mtbc | Government hostility to family immigration

One thing that many British people don't realize is how the UK is rather more hostile to family immigration than the US is. For example, my family aren't even here yet and so far we have paid around £10k to the Home Office plus a princely sum to an immigration lawyer; the US fees are far lower and the Home Office make a tidy profit on them in terms of processing costs. Further, stepchildren cannot come if their other parent has had any parental responsibility for them, again the US would simply require the immigrating parent to have custody or get written consent or suchlike.

These policies feel counterproductive to me, in terms of how the average immigrant tends to come out better on various metrics than the average native-born citizen, the country tends to benefit from them. Furthermore, especially given the ECHR requirement to respect family life, it seems immoral to me to make such a profit by charging so much, and to penalize a good co-parenting relationship with one's ex. We are most fortunate that our circumstances permit us to pay such fees and prove what they demand but so many other families can't. After all, it's hardly as if I went looking for love overseas, one just doesn't get to choose when or whom.