For the talented ambitious, America = Utopia West
There was in mid-20th century an American institution known as the Green Card. It was difficult to acquire, and it was issued only to the most desirable foreigners who sought it. The fortunate man or woman who obtained it was ensured permanent residence in the U.S., from which many corporeal and psychological benefits might flow.
By 1978 the document had in fact been colored blue for 13 years, though, for obvious symbolic reasons, immigrants still called it the Green Card. In an era of restricted immigration, permission to live indefinitely in the U.S. was granted in effect only to those who without American relatives brought needed skills or at least $40,000 to invest in the U.S. economy.
—Future Historian Anon.
For a number of reasons related to conditions in their own countries and U.S. policy, the influx of immigrants bearing gifts has swelled substantially in the past five years. Many would-be Americans who get through the golden door today bring gold or its equivalent in education, talent, ingenuity and ambition. They exceed in relative numbers and potential cultural impact any similar earlier waves of newcomers. These are not the swinging superrich, who have always been free to flit from clime to clime. Nor are they the winging investors who see unsurpassed opportunity for profit here, or at least a safe haven for capital. They are entrepreneurs and professionals: bankers, financiers, managers, restaurateurs, moteliers and boutiquiers, disco owners, jewelers, architects, designers, publicists, models, film makers, exporter-importers and dealers in just about everything from abstract art to shopping centers.
For the most part, these notable newcomers are those who, not without pain, have taken the decision to forsake comfortable backgrounds, familial esteem and personal success to invest their lives in America. The decision may have been reinforced by political, social and economic instability at home, an underlying factor in the entire history of westward migration. Nonetheless, the immigrants have much to lose by coming to an alien society: not only their grubstake but also their cultural heritage, the ease of self-expression in a native language, even the self-assurance that impelled them to the U.S.
Why do they come?