well, i am no expert, but last i checked: germany does not permit citizenship for me, period, and the work permit has strict limits. france had similarly restrictive immigration rules. yes, about the british -- their policies and culture seem to permit some room. plus, they seem to be the only white people who know how to mellow out ;-) (not you gary? unless you make it to the march! ;-)).
the US (admittedly, the only country i have lived in outside india) comes out better in comparison to the stories from my friends who lived in continental europe. it has easier and [what seems to me] fairer immigration laws. the people are nicer on the surface in the US... they smile a lot. the europeans (italy, france, germany, austria) on average seem a bit friendlier. of course when i say US, i mean [mostly] the northeast and the west coast (w.r.t the rest, my experiences in the south have on average been quite better than the midwest/rust-belt/chicago area).
anyway, that's all anecdotal. the real difference is immigration and work permits. only canada, as far as i know, does better than the US. (dont know much about australia). and laws an attitude towards immigrants. the US probably does better on that count also. despite the horror of the patriot act, it seems to stop well short of blair's suggested plan to criminalize speech (yes, i realize it is not yet law).
--ravi
-- If you wish to contact me, you will get my attention faster by substituting "r" for "listmail" in my email address. Thank you!