Tyson Nash, a former pro hockey player and current radio analyst for the Phoenix Coyotes, believes in doing things the right way.

He moved from Canada to the United States 15 years ago, when he was 20, in order to fulfill his dream of a sports career. He was not the biggest or the most talented hockey player, but he managed through grit and determination to play professionally into his 30s, including a stint with the Coyotes.

'This country has given me what I have," he told me. "I am very grateful to be here."

In 2001, Nash began the process to become a permanent resident of the U.S., to get what is commonly called a "green card."

During his time in this country, he has paid over a million and a half dollars in taxes. He has worked steadily and never been in trouble. He received the Coyotes' Man of the Year Award in 2004 for his involvement in the community. He has paid lawyers over $16,000 to help him go through the immigration process the "right way."

"I've tried to be a model citizen," he said. "Both me and my wife (who is also Canadian). I've tried always to do what is right and to follow the rules. And for all that what have I gotten? Nothing. Frustration. Disappointment. It's sad, really. You hear people talk about immigrants doing things the 'right way' all the time. I suspect that they have no idea what that entails."

The road to permanent residency involves a lot of paperwork, a lot of waiting, a lot of wondering, and an interview. Nash didn't get notice of his green card interview until 2008.

"It was a really long time to wait," he said. "You know how it goes in hockey? A career doesn't last forever. It's usually pretty short."

By the time Nash got an interview for his green card, his professional playing days were coming to an end. In fact, the interview was scheduled for the very day that he was to have a last-ditch tryout with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"I called my lawyer and tried to get it changed," he said. "We wrote letters. We didn't hear back. In the meantime, the Coyotes called and said we have this opportunity here for you with an analyst's job. I was still interested in playing, but I canceled my tryout. The green card is the most important thing in my life. I told Phoenix if I can't get my tryout back, then I'll take the job."

The story gets more complicated after that, at least in the way that dealing with a bureaucracy and its red tape can make anything and everything more complicated.

What it boils down to is that in his original application, back in 2001, Nash listed his occupation as a hockey player. By the time he got to his green card interview all these years later, his occupation was TV analyst.

As a result, his conversation with the immigration official who was considering his application became, in Nash's word, surreal.

"Essentially, he told me that I filed my application as a hockey player and not a broadcaster so I had to get back in line and refile," Nash said. "I can't explain the frustration."

It gets even more bizarre. As Nash waits to find out if he'll be deported (along with his wife and three American children), he ran into a man from South Africa at a kids' baseball game.

"He told me, 'You wouldn't believe it, I won a green card in a lottery,'" Nash said.

It's true. Each year the U.S. government issues 50,000 green cards through a lottery, with applicants selected randomly by a computer. People from all over the world can apply.

But not Canadians.

Which left Nash, a good taxpayer, a good father and a good (if not quite legal) citizen, wondering what is right about the "right way."

Reach Montini at 602-444-8978 or ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.