The Oregonian ran the following story yesterday: Does Darlington Nagbe want to play in Vancouver? Is this just an Oregon newspaper hoping Nagbe falls to the Portland Timbers, or could Nagbe really refuse to play for Vancouver? If this is true, could it be because Nagbe wants to eventually play for the USMNT and would prefer to live in the US to make the citizenship process easier?
Re: Rumor: Darlington Nagbe doesn't want to play for Vancouver Nice MNT hook there - I'm interested to see if it stands up to scrutiny. I will guess not, but I've been wrong before.
Re: Rumor: Darlington Nagbe doesn't want to play for Vancouver I will admit it's mostly wishful thinking, but my hope is that some expert immigration attorney will post a response saying that the USMNT theory makes sense.
Re: Rumor: Darlington Nagbe doesn't want to play for Vancouver Wrong forum, unless the reason for refusing to go to Vancouver is that Nagbe wants to stay in the US to keep his citizenship on track so that he can play for the US National Team. BTW, has MLS made it when prospective top draft picks are refusing to go to the combine because they have "nothing to gain" and top college players are reusing to go to certain cities? Unless Nabe doesn't want to go to Vancouver because of the citizenship angle, I think he's foolish. Vancouver is a simply fantastic city and the ownership seems to be first class and the team can expect to be very well supported.
Re: Rumor: Darlington Nagbe doesn't want to play for Vancouver Since the contracts are signed pre-draft, the signed kids do have nothing to gain. Or lose.
Re: Rumor: Darlington Nagbe doesn't want to play for Vancouver I don't know if they still do, but MLS used to attach a small bonus to the top three picks in each draft. Something like the st overall pick got an extra 5K, 3,500 to No. 2 and 2,000 to the third pick. I have no idea if they still do it or if Nagbe's contract is enough, as many GA deals now are, where an extra 5K isn't worth it.
Re: Rumor: Darlington Nagbe doesn't want to play for Vancouver Anyone know how much longer he's going to be waiting on his citizenship?
Re: Rumor: Darlington Nagbe doesn't want to play for Vancouver There has not been much info on his status, aside from that he's not a US citizen right now. I don't think he's ever even publicly made a statement about wanting to become a US citizen or to play for the USMNT, although at least the former is almost certain.
Re: Rumor: Darlington Nagbe doesn't want to play for Vancouver But there's generally no slotting as there has been for years in all other pro sports. I am trying to remember the "big" MLS rookie contracts and recall if there have been instances for the lower picks to make more than the higher picks. Was Besagno the top paid player in his draft? Mo Edu, I believe, was. Marvell Wynne? PS. It does occasionally happen in the NFL if a top rated QB is picked after a top lineman but that's usually done in playing incentives.
Re: Rumor: Darlington Nagbe doesn't want to play for Vancouver The situation with Liberians who arrived in the US fleeing the civil war is very complicated.I am not sure about the details but I believe they are not covered under the usual green card status for most immigrants.I recall reading somewhere that the special immigration provision governing such Liberians was about to expire and was renewed for a few more years.If Nagbe's family falls under this category it may complicate his immigration status if he is across the border even if in this case it happens to be Canada. On the other hand he may be able to petition on his own with the help of his employer(MLS) for a green card just as many skilled immigrants have done successfully.
Re: Rumor: Darlington Nagbe doesn't want to play for Vancouver his situation is probably very similar to danny mwanga's although mwanga's dad was of elite status before his execution
Re: Rumor: Darlington Nagbe doesn't want to play for Vancouver More likely, Darlington would like to gain US citizenship which requires that he maintain residence in the US. Given the current state of US forward depth he could have a strong chance of becoming a US team member and furthering his career.
Re: Rumor: Darlington Nagbe doesn't want to play for Vancouver Or fail. I hate looking into the "top" draft picks but they could be hits or misses and this is the case with all sports.
mlssoccer.com: P visa: So he doesn't even have a green card yet? And he wouldn't become a US citizen for 4-5 years after getting his green card? Hopefully he meets a nice American girl in Portland and marries her ASAP.
mwanga can be a citizen this june.. nagbe needs to match what mwanga did last season, perhaps a stellar friendly against manu helps
A recent update: With Citizenship on the Horizon, Darlington Nagbe is the Timbers' Best Chance for USMNT Glory
So he gets married, and it's atleast 3 years from that date before he's eligible. Now, the good news is that if he stays in Portland, the immigration offices aren't as busy as the ones closer to the southern border. It shouldn't take more than 6 month after dropping his application for him to get his citizenship. 3.5 years tops.
So it's entirely probable that he could represent us in Russia, assuming he is good enough at that time? Brazil was gonna be too soon anyway, so as long as he gets it by 2017, he's not missing anything other than time to get acclimated to the system.