on good authority (Grandad) that Kansas is a perfectly good place for an Englishman. He came from Sunderland England sometime around the turn of the last century, headed straight to Kansas and farmed there the rest of his life. A bit dryer than England I suppose.

[Rich]

In the meantime, HighSpeed, if you need a Queen's English fix, there is a small beachfront town just below Barcelona named Sitges. When I was there in the mid Seventies, it was kind of an expat English colony. I had some pleasant times there, when passing through on the way to and from Zaragossa Air Base.

[SoupOrMan]

Step 1, go to the Bahamas.

Step 2, get a boat and trash it as best you can without totally compromising its seaworthiness.

Step 3, sail really close to Cuba.

Step 4, sail from Cuba to florida, jump out of the boat into the sand and say "Me llamo Juan! Soy de Cuba! Castro es un pendejo! Viva los Estados Unidos! Asi, donde esta Wal-Mart?" You'll be considered a dry-foot refugee in no time and get fast-tracked.