The Confusing Path to Legal Immigration

The US immigration system is famously complex, obscured by red tape, long waits, and multiple fees. Just how hard is it to immigrate legally to the US? Take a look at this flowchart by Mike Flynn, Shikha Dalmia, and Terry Colon to get an idea of the effort and time involved in getting a green card or becoming a citizen. This chart is actually almost 13 years old, originally published in the October 2008 edition of Reason Magazine. There have been very few changes to immigration laws in the US since this chart was published, but many immigration advocates hope that won’t be the case for long. In recent weeks, there has been a renewed push for congress to create paths to citizenship for DACA recipients, TPS recipients, farmworkers, and essential workers. Maybe soon this flowchart will have a few new branches.

ChalkFIT 2018

Every fall senior illustration students at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) create temporary murals at Seventh Avenue and West 28th Street, just down the block from our office. This year over fifty students interpreted the theme, "The future of the human experience." In addition to the yearly theme, the individual murals were inspired by everything from robots and technology, science fiction horror, and the immigrant crisis, to kewpie babies and propaganda art. Visitors can download the Arilyn AR App (on iTunes and Google Play) on their smartphone to enjoy the animation and augmented reality features of the murals.