Carol, I just recently discovered a film that would fit the bill for the immigrant in American film - Elia Kazan's Amerika, Amerika. It's nearly 3 hours long and a story of rags to riches story the worst possible odds, chronicling the saga of his Greek uncle's voyage to the United States in the early twentieth century. But the latent masochism that underpins the main protagonist's plight is pretty hard to stomach at times. Good Luck ! Angelica