Foriegn fiance is on welfare, problems?

[pddp 240]

That's because in the US many people believe that "support from the government" is a euphemism for "support from the taxpayers". The government in the US doesn't have any money they didn't take from a taxpayer or borrow from a bond holder. The same is true in most countries that aren't socialist (i.e., where the government isn't getting revenue from nationalized industries), but many people don't make the mental connection between the government's money and where the government got that money.

I'm not belittling the social support structure they have in Australia, especially if most Australians are happy with it. I'm saying that, to a large degree, people in America don't feel the same way. Most people in America believe that unearned public benefits should be reserved for those who are either permanently incapable of supporting themselves (the disabled), or are temporarily down on their luck. What might be surprising is that this belief is the strongest in America's working class. The people who believe that America should have a social support structure resembling the one in Australia or much of Europe are at opposite ends of the income spectrum - those at the bottom who would directly benefit from a strong social support system, and wealthy liberals who would happily contribute a chunk of their own wealth if the government forced everyone else to do the same. The people in between don't like it because they're the ones who would mostly be paying for it.

Immigration law is crafted to appease the majority of American who feel this way. Americans, for the most part, expect the costs of family immigration to be paid for by the families and immigrants, and that there should be protections in place to ensure that Americans aren't left holding the bill for immigrants who can't support themselves.

Interesting analysis. What I find most unfortunate about the American system and mentality in this regard is that it's a reflection of very fragmented society that pits one group against another, instead of promoting a sense of community. In many ways America still is like the Wild West, and an "every man for himself" mentality prevails to this very day. Everyone wants their own little group (be it family, ethnic, religious, whatever) to do well but heck if they be asked to help "the others". I find that very unfortunate, especially since the bigger problems we face in the world require not only unity of purpose on a national scale, but internationally as well. We all live on the same planet, and too many of us fail to see the bigger picture.