Stephanie Zacharek is the best movie reviewer I ever read.

If you get paid to watch five movies a week, you develop a different perspective than the average moviegoer. Not Steph. She is open-minded, free of cynicism, attentive to what she watches, and a marvelous writer.

That is all.

I'm an Adjudications Officer in NYC - specifically, I adjudicate applications for naturalization - and I can tell you that sentiments like "It was the most spiritual moment of my life" are pretty much par for the course. As you acknowledged towards the end of your review, it's hard for those of us who were born here to fully understand what it means to an immigrant - someone who chose to wade through our long and grueling immigration process - to finally be told they're being recognized as a citizen. Just this past week I had two applicants break down crying in my office when I told them I was recommending their applications for approval. Even now, after six months of doing this for a living, such a reaction never fails to disarm me.

But in a way, I can relate perfectly. I lived in Eastern Europe for a considerable time. I met and married my wife in Bulgaria, and spent a good number of months dealing with both the Bulgarian authorities and our Dept of State to secure her a green card and arrange our eventual return to the US. I know what it's like to feel as if you've surrendered control of your life to some huge and unknowable bureaucracy, and I can certainly appreciate the relief these people feel when they finally swear in and know that their journey is over.

Every Friday at our office we hold two naturalization ceremonies. Each ceremony involves around 200 people, from as many as 70 or 80 different countries. (This is in addition to 3 or 4 additional ceremonies being held around the city and suburbs, meaning more than a thousand people are naturalized in NYC alone each week.) There's a moment near the middle of each ceremony where an officer reads off the names of the countries where our applicants come from; after each country is read, the people from that country stand, and remain standing, while everyone applauds. Those moments have always been the most fascinating for me, for exactly the reasons Kramer mentions in the movie's press notes - so many people, so unlike each other in so many ways, choose to come here and call themselves "Americans" because they believe in the fundamental idea of America, even if that idea is more myth than reality. Amidst all the shallow flag-waving and patriotic slogans we've been inundated with over the past decade, it's maybe the only thing that truly warms my heart and gives me a glimmer of hope for the future of this country. So I'll forgive some of the more saccharine dialogue and give this movie a chance. Thanks for a nice review!

Is the problem of immigration to the US really one of Australian rock musicians who want to extend their visas?

Get serious. Our problem is that we have 12 million PLUS illegal immigrants, mostly from Mexico and Central America. Though they may mostly be deserving and decent people who want to earn a living, they are here ILLEGALLY -- something that would never be tolerated in any other nation. (Hint: just try and emigrate "illegally" to Switzerland, cuz you think it's such a great place! or to France, cuz you want their great health insurance!)

Illegal immigration on that scale simply can't be tolerated or excused, and it has contributed to stagnant or lowered wages for American workers, for job loss, for reduced benefits and health care (why provide a good job or health insurance to an American when a terrified illegal will do the work for less than minimum wage?) and contributed to dangerous work situations and poor quality control.

It's not good for anyone, and I suspect not really good in the long run even for the illegal immigrant, whose family and nation need him/her back home. America is no longer the "golden mountain" with an endless supply of jobs going begging; we can't afford to take on every worker with dreams or hopes for a better future. Sorry.

I am the granddaughter of immigrants, on both sides -- all four grandparents -- but they were LEGAL IMMIGRANTS, who got the proper paperwork and waited their turn at Ellis Island. They didn't sneak in, they came at a time when workers were in demand and their skills required. If not, they would have had to go elsewhere. Furthermore, they were fleeing persecution -- their very lives were at stake. This wasn't a case of "I can get more money working in the US than I can in Mexico".

For what it is worth, Mexico is a DEMOCRACY and surprise, surprise, they have NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE. We can't and we should not tolerate illegal immigration from ANYWHERE. This isn't bigotry; I thoroughly welcome ANY legal immigrant and I embrace diversity, and value Americans of Hispanic/Latino origin as much as I would those of European background.

This is about what is right and what is clearly wrong. It only muddles things to make movies pretending that the problem is the smallish number of immigrants from ENGLAND or AUSTRALIA.

Your grandparents waited their turns and got their green cards?? That's lovely. But today they'd be in their little rooms on the island for over 4 years (the amount of time that's passed since I applied.) It's absolutely ridiculous that it takes so long to get a green card. I've been here since 2001, on multiple H1 visas, my parents have lived in the US since 1993 for god's sake, and yet it still takes almost a DECADE to get my card. What's the big deal?? the more people here, the better. That's how this country got to be what it is. Ridiculous.

People always drag out this 'but my grandparents weren't illegal' canar. The fact is back then anyone could come into the US (except prostitutes, the 'feeble minded', and anarchists). In fact until the 1930's the US-Mexico border was wide open. Back when most american's ancestors came to the US- the borders were practically wide open (except closed to the chinese for a considerable time).

Also- it's a myth that people can just 'get in line' and 'wait their turn' to come into the US. Guess what- there is no such line. You can only come to the US if you already have a direct family member who is a citizen, or if you are a refugee, or if you are a highly educated person who can get an H1b VISA, or if you have a ton f money to invest in the US. If you don't fall into one of these categories you cannot come to the US. There is no line anywhere for you to get into.