Herbert A. Weiss Immigration Law Blog on Lawyers.com

Newsweek magazine recently published a survey that purported to rank the best countries in the world in which to live.  Factors evaluated included conditions relating to health, education, economics, and corruption.  The United States placed eleventh, behind such countries as Finland (#1), Switzerland (#2), Sweden (#3), and Luxembourg (#5).

Let me say off the top that I did not read the Newsweek survey or accompanying article/analysis so perhaps poking fun at it is unfair.  Newsweek may believe as I do that ranking countries based on “supposed” objective factors (something inherently difficult to do) is more of a quiet Sunday afternoon diversion than a meaningful kind of undertaking. 

Rankings are usually highly suspect.  They depend on the criteria held most dear, and the predilections of those who do the ranking.  Sandy Koufax won only 165 games as a major league pitcher.  There are many who won significantly more total games than him, but with the possible exception of a very few, can anyone seriously claim that they were superior to him when it came to major league hurling.  I doubt it, and I think most knowledgeable baseball people would agree with me – in addition to seconding Sandy as one of the greatest (possibly the best) pitchers of all time.

As an immigration and nationality lawyer, ranking countries has particular meaning for me.  I handle many cases where an alien’s ability to immigrate is based on whether or not the alien possesses extraordinary ability.  Under immigration rules, this determination is made by submission of documentation from a list of various types of evidence designed to determine who truly is exceptional.  This is a very debatable subject.

Another reason “ranking” things resonates with me is because of the type of person I often see in my practice. Often I am consulted by those living unlawfully in this country in very difficult economic and social circumstances and who would do practically anything to stay here and acquire legal status. 

I don’t believe that any of these people I see are breaking down the doors trying to live in Finland or Sweden.  The mountains may be beautiful in Switzerland and the chocolates delicious, but I am sure the persons with whom I deal would much prefer to live here in the good old USA.  Pardon my belief in American exceptionalism, but the USA for my money -- as it was for my parents, immigrants themselves -- is still the best country in the world in which to live, survey rankings notwithstanding.

Well, maybe Newsweek will soon do an article on the best restaurants – affordable, I hope – in the world.  Perhaps I’ll place more credence on that one than its survey of the best countries in which to live.