Search the Community

I took the title from the front page of the Globe & Mail today. I was once an illegal immigrant who was deported over the southern border, refiled and came back legally. I now hold permanent residence for where I was once deported. I hate to begin an argument with the phrase; "as a ______." Fortunately I didn't get around to forming an argument.. so here is my life story- raw facts as unemotional as I can present it Introduction This situation is going to sound complicated due to my parents avoiding the proper system, then even further complicated by immigration red tape. My parents moved to Canada before I was born, they are both Americans. They ran a family business, got a home and created family there. Ironically while living in Canada my mother went through the trouble of making sure my brother and I would be born in Michigan like the rest of the family... so we could be presidents... This would of required a considerable amount of planning, so it is understandable why when having her final child as mother to two kids already, one seven and in school she stayed at the home in Canada. We made fun of my sister a lot growing up as being the sole Canadian in the family... then like karma when I was 17 I got deported for not being Canadian and she got to stay.... Since moving to Canada for temporary work they had settled down and decided they wanted to make home there now. This is where chaos ensues. Up until that point everything was fine, my classmates would always insist I was just like them but I would contend we were very different. I would like to explore these feelings of kinship later, but lets get back to the plot. My parents decided that moving forward the best step would be to hire a family immigration attorney. The lawyer then determined the best option was to apply for status from within Canada... apparently this set off a red flag that notified Canadian authorities that we were in the country illegally. Other attorneys have since said we should of applied for status from outside of Canada and would of been fine. The immigration racket is very corrupt and dirty, it is an open secret by everyone in it that you must abuse the options- and that only a fool would do everything properly.... well my parents hired a fool. This triggered a long series of delaying judgement while filing for whatever was viable, humanitarian compassion and aid, family reunification, anything that works is on the table. These forms costs thousands, sometimes in the tens of thousands to get done. As the parent is must be frustrating doing all of this... and then coming up with an answer to the kids when they ask what is up with our status, am I going to be able to get a job finally? I had a coop at a bank for school I couldn't proceed with cause it was going to "just a couple more weeks till our papers came in," little more than a year later I was being deported. The judgement took many years. By the time we finally did all get status my brother was over the age to be included as a dependent for the family migration... he was maybe in middle school, at least still in high school when it began... a few months later I would be in the same boat and like him still without status today. The judgement was that we were illegal immigrants or something, I'm not sure... I always thought of myself as a foreign national. The process went down like this... our immigration was rejected, at this point we were given a removal order. Two months into my last year of high school I had to go with my parents to the immigration office in Niagara Falls, they were waiting to receive, and process us. We were escorted over the bridge and handed off to the American border patrol. The removal order was placed on my two parents and me forcing us to leave the country by the date given, an additional exclusion order was put on my parents barring them from entry for 1 year. My brother was not included as he had been dropped from the family migration at this point, and was living in Michigan. my sister- the Canadian didn't have to go with us, there was no immigration hassle for her... I mean other than losing her family and having to move around from house to house to family friends like the kids from 'the series of unfortunate events' Now ask me anything so we can make a thread outta this.

A video by a friend of mine, Daniel Mackler:

Hi everyone! Some of you may know me from my work at Self-Archeology. As my book project is slowly coming to an end, I will have more time available soon. As a gift to myself for my 30th birthday that’s right around the corner, I would like to pursue an opportunity to travel more and meet new people. I’ve looked into Workaway and Couchsurfing—but I’m also wondering if there are any nice FDR people who would be interested in offering something similar, hence this post What I am looking for is a place to stay, with water and electricity, and somewhere to sleep. I would also need an internet connection and privacy for my work with clients. That’s pretty much it. In return, I could help around if needed. I don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t do drugs. I’m not noisy. I like both to hang around and spend my time alone. I’m friendly and helpful. I’m respectful of the other person’s boundaries, and expect the same from them. More information about me is available on my website: http://www.selfarcheology.com/about-me.html As of now, I don’t have a set timeline or a fixed destination, and I’m open to revisiting the countries I’ve been before. If you would like to offer something different—like if you are looking for a paying roommate instead of being a host—I’m open to that, too. In other words, any and all offers are welcomed So if you are looking for something like that or know somebody who is, feel free to contact me via a personal message or any other medium. My contact information is available here: http://www.selfarcheology.com/contact-me.html Thanks, and have a great day!

Hello FDR. Recently, over the last couple of weeks, I've been planning a trip to south-east Asia. I think I want to go over there to live a life that is simpler, slower and more focused on meditation, travel and meeting new people. I have found that that is probably the best region in the world to do those sorts of things. The cost of living is low compared to where I live, Eastern Canada. The weather is also warm all year, and there are basically two patterns(sunny or rainy). I'm currently saving money for this trip working as an administrator at my mother's driving school. I work just over 30 hours a week, and I take care of appointments, giving out information to students and answering the phone. I get paid a pretty good wage, just over 12$ an hour, for work I find very easy. I spend a lot of time when I'm in the office browsing the web or listening to audiobooks or podcasts. I also live in my mother's house, and it enables me to save more as I don't pay rent or pay for my food. Now there are some issues with this. I don't believe my mother ever really connected with me. I vaguely remember abuse, taking the form of verbal humiliation and spankings. My parents divorced when I was 14 years old. I don't remember talking to them about it, or them bringing it up with me. I didn't get to process it at all and was feeling very anxious and depressed at that time. I couldn't get empathy from them in any way. Now, I've tried to talk to my mother about my issues with my past, and her actions. She was extremely defensive and denied or manipulated me into "forgiveness". After a heated "debate", I decided to leave the house. I went to live with a friend of mine for just over 4 months, and barely contacted my mother or my father. I forgot to mention that I have since completely stopped to see my father. I know what choice I am currently making: I am not going to talk to her about anything that is meaningful to me, no matter the cost. I do need to talk to her about my trip, though, and I am sure she will mention how she wants me to contact her when I'm there, and other things. I am thinking of using this trip as a way to divorce myself entirely from my family of origin. I am unsure of how to talk with her about this, or if I even want to. I'm considering just leaving, with her thinking that I will stay in contact, and never do so. But at the same time, I want her to know exactly how I feel. I am thinking of leaving, and meditating/reflecting for a month or so, and maybe write her an email or call her directly to let her know what it is that I am doing. I think a phone call might be the best way. Now that I think of it, I might also want to talk with her in person about this. I'm really confused about what to do in this situation, but I don't feel like I can get her to admit any wrong that she has done. I'm not sure what the best course of action for my long-term happiness is. My question is: How do I find out what to do in this difficult situation? Please leave me any feedback you believe can be useful and don't hesitate to ask me questions. Thank you very much, I highly appreciate your attention to this issue which is extremely important to me.

Hello everyone, Just wanted to throw my youtube channel out there. I've decided to expatriate, and I'm sharing the experience. If you're curious about the process or want to follow along, feel free to subscribe. I'm also using this as an excuse to enter the public fray on general liberty-related subjects. Here's the most recent sample, where I share some thoughts on Bitcoin: http://youtu.be/6vZbUbOplRI

Awhile back, I started a podcast series called Five Years AbroadCAST as a complement to my blog Five Years Abroad. The project focuses on building self-knowledge through living in a foreign culture. A recent episode is entitled, "Family and Friends", and in it, I talk about how to achieve a balance between living on your own in a foreign culture and maintaining ties to your culture of origin. A friend listened to it, and he described it as, "indirectly explaining the DeFoo concept to people who have never been exposed to it." I thought that was really interesting because I didn't think about that consciously when I was recording the podcast. I thought this episode might be of interest to the FDR community. I'd love to get your feedback on it and whether/how it complements the deFOO concept. https://soundcloud.com/fiveyearsabroad/episode-12-family-and-friends