Come On In!

This brochure was included with Jube's green card. It explains that there are lots of important things you need to do as a new immigrant to the US, but it doesn't go into detail about how to do those important things. Instead it gives lots of Internet addresses and toll-free numbers to call. I didn't know before receiving this pamphlet that Permanent Residents have to regiter for Selective Service. Luckily Jube is too old for it, so we escaped that onerous duty.

It wasn't until I reached the last page (the back cover) of the brochure that I realized that there was, in fact, an actual "Guide for New Immigrants" that you can request by calling a(nother) toll-free number or print one out "at an 'Internet Cafe.'"

We haven't ordered one yet. It amused me to receive the tiny informational pamphlet along with the green card. I mean, Jube's been here for 6 months now, so any guide comes a little late. It reminds me of the medical visit I had to undergo in France to make sure I didn't have tuberculosis--it took place a month after I had arrived, started working, and spreading my American maladies far and wide.

Bureaucracy! Inescapable and inscrutable, it has become my companion just as Jube has.