The Illegal American: The Book and the Cause

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How Albin dresses for a Texan wedding…

Albin Skjelbred wants to come to America. Badly. More than that: he wants to be an American citizen. He loves America. Warts and all. Unfortunately for Albin, a native of Sweden, the process of becoming an American is ridiculously obscene. It costs a lot of money. The bureaucracies are suffocating. So, he can visit America, but to actually stay in America is currently out of his reach.

His American friends say, semi-jokingly, “Just come across the southern border…”

But Albin won’t even contemplate that option. He loves and respects America so much he insists that if he’s ever coming to the good ol’ USA, its going to be by playing it straight down the middle: obeying America’s laws and honoring all the things he cherishes about her.

Since Albin first began his efforts of becoming an America in 2020, almost five million people have come across the border illegally and most will be allowed to stay indefinitely. That is about 163,300 a month… 5,400 a day… 226 an hour… 5 a minute.

And yet Albin and many others who actually love America and want to play by the rules find it ridiculously difficult and expensive to move here.

A plan was hatched by Albin and his friends to raise the money and create the circumstances for him to come and live in America and ultimately become a citizen. You are part of that plan.

There are several steps in the plan. The initial ones are centered on raising the money to hire an attorney to make sure that all the possible options are being explored and that there is legal assistance to make sure that all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed. Additional financing to pay the god-awful application fees is part of these steps. However, since it appears that Albin will need to find a sponsor or find some other suitable arrangement, later steps will address these needs. They will, no doubt, cost even more money.

One can see why the joke is to just walk across the border and declare his name is actually Jose Skjelbred!

To begin raising all this money, Albin is going to write a book called The Illegal American.

It is a telling of all the efforts Albin has made and will make to become an American, detailing how cumbersome and difficult it is to live in America, even if you absolutely love America. It will total up the costs in time and energy to fill out the forms, go through the background checks, etc, etc, etc, and then tally up all the goodies you get by showing up to live in America as a legal immigrant (tally of goodies if you are legal: almost nothing). This will be compared and contrasted with the goodies you get if you come to America illegally: free healthcare, free schooling, free housing, free phones, and increasingly the right to actually vote in American elections.

The stark contrast between the Illegal American and the illegal immigrant is mind-blowing.

Thus, this book will not only help make it possible for Albin to call America home, but it will raise awareness about just how whacked the legal immigration system is.

Full disclosure: the book will be co-written with the owner of the Taproots site.

Scroll down to read about Albin’s journey so far, in his own words.

What You Get by Backing this Project

Before going into what you get, its useful to know the general plan. The ultimate objective is to get Albin to America so he can stay, such as via a green card.

• Objective: Secure a reputable attorney that can help map out the best route possible for Albin and then reliably assist in the process of making it happen (filling out forms, facilitating payments of fees, etc). Very rough estimate: $10,000 to $15,000.
• Objective: Raise the funds for this and other expenses by producing a book which can be given to donors and also sold as a stand-alone effort. As a co-author of the book, this may give Albin opportunities to come to the US on beneficial terms. A very rough estimate: $10,000 to $15,000 (which includes the cost of printing and shipping books to donors. Ideally, the sales of the book could help finance the other objectives.)
• Objective: Raise the funds to assist with traveling expenses and fees related to visa applications, etc. The attorney will help establish what these costs will be. A very rough estimate: $10,000 to $15,000.
• Objective: Raise the funds require to assist a potential employer or some other entity to help pay for the costs associated on the US side of the equation to allow it to sponsor Albin. A very rough estimate: $10,000 to $15,000.

Thus, the first goal is to raise the money to produce the book. This in turn will help finance the other objectives and give a pretext for raising awareness of Albin’s quest and the many hurdles standing in the way of a legal immigrant coming to America. In short, the first phase of fund raising wishes has a goal of raising $20,000  which will produce and distribute the book with enough left over to secure the attorney, who can then advise on the other expenses. Ultimately, $60,000+ will be needed.

So… here is what you get!

• Buy 1 Seed: Get a free E-book version of the book.
• Buy 8 Seeds: Get a free E-book version as well as a soft cover edition of the book. Receive an emailed “thank you” from Albin.
• Buy 15 Seeds: Get the free E-book and a hard cover edition and the emailed personal “thank you.”
• Buy 60 Seeds: Get the E-book and a signed copy of the hard cover, mailed directly to the donor, with a thank you letter from Albin.
• Buy 85 Seeds: The E-book, the signed copy of the hard cover and thank you letter mailed directly to the donor, and a 30 minute ‘Facetime’/Zoom conversation with Albin.
• Buy 100 Seeds: The above, plus Albin will include a special item with the book delivery, selected especially for you from Sweden, and shipped to you! What is it? It’s a surprise!
• Buy 250 Seeds: The above, plus Albin will visit you personally once he arrives in the States!

Hear more about Albin’s journey so far, in his own words:

 My dream of becoming an American started after the very first two weeks of being there, the reason for this two week short visit was to see my ex fiancé who’s the very reason i became a Christian. God is good. Tho at the time she was only my girlfriend.

The first day i had in the USA was 26th of January 2020, I left 9th of February 2020 So, the very moment when I had changed my perspective entirely on this nation was when I was flying home. I just realized what kind of place it was that I just left. It was like an old place in the modern world. Full of freedom from a perspective many Americans and Europeans can’t see themselves.

There I was, sitting in Germany after my very first encounter with true Christians who showed me their church and their love. After my very first encounter of America. And in that moment it all made sense. From the gun laws to why trump was elected to why they love and respect their flag. It was all good and it was all free.

I never understood why someone would die for a flag, or why they would want to keep their guns, why they would elect a man who is the next “hitler”. It wasn’t just a flag, it’s their flag, their home, and it’s worth dying for. And their guns are the very tool to stay free, to stay safe.

Trump wasn’t as evil as my media told me he was. Trump has done far better things than most presidents have over the last ten years. Anyway. I started seeing things from their perspective rather than what the masses in Europe sees their reality.

America and life by that time felt far more raw (in a good way) and real than any other life I could think of. That’s when I pictured a life in the states. They fought for that freedom and still do to this very day.
After that. Months went by until summer on august. That’s when I accepted Jesus as my lord and savior. That’s when I knew he was real at least. I started walking in faith by then. Not knowing what was going on. But I still walked forward.

Many more months passed during Covid. Unable to see my girlfriend and unable to visit the land I fell in love with and from a far watching how America was going downhill…. The days just flew by. I was here in Sweden completely free to do whatever I pleased without mask mandates or lockdowns. Yet all I did was working overtime hours on a crappy job for an ok pay, play video games and facetime my girlfriend on Facebook. Sounds very depressing.

All I had in mind was for the future. To be able to afford a house for me and my girlfriend and to make sure I get to keep her. A year went by of doing just that, tho I remember there was a time during winter when my girlfriend became sick, she didn’t go to the doctors because she did not want to pay the doctors bill, this later lead to doubts of living in America, my family and coworkers played a big part in that, telling me how bad America is and how good we have it here.

For a time I kind of decided to bring her here instead. But that changed once we opened our borders during the summer of 2021. Then she was finally able to visit. So she did. We spent three months together. We decided to live free rather than to live “safe”. (Sweden is not safe btw)

After these three months from august to October we decided to get married during mid January 2022. That would get me a guaranteed gree ncard and a good job at her dad’s shop. I visited in 1st of march to make our engagement official and to attend our wedding plans. And so we did. Until march 22nd when she gave me back the ring leaving me sobbing in her lap.

At this point I had no idea what to do. After three weeks without her I decided im going to win her back. So I hired lawyers here and immigration agents to get me to the states. This cost me about 5600 dollars. The only visas i was offered was a student and tourist visa. And the agents turned out to be a scam.

I did all I could. Contacting embassies myself, reading so much about visa after visa to migrate… found nothing that could help me at the time. I decided to get a student visa at a community college near her. I was accepted yet I declined this later when I she told me she found a new man who is today her new husband.

This broke me in ways I never thought I could ever be broken in. I turned physically ill, I puked many mornings, cried my eyes out, let out violent screams in my car, shaking, experienced heart issues…. There I was, left alone in hate, sickness and guilt. I knew it was my fault to why this all happened.
There, in my darkness God told me to turn to him and so I did. Everyday. I lived for him. He healed me. In so many blessed ways, gave me new life and a purpose. He gave me the dream. Despite all that happened. I still had that same love for America as I did when I first left it. So… I decided to take things into my own hands and full fill my God given dream. To become American. Glory to God!

Right after my ex found someone I sort of invited myself into my friends wedding who lives in Texas. That wedding was going to take place November 11th 2022. After months of fighting from April to July I came up with the idea. Something that could get me to the states. To start my welding career I didn’t start after college, it was hard.

At first I did not find any employers, I had also lost a lot of skill and knowledge from school. I was blessed to finally get a job in September 1st on Labor Day. It was a MIG welding shop my old classmate worked at. I got in. Taught myself the basics from there on simple projects. I worked my butt off. In struggles of technique and mental battles I was there under that dark hood in the toxic smoke, welding MIG everyday.

Then the wedding came up. I was so excited to see the south. Something different than Michigan… and boy was it different. The love and hospitality was even more than it was up north. I felt so at home. I spent a good week and a half there. Having a blast with friends and activities I couldn’t do at home. Like fueling up an SUV for 40 bucks which is like 60% off from my price, shooting guns, riding horses with cowboys and more.

After this blessed trip i had to get back home. Make more money and keep on improving on my skills. So I did. Tho after many months of hard labor in this crazy shop i had to quit my job on that very shop since they couldn’t afford that many employees when jobs was decreasing. Four days after this news I found a job as a maintenance welder at a refinery I’ve worked on before as safety.

This took my career to a whole new level. This job was pipe welding with TIG. I couldn’t weld with the TIG at all. But luckily this company was a rich and a patient one, I was able to spend days and weeks welding on pipe.. yet til this day it’s still a struggle but I have almost gotten to the point of being certified. Many days I feel like quitting everything, but I won’t. I’m gonna weld like Gods blacksmith and I’m gonna still do all I can to get that greencard. I won’t give up on the American dream.

I was also able to take four weeks off in July to spend in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Texas and Louisiana. The best trip I have ever made. I had so much time meeting so many different people. This trip affected me in so many ways. It’s beautiful! I got to meet so many different kinds of Americans. Different backgrounds different stories yet they all shared the American heart. The American spirit.

This made me want to not only live here but to die for this country too. I would gladly give my life for these Americans, these people who I love so much.

The place and the laws may change, but my love for Americans never will. Because Americans makes America!

I wouldn’t care if this is the end times for the states either. If it’s going to burn like the Roman Empire I want to burn with it.