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My immigration story is a love story; I was in my mid-twenties when met Steve in Toronto in Feb 1984 during an Intel training course. We kept a long distance relationship going and by fall he convinced me to look for work in the US. I had a very good job as software engineer and quickly was offered a position at Medtronic. They took care of all the paperwork for the green card. On a grey day in November, I drove from Ottawa to Sault Ste-Marie (Michigan) to pick up my papers at the border. I left behind all my family and friends for a 2 year adventure. My old boss kept my position in case I changed my mind. Though I cried the 1000 miles to the border, the next day the sun was shining through Wisconsin and my hopes started to lift. After two years, we married and I exchanged my alien resident status for a permanent resident status. The immigration officer changed my name and I will forever have to reconcile the differences on my birth certificate. However, as a white female with an engineering degree from the neighbor to the North, the process was fairly easy for me. I knew that despite paying taxes, residency status does not allow you to vote, claim social security and creates many problems with inheritance and property ownership. For a long time I wrestled with taking citizenship, in my heart I will always be a Canadian living in the US. All my relatives are in Canada, I am the only one here. Thankfully, I can go home to visit as often as I wished. Also, Canada allows dual citizenship so I could retain my identity and pass it on to my children as well. Therefore, after a few failed attempts because they treat you like dirt at the immigration office and I kept giving up when the red tape made it too frustrating, I finally got my citizenship in 2009, 25 years later. Ironically, we divorced in 2010 and having the citizenship made the legal process much easier.
My adventure to the US turned out to be quite rewarding and unexpected. I am still here and I now cherish my 3 beautiful children, 4 grand-children, and enjoy a very good career at Medtronic. I had the opportunity to get a Master’s degree at the U of Minnesota because access to education is easy in this country. I am grateful for all the new friendships, relationships, encounters and countless opportunities available here. I have traveled quite a bit and seen poverty and despair in places near and far. Despite our challenges, we are so blessed here. As an engineer, I thrive on innovation and I see the greatness of this country in its pioneering spirit and limitless drive. Success comes from its diversity. America’s greatness was built on the back of generations of immigrants, their talents and perseverance. Except for the first native people, we are all immigrants here. This is true for Canadians as well. Someone opened the door for us to come here, make our mark and build this great nation. Let’s not close the door to those who would come after us and continue to make America great. Let’s not prevent the dreamers from building a better future for all of us.