Man cackles at the 'helpful tidbits' in the welcome pamphlet friend received with her US green card

Settling in a new place, especially a foreign country, is undoubtedly a challenging experience. Immigrants who leave their homeland for personal or professional reasons often expect some level of assistance from the host government to help them adjust smoothly to their new country. But what if the help offered by the nation is not only inadequate but also lacks seriousness? A U.S. citizen was amused by the “helpful tidbits” his country provided to his friend from Canada, who had recently received her green card. As per Farai Bennett—who goes by @faraibennett on TikTok—the two-page “Welcome to the United States” pamphlet could use a major rework.

For immigrants hoping to live the American dream, getting a green card is a significant step as it brings them closer to citizenship. It opens up new opportunities by allowing them to work and live in the U.S. permanently. However, Bennett had his viewers in stitches as he began listing the advice in the contentious pamphlet, with some points even prompting his Canadian friend, Alexandra Nikolajev (@lexniko), to pause and reflect.

Bennett began by humorously critiquing the authorities for their grand 'welcome'—a mere two-page handout. "The fact that it's this big... Welcome! I just want to read a little from the section titled 'Getting Settled in the United States,'" he said. The first piece of advice, "finding a place to live," made Bennett burst into laughter before he moved on to the next steps. He then highlighted numbers two and four on the list: "Find transportation" and "Get a job." The latter elicited another hilarious reaction from Bennett, as he accused the U.S. of trying to "gaslight" new residents like Nikolajev.

“Notice how it says ‘find a place to live,’ ‘find transportation.’ This one doesn’t—this one literally says, get a job. Not find a job, but get a job, get a job, get a job. America is gaslighting you. Find, find, get, get. Why do I have to get a job?” he said, raising a rhetorical question. In the one-minute-and-nineteen-second video, Bennett also noted a few of the remaining steps: “Taking care of your money,” “Improving your English language skills,” “Finding free information in your community,” “Connecting with community organizations that help immigrants” and “Preparing for emergencies.” The content creator emphasized that his friend was from Canada, which made the advice to "improve English" particularly nonsensical.

Echoing the sentiment, Nikolajev agreed, adding in the background, "I’m literally from Canada." For “finding free information in your local community,” Bennett suggested that authorities could simply advise green card holders to network. “I swear to God. Oh, the last one is my favorite: Prepare for emergencies,” he concluded, pointing out that the pamphlet provided no instructions on how to actually prepare for an emergency. Meanwhile, people in the comments couldn’t contain their laughter and shared their thoughts.

@madilaboy wrote, “The fact that it’s not even a tri-fold with information but just one fold.” Bennett responded with a joke, writing, “Fortune cookies have more layers than this.” @kyonigen shared, “In Canada, I received a message saying, ‘Thank you for choosing Canada!’ as if it were a company or something.” “I’ve been a green card holder since 2000, and that exact same pamphlet is sent every time I renew it—makes you wonder,” @rebeccawinship added.

You can follow Farai Bennett (@faraibennett) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.