Immigrated to US, made my money, retired, sold all assets and went back to my home country where the $5M i have accumulated feels like $500M. America is the best country to make money but also not the cheapest when you are done working.

My mom immigrated here in the 1980s before she even learned English and now look at us: she's an accountant with a home and a fully funded retirement fund, I'm a lawyer, and my sister is on her way to being a nurse. Nice job mom! Dad helped too of course haha.

Origin and destination countries can significantly impact the immigrant experience. My parents migrated from Sri Lanka to Australia and it was a 20 year struggle to attain permanent residency. As an Australian citizen, migrating to the US was a breeze in comparison. Grateful for my folks’ tenacity to ensure my immigrant experience was so different to theirs.

I knew a man who immigrated from Honduras and worked 70 hours a week at a local restaurant until he could afford to pay for his wife and kid to move here. I always thought that was quite admirable.

Im a first gen Immigrant in US. Been through all these and US is one of the hardest countries to 'settle down' for first few years. The burden of facing all these all alone was exhausting and sometimes I thought of quitting too. But its worth it to survive this struggle for a long term goal.

I’m a first gen immigrant, came here 10yrs ago with almost zero bank balance, Now having decent job, home, and two kids. One rule of thumb is, try to love what you are doing. I truely love this country and I have my little goal and mission to be done here, that enabled me to overcome all these struggling. It is hard, but if you love what you are doing, definetely it is worth it.

Immigrations is hella expensive and even worst when is done out of desperation no matter the destination... But based on the country is worth it, like I always say to my parents who ask me why I don't live in our home country since I will be living "like a king" with my income: "Safety is priceless"

As an immigrant, I want give a shout out to St. John’s University (SJU). As mentioned in this video, new immigrants (international students in this case) find it hard to open bank accounts. SJU helped in this process by having agreements with the local banks in Queens making it easier to open an account.

As an immigrant I can tell you the filing fees is MUCH more than just $1,000. To get the process started we had to file the I-130 and adjustment of status that each cost $535 and $1,225 respectively, I also had to go to a special civil surgeon for an exam that costed me $300 plus got some vaccines that I had to pay out of pocket for. Then when my green card was issued I only got conditional permanent resident status that means I have file the I-751 and to pay another $680 before it expires in 2 years… then to finally become a citizen file the N-400 that costs $725. And these are JUST the filing fees, so this isn’t taking into account any money you’d spend hiring a lawyer if you don’t want to navigate this process all by yourself. All in from entering the USA to becoming a U.S. citizen I’m looking at $3,165 in filing fees alone assuming I don’t hire a lawyer or do anything extra. And that’s just for one person (me)

The challenge of getting a bank account is no joke. I immigrated from Canada at 26yrs old. I had US citizenship and an SSN thanks to my mom and I was shocked by how difficult it was to get a bank account, credit card, and place to rent without any employment history here. I can’t imagine how much more difficult it is if you come from dire circumstances in another country or have a language barrier. Immigrants are brave and valuable!

Last point applied to me. I moved here 8 years ago and the 5 years I 100% focused on sending money to family and forgot myself by living on the edge as much as possible with zero savings, no investment, even took my 401k from my first job and helped them out. It's noble to help your family even though some of them didn't even appreciate it BUT it was wrong, I should put myself first then help when I stand on my feet. Last 4 years I focused 100% on me, bought home, doubled my income, now have 401k, saving and investments, and finishing my Master's degree as well. Made time for cooking all my meals because food in the US is super unhealthy and suck, lost weight, got in shape and I am happy and proud of myself over what I achieved.

It's very considered you guys made this video. As an imigrant there's way too much to think about it that sometimes I even forget how hard it is for us, a lot of people say it's just about adaptation but it's more about a complex process filled with a lot of steps that need to be taken care of carefully, for starters you need the money to pay all the fees to have a legal status here in USA, and depending on the number of members it could be really costly and long process but it's way better than paying to someone to bring you here illegally becuase the legal cost could easily become 3X with no guarantees whatsoever, but don't be fooled, you still need another very important step in oreder to make it, you need to have the ENGLISH plus the physical and metal strenght to endure all the new process you are about to go through, be prepare to face rejection because of your accent, of how you look or just simply because you're different, be prepare to take a job that never in your wildest dreams you thought about because you need to start making the money ASAP in order to pay or start saving so eventually you can move on. We always need to start from literally ZERO, there are NO BANK, CARD, LEGAL, LABOR RECORDS at all, no friends sometimes, no own home, tight budgets and so on. TWO CENTS was one of those channels I discovered a little before I moved to USA from Ecuador back in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic (I forgot to add that) and let me tell you it's been really helpful in a lot of senses, it gave me a little more of education (which I already had) in how to build my credit, the not to do stuff with credit cards, the importance of the money and the one I remember the most THE BUDGET!!!!. I must say expreriences can vary in a lot of senses from people to people but as usual EDUCATION and information being spread correctly could become one of the most useful tools you have on hand, for you guys I wanna say thank you for spreading it and for all the inmmigrants trying to make it please don't give up, we have already taken a really hard step to have something better so you are at leat halfway there, I hope the best for all those who decided to go into this journey.

Loved it.. so true.. one thing that was not mentioned is that when competing for jobs you have to make extra efforts to compensate the employer for not being as fluent in the language, not being familiarized with a lot of things and situations common to the residents, sometimes you compensate with more experience, more education or simply dedicating more hours

1st Generation American Here. The struggles are real. I work 78hrs to 90hrs a week. I aim for the future. Growing up 1 bedroom apt with 10 people. Now, I am 35, I own many cars and I have 2 homes and 3 properties. No government help. Not knowing any person or having no family. Don't buy things you don't need remember your family's sacrifices keep pushing. You will succeed. God Bless everyone and God Bless America

As someone who has come to the U.S. 10 years ago for college and masters on full scholarship, been working for a nonprofit for 4 years, who still doesn't have a green card and is going through numerous immigration hurdles without any financial safety net, I really appreciate this video. I feel like my struggles are recognized. Many thanks to the whole Two Cents team! (P.S. Currently H1B work visa costs around $7000 - if you are lucky in the annual randomized lottery, which has a 20% winning rate. Employment based green card costs $15,000 and takes at least 3 years).

Thank you guys for making this video. I've been an immigrant in Africa, Europe then US. It's not easy to leave your family behind for better education, safety and opportunity. Especially at a young age. Saying it's a hurdle race is an understatement. It's more like a lottery. The amount of sacrifice to do is unimaginable. Every time there's an economic crisis - which happened a lot for the last 20 years - fingers are pointed to immigrants, whatever they are legal or not. I recall uncomfortable debates in France especially when the far right was gaining momentum. My main argument was simple. I will just ask questions about the cost/tax revenue balance of immigration in the country? What are the precise jobs immigrants are being accused to "steal"? Why are no local going for those jobs? What is the rate of immigrants benefiting from the government aids compared to rest of the population (knowing that is a disadvantage for an immigrant to use it and it's so hard to get them that people just abandon the idea)? The adversary side will come very quickly to lacking serious argument. I salute all the immigrant which are doing their best to thrive. One thing I liked in the video, is the advice regarding building a safety net for yourself before helping others. It's a very hard thing to do but it's one of precious lessons learned in 16 years of being an immigrant and supporting my family. Well done @Two Cents

Proud to be a first gen immigrant

The people who need this video the most don't understand enough English to watch it. There's gotta be a way to add Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, etc. closed captions to it.

Immigrating to Canada is way easier. You can do remote job and earn US Dollars and spend in CAD.

Slightly related, I'm from a commonwealth country with many banks offering day to day banking for 'free'. When I worked in Canada, it was a shock that I had to maintain a balance of $2,000CAD to avoid paying a monthly account fee.

As an immigrant since 2001, I moved from Russia to the United States. It was very painful -- I'm not even sure I want to talk about it -- what can I say? I grew up in the wrong country, where my parents lacked the ability to manage money at all. They destroyed everything I'd lived with for years.

I’m so glad you guys made this video! I may have some advice to add, my two cents. I immigrated to the U.S. with my husband, who’s American. He couldn’t adapt to life in my native country, where I had a full career. So, I came here with my life’s savings, which turned out to be so little, given the high cost of living. I had to restart my career all over again, including going back to college. Our income is well below the median for our area, but we live well. However, there were always the incredibly expensive immigration fees. My total expenses were in the thousands of dollars just for myself. That’s not counting all the related expenses, like getting and printing paperwork, traveling to the nearest USCIS office, traveling to embassies, the opportunity cost of waiting MONTHS for your work authorization, etc. The saving grace is that you don’t need a lawyer to do all of this. I did all my immigration paperwork myself. You just have to read the government instruction well and be careful. There are tons of material online and forums where you’ll get information and support on how to apply. I always felt it was too complicated and like I didn’t want to mess things up, so we were thinking of hiring legal aid, but that would’ve added thousands more to our tight budget. It all worked out in the end by making use of all the wealth of information online. If your case is straightforward, you can definitely do it yourself!

Minimum account balance fees are pure evil. But the real nastiness are the overdraft fees: "Since you don't have money, every single day you will owe us additional $100 and you have to pay all at once in order to stop accumulating those." Not having money for a week costs $700 but they also charge interests on these.

As an immigrant I arrived to NYC with only 5 nights paid to a hotel and didnt know anybody. I had to find an apartment in those five days and the first thing I discovered is that nobody in NYC rents to "just arrived" immigrants unless these immigrants pay to "Insurent" a company that essentially tell the landlord "yeah this guy has money." the cost is two months rent on top of the deposit you have to pay to the landlord, just to get an apartment in five days in NYC. Thank god I found a landlord who asked me to give him the full three months rent in advance to him instead of paying to Insurent, so with that I had 3 months to find a job.

I'm an immigrant (now a citizen), I worked 2-3 jobs from ages 18-30 and saved and invested aggressively. America has a lot of problems but I would have never achieved the financial success I've experienced in my home country.

As an Immigrant I have a full time job, drive for Uber Eats, have a Fans page and still is not enough money to save.

Immigrating to the USA is a costly endeavor. The significant, unaddressed aspect pertains to the experiences of myself and other Indians attempting to obtain a green card. Despite having resided in this wonderful country for the past 11 years, I have yet to receive my greencard. Indians face an extensive waiting list, so long that one would need to be reincarnated twice with the same petition number due to the country cap rule. While this may seem like a minor issue to those who haven't gone through it, in reality, it is a tremendous burden that surpasses mere financial concerns. I have numerous friends who were unable to travel to India for their parents' funerals due to the demanding paperwork and stamping requirements, and these feelings of regret will stay with us indefinitely. Additionally, if one loses their job and cannot secure new employment, they are compelled to deport themselves and often sell their possessions at a substantial loss or give them away. My point is, money is nothing before other burdens that we go through as first generation immigrants. My love and support to those who go through this battle. PS: I will not reply back to people who ask me to go back that is whole another topic.

First generation immigrant here! Thank you for this video! The hardest working people I have ever met have also been immigrants. There is something about appreciating the chance and opportunity of coming from Africa to such a wealthy country. Nothing is taken for granted, and you work harder so that what got you here was worth the pain, money, effort, interviews, fees, paperwork, sleepless nights, looming expiration dates, culture shock, ridicule, feeling like an outcast, and so much more! Here I am, a boy from Africa with paid-off cars, 3 houses, passive income, funded retirement, and no consumer debt. If I can do it, ANYBODY else can do it too! To anyone in the process of immigrating, thinking about it, or already did, hats off to you. It's not easy leaving home, but for the sake of your future and for your children if you have any, it has been worth the sweat and tears! Good luck out there!

Thank you for talking about this topic. Immigration has so many layers and not just what the news and politicians talk about. Those fees and requirements are never addressed when talking about immigration. This information was a lot more than 2 cents !! Thank you !

Such an important video! Thank you for getting this information out there ❤

A great video shedding light on costs a lot of families face. These costs really put a burden on my parents and our family growing up. Seeing my dad stressed about money growing up made me stressed about it from a young age and gave me a scarcity mindset. It’s taken years to shake it off and I’m still working on it over ten years later.

I'm so happy you covered this topic! Immigrating to the US was an expensive experience for me too. A lot of the time people think that becoming a permanent resident or a US Citizen is just paperwork and a small fee, but it is a long and expensive process.

Immigrants (first gen) are superhuman

Amazing video!! Thank you for talking about it

Absolutely spot on. Thanks for making this video

Thank you for that video!!!

Thank you so much for this video! I worked briefly in tech in the US, and even with all of the ways they facilitated the process it was still stressful. To begin with, people migrating either have enough money to afford it, or are so desperate that are willing to do whatever it takes. I think I'm in a minority middle class that got everything sorted out. I didn't even know that an SSN is a thing until I arrived. My migration process was sspreaded across two summer internships and then working full time, I'd probably have had collapsed if that wasn't the case. I can also only imagine what it'd have taken if I wanted a gc. I'm incredibly thankful with this channel because it helped immensely with that adaptation process. Your work has real impact in real people, and I think you should know it and be proud of it.

That was helpful for me :-) Thank you!

When I moved to Virginia I found it hard to get a drivers license as the DMV kept saying that all the paperwork I had from USCIS was not good enough to prove legal residency. I ended up getting my state representative involved what a pain

First gen immigrant. our residency training program set up a meeting with the local bank in our area in the first week so we get our direct deposit set up. i was fortunate that on arrival i had a very good salary for a "fresh off the boat" immigrant. when i started my J1 waiver, my employer paid for my lawyer fees, about 10K in '96, but due to the inefficiency and lack of progress with that lawyer( when i called for an update i discovered that the person working on my case had left the firm 6 months before), i changed lawyers and paid out of pocket myself for another 11K in 2000. fortunately we didn't have to pay everything at once. my first job i was underpaid compared to my peers even other immigrant doctors. it took 14 years to get my greencard as immigration laws kept changing with different administrations starting with Clinton as well as my slow lawyer. i had to pay for multiple immigration required doctor visits as they are only valid for a short time( i got vaccinated 3 times for measles, mumps rubella even if my serology from medical residency showed i already had titers for this just so the right box can be checked). early on, with a pending greencard application i drove to Toronto, Canada on the advice of my lawyer to get a new visa stamped, in case i had to go back home quickly as my mother was diagnosed with cancer. US embassy in Toronto handled it uneventfully. i had what is called a parole letter explaining the need to go out of the US for the visa and the newly stamped US visa but crossing back into MI where i lived, immigration guards held me back for a few hours, made fun of me as i explained what my lawyer had me do saying to the other guards " Hey listen to this guy explain immigration law to me while laughing amongst themselves" also kept asking me where i lived and refusing the address i gave them. they wanted me to say my address from when i left my home country and not caring that i haven't been there for 5 years. they eventually let me continue on my way but i vowed never to step outside the US till i got my greencard so as to never be subject to a powertripping border guard . once you get the greencard , you feel a big weight lifted off your shoulders. it is amazing how your future can rest on how a border guard's day is going or what he had for breakfast even if all your papers are in order.

I immigrated to the U.S. in 1982 and retired back to Jamaica in 2022. During that time I went to college and spent a career in financial services and the Army Reserve. I did not realize how American I have become, so now I will be buying a one room condo in the States so I can spend a few months of the year there. Jamaica is good, but I need to be in America every now and then.

Thank you so much for bringing awareness to this issue. I am a child of immigrants and I run a small business for translation services for the immigrant community. So many immigrant folks are at risk of getting scammed and losing thousands of dollars to predators who claim to be experts and are unauthorized to practice law. Thank you for showing in your video that there are non-profits vetted by the Department of Justice to provide immigration assistance.

Wish we had y'all on the strapped-down CRT when I was growing up in school 🙌 Always look forward to these, thanks!

Just stumbled upon this channel today, wanted to let you know how appreciative i am for this type of content.

I'm a first-generation Japanese immigrant. Fortunately, my immigration as a Japanese citizen was very smooth, and I managed to complete my American citizenship in just two years and bit, including my military service. The nationality of your country of origin and how good a lawyer you can get will determine the difficulty of immigrating to the United States.

Immigration is not only expensive but takes a toll on your mental, emotional and physical health. Trying to catch up with Americans while supporting a family back home is crazy! I am ready to go back home😢

I’m working on getting my wife to immigrant from Thailand, and between having to pay for marriage costs, the wedding, immigration costs, and paying for other support to get her financially stable to come over here, we’ve spent about $30,000 already. And, that’s just us waiting for two years to get her marriage visa finally approved.

Excellent video

God bless these non profit organizations What are some reputable ones?

I just love this channel!

Thank you for educating people in the matters that get systematically ignored here in the USA. This video and the video on how being poor is more expensive are gold

the person that I know emigrated to us through Mexico it cost him 20000$ but now he is already working in NewYork.

In just the couple first months it's a nightmare. 99% of the US is car centric. You have to immediately get a driving license and buy a car and/or Uber everywhere BEFORE getting a job. And I say BUY outright because you have no access to credit so it's cash only. That's thousands of dollars in upfront expenses. Then and only then you can look for employment to get some cash inflow, which will NEVER match your qualifications. It's minimum wage and temp if you're lucky and have your papers clear. And let's not even mention housing! Who rents to a foreigner who has no job yet, no credit history? It's a nightmare. If you don't have a solid chunk of cash and community contacts you're screwed. And if you fail and go back, you're out all those expenses anyway and probably in debt in your native country.

Even though some topics are not related to me or if I already know about it, I still watch all your videos, I just enjoy watching you both and explaining things, am I the only one?

This is great, I think one of the largest hidden costs is not building up the support network. Biggest failure I see in some communities just don't follow the law of large numbers and invest together to increase their ROI. Other communities of immigrants use this to either become the 1 in 4 businesses to be created, or use this to get ever further!

Couldn’t do it without the support network..

Thank you for always bringing honesty and truth without politics involved. You're able to reach audiences that would otherwise ignore. You're one of the few places I can still trust, and I hope to see many years of content!

Thats why many Indian American pushing Indian Government for more rights as a non-resident Indian. According to Indian constitution dual citizenship is ban. But now they can nearly enjoy citizenship rights of India by various amendments and change of laws. Not to target any country, but they certainly know sooner or later they will kick out of that country if they are no longer useful for that particular country.

Great video. I was a Soldier stationed in Korea. I found my dream woman there and we were married in Korea. All told, we spent about $5000 before she immigrated. Most people don't realize the amount of paperwork that's necessary and the financial resources required. Our process was fairly efficient, as the State Department and INS do take good care of overseas military folks. I was also well familiar with government paperwork and had a good job. I can only imagine how difficult for someone who speaks minimal English, is unfamiliar with US government processes, has limited financial resources, and doesn't have US citizen sponsor who can help to navigate the bureaucracy.

To be fair immigration into other industrialized countries is just as hard or harder. For example in Iceland your wage is heavily dependent on how long you have been a citizen NOT your skills or particular job this heavily decreasing immigration of all kinds.

(5:44) You remind me of what Arnold said in his Documentary, Pumping Iron. One of the reasons he became successful is because he had people supporting him when he first came to America.

As a first generation American and I'm new to the whole system this video is SO much helpful and informative. Thank you two cents.

I got my green card in 2022, when i has applied in 2013 for it. total estimated cost for all expenses is about 25k half of which was paid by employer.

Two cents - *talk about permanent residence fees.* Me - *Cries in H1B lottery*

I saw the title of this video in a list of suggestions. and beneath it, it read "Two cents". I assumed that was the answer to the question.

Thanks a lot!

When I came to the US, I only had two suitcases, and moved into an empty apartment. It was expensive to just get essentials! The first 3.5 years I lived in the US, I was only allowed to work on campus, up to 20h per week, which amounted to very little. My tuition was 4x as much as for US citizens. It’s expensive to immigrate!

Loving the Rosie the Reviter look!

The hardest part of being an immigrant is that even if you're doing well, you'll always consider to go back to your country because adapting its hard (right now things are a bit crazy everywhere). There is not a best way to immigrate and it takes a lot of sacrifice to be successful as a foreigner. One thing I definetly think that helps a lot is being educated. Talking from my experience, it is not easy and takes a lot of work to finally land on an secure job if you have a degree from an unknown university and the degree has a different name, but they will trust you and if you demonstrate your abilities, they will reward you. You can also make it without a degree but it would be harder. Try to study, apply to a public university and take a few courses a semester so you can work and study. It doesn't matter if it takes you more time.

I was going to ask what the intent of this video was, but then waited until the end. I appreciate the conclusion.

It's been 9 years since I moved to the US and I finally got a high-paying job, good credit history, and I feel myself at home now. But, at the end of the day, my work authorization will expire in 3 months and I will have to leave the country. My green card application won't make it on time because of the enormous application backlog in USCIS, and my only bet was winning a lottery for a work visa (H1B), which I didn't win. I think the US gives enough opportunities to make money (as long as you are willing to put in some work). However, just to get all your papers right for good, you either need to be very lucky (win visa/green card lotteries or somehow get a green card before your student visa expires or just be born in the right country), or be an exceptional talent and hire exceptionally talented lawyers to get an O1 visa.

Yep, I remember going through this.

Feeling really lucky and thankful my immigration process went really quick and smooth and my spouse had my back the whole time. Been a citizen for 3 years already 🎉

Social mobility in the US is among the lowest in the OECD. So the American dream is more achievable in almost all developed countries that are not America.

wealth shouldn't be the biggest priority it should be to live free from religious or political persecution

I’m proud being a naturalized US citizen. This is a land of freedom I’ve ever wished to stay here and contribute my patriotism

❤ this KZfaq channel!

This is sooooooooooo true - applies exactly to UK.

About time someone said it!

these on top of the massive cost and difficulty of getting in or accepted. the only acceptable cost and speed for immigration is through marriage with an American citizen which is being exploited as the easiest path. this heavily penalizes the lawful/process of immigration but little cost to unlawful fixed marriage. imagine, some visa categories would take an applicant about twenty years of wait just to be eligible for citizens of Mexico and Philippines. In reality, most aspirants just want work in the US and send money to their home country. But no, not only it is difficult to get in for the first time in the US but also coming back which makes the option of a green card or citizenship likely the only path to permanent work in the US. Immigrants don't generally drive lower wages, it only drives lower wages for the basic and laborious jobs which Americans don't want anyway.

Very informative ❤

Thanks for informative videos that let me get curious about the topic,and then see if I can learn more. Shivering 🖤 🔔, 👍🏻

If your college has an international office ask them as many questions as you can and try to get in contact with immigrant alumni. Shout out to the international office of Saint Mary's College of California (SMC) for helping me out through the immigration process.

I’m a U.S. citizen in England on a working visa, for three years it’s about £2300 which is about $3k. To get citizenship after another 2 years of this the total cost works out to about $10k

I always found surprising that in the US, being a capitalist country, people really shy away of discussing money, earnings and financial challenges. It is like a taboo subject. People seem more eager to talk about their genitals than about finances and wages. Immigrants really have it hard since most folks will feel like you are nosy when all you want is to learn and understand the system. But no one cares, only other immigrants...

I have been through in that shoes. And I am proud of who I become now.

I remember wanted to keep my cash safe in bank and having hard time opening a bank account. After difficulties with big banks, Amegy Bank, a small bank helped me out

Im an immigrant living in usa for 3.5 years and i hate it already and i hope one day(after i make some money of course) go back to my country live happy and not depressed!!!

Wow, seeing this video makes me give myself some credit. I came here 7 years ago, I became a U.S. citizen the same day I became a home owner after 6 years in America. Two event in one single day. I worked my as* hard, I still do and I always will. I don’t know if I should call it “being lucky” or “being disciplined”. Maybe since Immigrants know what is like to live in a country with no many opportunities, once we made it in the US, we already have a master in how to play the life game.

Hey Two Cents, what inspired you to make this video?

I have been a permanent resident of Mexico for nearly 8 years. The process has been quite expensive, particularly in Mexico where there is a high level of inconsistency and often incompetence, even with the assistance of a lawyer. Any mistakes made by them still result in costs coming out of your own pocket. I would estimate that I have spent approximately six to $7,000 on paperwork during this time, only for it to be filed in their computer. Additionally, it is important to consider that the average salary of a Mexican is three to four hundred dollars a month, amounting to less than $5,000 per year. Now, factor in the expenses of an immigrant moving and working in Mexico.

I came here in 1988, I worked very hard and it was very tough initially to make ends meet. I didn't have credit but didn't give up until I found a credit card company that would give me a credit line and started building credit. I always say where there is a will there is a way. I didn't go to any predatory lenders, had a work visa, and a three month old baby, worked over 60 hours a week to help support a young family. I am grateful for the opportunity to come here, I am one of the one in four people that started a business.

Such a informative video

Love you guys I hope that I did see your video six years ago However there is some other challenges you didn’t mention like how we get treated from getting the visa to entering the country and the first months here. As the media always looks at the immigrants as third class people 😢😢😢😢

The annoying thing is not that you have to jump through all these hoops. It's that in spite of that there are people here who think who are a drain on the system, consuming benefits and not paying taxes, without even making the effort to research a bit and learning that non-citizens don't qualify for receiving anything while we pay full taxes.

I'd suggest a follow up video on international students. The financial shackles are far worse for them.

Thank you for this information! America is the best country

there's also the bigger challenge of saving money to actually be able to move to America

Even knowing I have a safety net gives me a peace of mind that is such a privilege. This video is a nice reminder to be empathetic and non-judgmental of others and remember that I am where I am because of privilege.

Not understand why people still think that US is best country to move....... maybe for poor Mexicans, Guatemala is, but most of Europeans will never want to move to US. But what about US family moving to Portugal, Spain, Greece ?