John Oliver Shares His Frightening Path to American Citizenship 

Welcome Mate!

@@charlesbaxter4466 Thank you, Sir!

welcome home!

Occupation: Make America Free again! ;

GN Sir from aka Charlie B' outta Dobbs Ferry N.Y.

Does he have to say "yo dude" from now on?

@@shipscook3765 Twice. I'm British ;)

"Remember to stand six feet apart." Lots of Other American Citizens

But now the US will always tax him no matter where he moves later in his life (and I'm not sure if there's another country on earth that taxes you based on citizenship even when living abroad)

He obviously doesn’t because he doesn’t understand Brexit, which at its route is no taxation without representation.

Potato because you’re not a citizen, you’re welcome to become one though and I’d be very happy to have you. The same as a UK citizen can’t vote in Europe, it’s fairly normal. I’m not anti European, I’m just anti EU, I was a reluctant remainer during the referendum and I’m now a pretty firm brexiteer.

Potato that’s your choice you’re more than welcome to become a UK citizen and you chose not to be, you can of course move back to the EU if you’d rather. However, you can also be a dual national as a British citizen so you don’t actually have to lose your EU passport either. We chose to leave the EU because as UK citizens we have little or no control over the laws that come out of the EU or the budget. I’ve never met a single remainer who can even explain how EU laws are made or explain what jurisdiction the council, commission, parliament or ECJ have. Over 40% of the budget is still spent on CAP for Christ sake and its 2020. Then there is the issue that the French and Germans still have had the top jobs within the council stitched up between them as they always have done. The whole thing is a cesspit.

Potato I really don’t get what you’re whinging about? You didn’t have a vote in the UK elections before Brexit anyway and yet you still chose to live here. You’re taxed and not represented as you chose to live here as a none UK citizen. I wouldn’t expect to be able to vote if i moved to the US or the continent, it’s not that deep. As for no taxation without representation under the EU, the EU budget is decided by the council and how it’s spent by the commission. Bearing in mind very few countries actually pay into the budget the level of contribution is chosen by countries who aren’t actually contributing. How that money is spent is stitched up by France and Germany, who trade off the top jobs between themselves. Hence why 40% of the budget is spent on handouts to French farmers. Therefore UK tax revenue is being spent with zero control over it from UK citizens. The EU officials within the commission are unelected and not accountable to the citizens of the UK. If they do something we disagree with, we can’t vote them out. Political representation without accountability is a fundamentally flawed system of government. This is taxation, without representation. Case in point being the years after 2010 when the UK was in full austerity and cutting services due to a reduced budget, whist the EU budget was going up and up.

Well he did not explain what was so tough about it. Yes he has HBO and comedy central behind him but a lot of people become a citizen also without these companies. It takes time to become a citizen and you have to show genuine intrest. It is not buying an entrance ticket to Disneyland.

That was actually John's point. That if it's difficult for a famous white man such as himself who has a huge backing, then you can only imagine how difficult it is for people without any of that.

@@tonyamati96 Agree but he is speaking only of his experience. 750,000 people become citizen each year and it is not a traumatizing experience. It is like passing your diploma. Everybody is nervous for that, but if you studied well you should be fine.

@@vincevdijk7430 it's not simply about studying, it's the way you are treated. I'm also a Brit who moved to the US, and though I did not naturalise, I did go through the process to get a green card. The administration is awful and you are often not treated with respect by those working on your case. During the worst times, it felt a bit like we were cattle being processed. For people immigrating from countries where English is less-commonly spoken, or where the primary language is uncommon in America, the process is incredibly hard. This is not a a cheap shot at America, the British system is similarly Kafkaesque.

@@vincevdijk7430 Actually it's not that easy, and if you try to inform yourself better, you'll see that the queue is actually 20 to 30 years long if you apply TODAY from some countries. Try to imagine what that feels like.

If New Zealand was smart it would take none of us.

No more they say. I feel you closest place in comparison is Alaska. Or Greenland if we buy it

Do it !!! Do it!!! Auckland & Christchurch are paradise on earth. You won't regret it.

Emigrate*

Jessi Wylde Yeah, their PM is cute.

We went home and my husband played me Obama's welcome to make me feel better lol

Haha, they would make good Americans then.

Agreed. It is OK to boo this president.

A-Borgia If you don’t want to lose everybody’s respect, it’s mandatory.

@@jenniferirving3109 That so sweet of him.

As John Oliver explained in his Show on Legal Immigration. Legal Immigration is not as easy as most people believe. It takes forever and it is quite difficult to get permanent residence.

Not to mention it cost us over $10k and we had a great immigration lawyer, experience and advice. Most people don't have that kind of money lying around! My friend did the same thing as I did moving to America from the same location in Australia and without a lawyer she spent closer to 20k because of all the wrong turns they made.

As an immigrant to Canada (though I came here to live when I was two years old), it's amusing to see white people immigrate to North America. Or emigrate from here. It happens often enough that you'd think large tracts of people in a certain country would be more empathetic towards immigration and expat experiences.

Craig Ferguson tried years before to impart how difficult, expensive and emotionally taxing, it is to become an American citizen. It's absurd that the masses aren't required to learn about the real process as part of basic primary education now. It used to be, in Illinois at least.

So. There is no right to citizenship of any country.

#andamovie

Its fake oil fight

*oil fight..

WHILST Abed delivered a baby in the background! (I watched that episode probably three times before I noticed the story line happening in the background). 🤣🤣🤣🤣 #AndAMovie!!!

Annie's really young, we try not to sexualize her

Wow I never know if that need lots of money for to become citizen. Anyway am not America and lucky never dream to become or to visit because especially now is to scary. But I do love American friends who are amazing kind people's

I have had friends just give up and go back to their countries. They spent tens of thousands of dollars and paid taxes for years, but the more money they made in their careers, the more the govt. stalled so they could collect more and more. It is a total scam. Give us your poor......yeah right.

@@irisbjones Ikr?! I suspect that's what delayed my friends' applications too. Her husband is some computer expert who makes *bank*. I am bummed to hear that good honest people give up because our citizenship process is so uneven. In that case it is the US who is the loser. 😞

I already mentioned this in another comment, but you don't have to become a citizen to legally stay and work work in the U.S.. A work visa and Green Card can come before that. Granted, the Green Card process is also pricey and takes a while.

And here they perpetuate the myth that the U.S. is basically an immigrant society. If that is the case then why does it take so long to become a citizen?

there are other videos of him talking about it

There's a last week tonight video on you tube about the entire process and he talks about his experience too.

Showing how a HBO employee who gets paid by AT&T ie Blackrock and Vanguard goes on Tv to deliver a message that sustain the domination of the billionaire 1% by creating a horizontal war rather than a vertical one.

Two time Emmy winner Deserved!! His show is incredible and Oliver is one of my fav comedians, hands down

@@samsunga-pm4qq the war was always there, but now you might finally get a resolution if you bother to?

Vegar Ystenes Valstad George Soros has invested 100 million to put gasoline on this horizontal war so that you don’t fight the real one, the vertical one! George Soros doesn’t give you money to fight against him, he’s sending we the people to a dead end

@@samsunga-pm4qq ah Soros, boogeyman for European Nationalists. American nationalists have adopted him as boogeyman too?

Wow, what tribe are you from

@@jasleenoriley3688 Ojibwe, (Chippewa), Bear Clan, Leech Lake, Minn...

@Bill Jenkins Billy, try saying that at Wounded Knee or Standing Rock and we'll see if you survive getting off the "Rez."

mark allen well said

Bill Jenkins As a white person myself, I believe it’s my earnest duty to tell you to go fuck yourself

Voting against Trump feels good. Voting for Biden, not so much.

@@stupidburp if voting against trump feels good that means voting for biden feels good by your statement

@@genocidejoe thank you mr obvious

@@stupidburp :-( point.

muhamed ali No.... not really. It won’t feel good. Both feelings make sense.

And those are the people that earn the right to be here. You're basically excusing illegals by saying they're coming illegally because of the wait time. No, they come illegally so they aren't documented and stay out of the system. They were willing to break the law and enter illegally, that's not the type of citizens America wants. No, the country shouldn't change a thing because a foreigner finds the process of becoming a citizen of that country too long and hard a process. You follow the laws and do what is required to become a citizen of America.

Getting citizenship in the US is less expensive than many other countries. They should raise the cost actually.

@@seansmith8103 give me your tired, you're poor, you're huddled masses yearning to breathe free, and several thousand dollars

honestly, I feel like the reason my process was easier was because my dad was born in the US and thus was a citizen. Had it not been for that, I honestly don't think I could've ever moved here. Funny thing is, the same summer my mum became a citizen she decided to move to Canada. Good for her I think :)

@Nicky L it's an American nightmare

Yep...the complete opposite of Fallon’s

@Tony Amati ...I never miss it, it's simply brilliant!

LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS WITH COMMON SENSE LOVE POLICE!!!!! If you are a true good citizen you love police but if you are always shady, trying to sneak up and sell drugs, murdering people, looting, home invading, etc, then you hate the police. You get in this country a BLACK PRESIDENT, BLACK SENATORS, BLACK GOVERNORS, BLACK CHIEF OF POLICE, BLACK ACTORS, BLACK LAWYERS, BLACK DOCTORS, BLACK ATHLETES. WHERE THE FUCK IS THE SYSTEMIC RACISM??? IT SHOWS THAT IF YOU ARE WILLING TO COMMIT (and in some cases sell your soul to the devil like in Hollywood) YOU CAN SUCCEED. STOP BEING PAWNS OF BIGGER PLAYERS. STOP IT!!!! Stop helping THUGS get rid of police so they can come in your homes at night! It's easier to fool a man than to tell him he is been fooled!

Abe Skywalker someone hasnt done their research

Abe Skywalker the whole police movement is part racism, but another big part is general brutality against ANYONE (whites, blacks, etc). These protests have really shown how brutal police can really be. Do your OWN research ! :)

K Lor which is the point he makes.

Bill Jenkins Literally no one said it should be easy...

only took me couple yrs, pre 9/11 ez

@Bill Jenkins how many Americans are actually Americans? Nobody? Only the Native Americans? Think about that.

@Bill Jenkins what the heck? Where am I anti white? I have just remind you on your history. And I have asked you how you define an american? And how the heck did you read that I am anti white? This makes especially no sense since I am white.

🙄

Spot on😎 thank you

Perfect.

At least you could hear his real laugh, Not that phony one he does all the time in the studio

I laughed at and with both of them.

@@kiddalingur I love Jimmy's laugh. Don't be such a negative puss!

@@pamelacass9642 I laughed at them

He said "with a different kind of respect". If he said it the other way that would need to be "treating me differently".

@@audience2 sooooooo since you're one of those guys please explain what is the difference between being "treated different" and being "treated with a different kind of respect"???

Treated differently is a broad generalization that can encompass things such as who is prioritized in a situation which may not be purely based on level of respect (racism / stereotyping) . A different level of respect pertains solely to how he is being interacted with based on respect or courtesy... it’s a difference in wording but means every bit of difference. I love you vs. I love your money??

@@alvinyang8677 and in both situations they're being treated differently making them both still wrong. Thanks for clearing that up.

Hell yeah

#AndAMovie!!!!!

XD

@Nicky L yeah, you're good with him flying until he kills someone you know/love.

@Harrison Ford will kill someone with his plane Seem that your British mate might have just rubbed up his fellow country men the wrong way, we British love a moan but wish you well in life as long as you don't shove your not required enthusiasm in our faces. Don't ever brag about your stuff to a Brit cos we're only gonna hurt you with sarcasm.

Still need the friking story from the video heading/ HOOK WTF WAS FRIGHTENING? Details are vital especially now.

3 for STEM students. Initial visa, then OPT to stay 12 months then again for 24 months(only if you are in STEM), then again for H1b and greencard. You don't get the vote until after staying on the greencard and applying for citizenship. And for the second one, its more difficult since most employers say they won't hire qualified OPT students except Indian scammers. I have had people reach out to me saying they liked my experience and work but then say no because of the visa. This is hindering American businesses and job creation. Even Lindsey Graham recognizes this.

I got my US citizenship 3 years ago after being in the country for 7 years on a green card. I think it cost me a total of $600 for the application, an office visit for biometrics, a 2nd office visit for the interview (which took about 20mins), and then the citizenship ceremony. Applied in Dec 2016 and was a citizen by May 2017. Honestly, I think my green card application was more stressful, mainly due to the amount of paperwork required as I was applying before moving to the US, but even that was only a 6 month/$600 process back in 2009. I did the whole thing myself both times, no lawyers or paid help, just meticulous Internet research at every stage of the process.

I agree with you Dual Citizenship is allowed by Britain and the U.S.

Sounds like a rock and a hard place to me...

You seem to be blissfully unaware of what's going on in the UK.. JT got it right I think.

anyone? really? 8 billion people on earth, and you think most of them prefer living in their shitty countries to living in the USA? Why are all these Mexicans hopping the border, no reason? If America sucks so much, then I'm sure you'd agree with me that we should reject all applications for citizenship and secure the border so that all those poor people won't have to live in such a desolate place, correct?

magicskyfairy69 turns out your shitty nation trumps being poor, killed or persecuted, who knew 🤷🏽‍♂️

That was spot on!

Spot on, but scary true! And it's sad that it is true.

@Bill Jenkins which proves why society needs work. Thanks for clearing that up. Its little admissions like this that will bring unity.

@Bill Jenkins you use the term "you" and "you people" alot so im not sure what you consider yourself. I dont live in whichever nation you are calling "this one" and if you dont see that there is a problem its usually because YOU(yourself and persons that share that same thought pattern) are the problem. Why dont you move to another nation...if we are talking about the U.S. thats not your nation buddy

@Bill Jenkins lol OK

John Oliver is only 43 his young

He's still British, he's a dual citizen now. It's not as hard for him since his wife is a US citizen.

He's still hanging onto his good old British passport as well.

@@alisonsmith4801 so when it all goes tits up, he can come home to mother.

“Discovered by Columbus” Is that shit still going around?

@@enkiitu .For me no. I really don't care: I won't call for rewrite history as it will endanger all forest on earth to reprint history books. As a matter of fact let's state another scoops : Earth is not flat! Mid-eastern born Jesus is likely not white, Human civilization is not 6000 years old. Is that shit still going around ???? :)

altantis69 ?? I don’t follow you. Rewrite what history? Columbus didn’t discover anything, America was already here (although it wasn’t called that, well never know).

@@enkiitu Hi, I meant "discovered" like the stars in the sky. All universe exist before us and yet we (as a group of peoples, nations) "discovered" (bring to our knowledge) things. You're RIGHT: from Native people point of view, the ones leaving in the "Unknown continent", their land were already "discovered" by their ancestors. ;) Here, "discovery" is a subjective process. Even for the stars, when we discover a new born star. It already exists. (bcz of light speed). other example: DNA helicoidal structure was discovered but existed already. For Europe, Columbus discovered by mistake a "New" continent he thought was India (bcz of erroneous accepted value of earth perimeter at that time)

...and a pain in Donnie's butt as well as his wealthy friends' butts.

nathan woo in some respect I’m glad it was so hard, not for everybody in particular, but it shouldn’t be easy for a celebrity should it?

How long do chia pets last, once they start sprouting?

He's still a fellow brit. The renouncement of other citizenships has no standing in international law.

He is still British...

@@skonji Well, international law is totally useless anyway. We all know countries' relationships are basically an anarchy. So, if the UK doesn't recognise him as a British citizen he isn't a British citizen and there's no one to enforce otherwise no matter what the international "law" say...

Marco T. British permits dual citizenship

@@rickwalker7900 then he got to keep his nationality. I never understood why don't the US and UK have some kind of reciprocity agreement on citizenship like Brazil and Portugal do. It makes no sense to be so bureaucratic and force ex metropolis and colony citizens to change nationality for having the same rights as nationals...

me neither

I believe I am well placed to answer that. I'm British. My husband is Canadian American. I met my husband in the US but he lived in Canada. I work in aviation and there were job opportunities to transfer to Canada or the US. I transferred to be closer to my husband. My career did well in Canada and we had kids together in Canada. I built a life in Canada. When you invest years into a country and your spouse and kids are from there and your career is there and your friends are there, it's not easy to just go home. I didn't need Canadian citizenship, but there is something in the back of your head that resident status/green card is not equal to citizenship. TL;DR A country you didn't intend to make your home, becomes your home. You want citizenship.

RunningFromABear my sister has lived in Canada since 1993, after marrying a Canadian. She took Canadian citizenship in 2015.

Dual citizenship has its perks. Although since Britain is leaving the E.U. He won’t be able to retire in any of the E.U. Countries anymore.

@@4700_Dk A lot of Brits still have access through Ireland. I'm English but qualified for an Irish passport through my Dad. I got one after the Brexit vote just to hedge my bets. If I didn't have that option, Britain and Ireland have an agreement to live and work and study in each other's countries. It's not too difficult for Brits who really want an EU passport to get one. 5 years continuous residency within 9 years is necessary in Ireland. Anyone who studies in Ireland gets a 4 year head start. There are other options like Norway or Switzerland, Britain has pretty good agreements with them too. The EU has become more circuitous but it's not become inaccessible for most Brits.

McIntyre is a gem!...or do you know something I don't🤔

nope, John's ours now! 😆🤣

Thomas Wilson If your job were here and it was the best, cushiest dream job you ever imagined, you might feel differently-especially if your spouse and children were born here.

But all these celebrities are supposed to have a conscience so how can he be happy

@@beverlyantoniou8236 Being on the Daily Show

Who cares. I am German and I became US citizen last year. Go fuck yourself

@@mml1426 and they say the art of debating is dead.

We came here to be rewarded for the hard work we have to put in. My parents built a whole lot out of nothing and their kids (us) are successful. We avoided certain war, antisemitism, horrible systems, and corruption. That exists everywhere but you have no idea how good you have it here. My parents had to wait in line for bread and then go to a different store and wait hours in line for meat- if there was any left. My first winter jacket my dad stood outside of a store for something like 7 hours to just get me a jacket. There are awful places in this world and as many issues we have, we have a system that perpetually gets better, not worse.

It's the highest level of security you can gain as a foreigner - particularly you can't be deported or be denied entry to the US. As to why I would want to be in the US in the first place... Personally, it was the opportunity to succeed professionally, which includes economic upward mobility. The US is not the beacon of meritocracy it purports to be, but I found that for me, it did provide more growth given my skills & hard work, as compared to where I came from.

I’m Canadian living in the US. Even compared to Canada, the opportunities here (especially Los Angeles where I live), are CRAZY. As an engineer I make 2x more then I would in Toronto for a similar cost of living. Ambitious people from all over the world flock to the big cities in the USA for similar reasons. So the network of smart, ambitious, international people you meet here is excellent. Especially when you start building it in your 20’s. I’m no John Oliver for status/money, however I’m in a very high in demand STEM field and still am having trouble navigating the immigration process. I haven’t even been able to get a green card after 6 years of living here, let alone even thought about what it’d feel like to become a citizen.

The US has a lot of problems but... we’re far from alone. The thing about the US is that we’ve made progress. Slow, agonizing, conflicted progress, but we are headed in the right direction (or, well, we were - last few years have been a bit of a backslide). Coming from the UK, which is in a similar situation, it’s not much of a motivation. For people coming from many parts of the world, though, it’s like going from sleeping on the street to having a tent. Not exactly where you want to be, but an improvement.

the golden girls facebook fan group The Lanai is full of growing and flourishing examples :)

@Hekat the Evil B-tch I imagine as long as the molds still existed Chia Pet would keep selling any version they made previously. I'm gonna grow them.

Yeesh! Punctuation, man!

It's still an emotional decision. I'm British with dual citizenship and getting a new citizenship on one level can feel like a rejection of Britain. It wasn't. It wasn't rejecting Britain but embracing the country of my husband and kids. If I wanted to be uptight and refuse to yield, I wouldn't have taken on dual citizenship.

@L F Why the need to politicize everything? Surely it is not true that Oliver only appeals to stupid people. They have a different style of comedy, and that's an objective fact. I'm not saying that one is better than the other, because there is no universal truth as to what is good humor, as it is subjective. I wish you (and the society in general) could be more polite and spend less energy talking trash about people with different viewpoints than their own.

@L F Who said anything about his political views? I sure didn't. I was just stating the fact that their comedic styles were different. His political agenda is irrelevant to my point. You find this concept difficult to grasp, and I'm the idiot? BTW: I can also appreciate the artistry of people like Louis CK and Kevin Spacey in discussions where character is not a factor. My suggestion to you is to be less bombastic, I'm sure that you are a better man behind that tough keyboard warrior exterior of yours. Or you can go on calling people dumb and see where that will take you in life. And yes, I've seen quite a bit of Oliver already, I'm watching them chronologically and I'm into season 2 now. I also watch Fox News, to get some perspective, although this was not the point of discussion here.

Perhaps the process of Canadian citizenship is less arduous? 🙄 It's not that people aren't happy and proud to become American citizens. I think the point is that it is such a long, drawn-out, *expensive* and *difficult* process to attain citizenship, that by the time you finally achieve it, your first reaction is relief that many years of fighting for it are finally over.

@@jademusic1211 I believe you may be right in that assessment.

@M K not what I meant. It's ridiculous people feel afraid they could get kicked out any second even if they have been legally residing in the country like John Oliver.

I felt strange, not really proud. I did it because I wanted to share citizenship with my husband and kids. The people around me had dressed up for the ceremony and were taking photo's and I had scheduled it into my workday and my husband was at work and my kids at school. The people around me made me feel ungrateful and a little embarrassed about it.

@@runningfromabear8354 I'm sorry about that. That sucks.

@@Rhythmicons It took me a long time, but I'm not like John Oliver. I don't stress over things I don't have control over. Worst case scenario, I'm still British and Irish. For the rest of the people at the ceremony, it was something they had to work hard for and earned. I was more ambiguous in my feelings about getting it done. For these people, it meant everything! For me, it meant that I could have matching passports with my kids and vote. John Oliver's invested his entire career into the US. If he can't live and work in the US, fifteen years of hard work are sunk because few have heard of him in Britain. Moving from one rich country to another rich country, has very little impact on my career in aviation. Watching the others at that ceremony highlighted just how spoiled I am and it should and did make me embarrassed of that. I never lost a night's sleep over it or worried about it. I'm not sorry, they were a good reminder that I have privileges that I don't notice and should do more to help others.

As a fellow Canadian living in the US, my thoughts exactly, though still need to get in-line for a green card...

irtwiaos I was lucky in that I’m a nurse. I was working at Georgetown in the early 90’s and since there was a shortage of nurses their legal department decided to sponsor me for a green card. They posted my position for the period they needed and then were able to sponsor me, and I sponsored my husband also canadian. We came originally on trade nafta visas. I realize how very fortunate I was because it cost us less than three hundred dollars. BUT I still don’t have a desire to become american even though I’ve lived here a very long time. My daughter will be voting for us....