Strelnikov
4th Level Red Feather
- Joined
- May 7, 2001
- Messages
- 1,812
- Points
- 0
I met a couple last weekend with a tale to tell. They’re both 22 yrs old. He’s a native US Citizen, discharged honorably fron the US Army last August, now working part-time and attending college on his veteran’s benefits. She’s his German bride, a university graduate who wants to attend graduate school. As the wife of a US Citizen, she has a legal right to permanent residency status, i. e. a “green card”.
At one time, getting her here would have been a simple matter – he could have obtained the necessary application from the company clerk. These days, though, everyone has to apply through the local US Consulate. When they did, they were told that:
(1) He had to sponsor her, so that the Govt could be sure that she wouldn’t go on welfare. Since he was leaving the Army and had no job lined up, he couldn’t do that from Germany. He had to go home, get a job, and then apply.
(2) She couldn’t come with him and let her green card paperwork catch up. The provision in the Immigration Reform Act that would have allowed that got dropped from the final bill.
(3) She couldn't enter on a student visa and apply for permanent residency from here. Student visa holders have to go back to their country of origin and then apply for permanent residency, because those applications can originate only from overseas consulates.
(4) There would be a mandatory background check on her. She’s only 22 and hasn’t much background to check. She’s been in school her whole life and never been in trouble with the law. Still, someone has to do it – and they will, when they get around to it.
So he left her behind, got a part-time job and started college. He applied at the INS office. He says that they have a phone, but no one answers it. If it’s not busy, it just gives a recording telling their office hours. Going to the office in person, expect to spend half a day for something simple like an application form or having a question answered. Anything more complex requires multiple visits over the course of several weeks.
His sponsorship application bounced. His income from his job wasn’t enough. The value of his veteran’s benefits (a Govt check that comes in the mail every month) didn’t count.
Meanwhile, she had been accepted at graduate school. She applied for a student visa and came to America – it’s legal to let the paperwork for those catch up. However, it isn’t kosher to apply for both a student visa and a green card at the same time – it’s either/or. She was refused entry, her passport was confiscated, and she was put in INS detention. The INS had subcontracted out to the local jail, so she spent several days in the Gray Bar Hotel with the *****s, thieves and bad check artists. He finally pried her and her papers loose and sent her back to Germany.
After that, he hired a lawyer. He has spent over $1,000 bucks and 8 months so far to get something that’s his legal right, and he’s not finished yet. He says that friends in similar circumstances have had to wait as much as 13 months. The lawyer at least managed to fix it so that his veteran’s benefits counted and found a way to let her visit him here.
It gets better. He did all of the talking. If she told the truth about her experience, the INS could construe that as criticism of the Govt, and that could affect their determination of her eligibility.
When her green card comes through, she will be a citizen-in-waiting, able to do anything except vote. However, if they live outside the US any time before she becomes a citizen, the process has to start all over again. Others in that situation commit fraud: They establish a bogus residence at the home of friends, so they will have a US address to renew paperwork from.
This girl is the sort of immigrant we should be eager to have: intelligent, educated, ambitious, law abiding, and she already speaks English. We’ve made a fine impression on her. The INS has harassed a friendly foreigner who is trying to enter legally WHICH SHE HAS A RIGHT TO DO. Meanwhile, the country is full of people who have overstayed their visas, if they ever bothered to get one in the first place. Several of them flew airplanes into buildings not long ago.
Your tax dollars at work.
Strelnikov
At one time, getting her here would have been a simple matter – he could have obtained the necessary application from the company clerk. These days, though, everyone has to apply through the local US Consulate. When they did, they were told that:
(1) He had to sponsor her, so that the Govt could be sure that she wouldn’t go on welfare. Since he was leaving the Army and had no job lined up, he couldn’t do that from Germany. He had to go home, get a job, and then apply.
(2) She couldn’t come with him and let her green card paperwork catch up. The provision in the Immigration Reform Act that would have allowed that got dropped from the final bill.
(3) She couldn't enter on a student visa and apply for permanent residency from here. Student visa holders have to go back to their country of origin and then apply for permanent residency, because those applications can originate only from overseas consulates.
(4) There would be a mandatory background check on her. She’s only 22 and hasn’t much background to check. She’s been in school her whole life and never been in trouble with the law. Still, someone has to do it – and they will, when they get around to it.
So he left her behind, got a part-time job and started college. He applied at the INS office. He says that they have a phone, but no one answers it. If it’s not busy, it just gives a recording telling their office hours. Going to the office in person, expect to spend half a day for something simple like an application form or having a question answered. Anything more complex requires multiple visits over the course of several weeks.
His sponsorship application bounced. His income from his job wasn’t enough. The value of his veteran’s benefits (a Govt check that comes in the mail every month) didn’t count.
Meanwhile, she had been accepted at graduate school. She applied for a student visa and came to America – it’s legal to let the paperwork for those catch up. However, it isn’t kosher to apply for both a student visa and a green card at the same time – it’s either/or. She was refused entry, her passport was confiscated, and she was put in INS detention. The INS had subcontracted out to the local jail, so she spent several days in the Gray Bar Hotel with the *****s, thieves and bad check artists. He finally pried her and her papers loose and sent her back to Germany.
After that, he hired a lawyer. He has spent over $1,000 bucks and 8 months so far to get something that’s his legal right, and he’s not finished yet. He says that friends in similar circumstances have had to wait as much as 13 months. The lawyer at least managed to fix it so that his veteran’s benefits counted and found a way to let her visit him here.
It gets better. He did all of the talking. If she told the truth about her experience, the INS could construe that as criticism of the Govt, and that could affect their determination of her eligibility.
When her green card comes through, she will be a citizen-in-waiting, able to do anything except vote. However, if they live outside the US any time before she becomes a citizen, the process has to start all over again. Others in that situation commit fraud: They establish a bogus residence at the home of friends, so they will have a US address to renew paperwork from.
This girl is the sort of immigrant we should be eager to have: intelligent, educated, ambitious, law abiding, and she already speaks English. We’ve made a fine impression on her. The INS has harassed a friendly foreigner who is trying to enter legally WHICH SHE HAS A RIGHT TO DO. Meanwhile, the country is full of people who have overstayed their visas, if they ever bothered to get one in the first place. Several of them flew airplanes into buildings not long ago.
Your tax dollars at work.
Strelnikov
