[jmathai]

Completely agree. That's why I used "or" instead of and in my last sentence.

My personal experience is that my parents came here in the late 60s. They weren't wealthy but were motivated. Because my parents were in the US they were able to bring over many family members over the course of the last 40 years.

Some of these people were formally educated in a high skill trade (accountant, nursing, etc) and some were not. Regardless, they've all flourished here. Some own gas stations and others own real estate.

It's really amazing to look back at my personal ancestory and see the differences between a single generation.