At a family ceremony last weekend, my cousin’s new husband was missing. He is a Canadian citizen residing in the US. He was born in Pakistan, but his family moved to Canada when he was a year old. He has a Pakistani name.
On his recent visits to Canada he has had more and more difficulty being re-admitted to the US. Finally, he decided not to try to return until he had a visa. He was advised that the visa was probably necessary, and that trying to return without one could hurt his record. Here’s the kicker: Getting a visa will take between three months and three years!
My cousin now is in the process of filing another form that will move him up in the queue, since he’s the spouse of an American citizen. But, there’s still no guarantee of when they will let him back in.
I can understand and agree with the need for security in a post-9/11 world. But, this amount of delay is unconscionable.
News flash: It isn’t just persons from Arabic countries. If I were to leave the US, I wouldn’t be able to return without my husband petitioning for me to re-enter.
According to my very good Pakistani friend, who is also Muslim, it is. Pakistan is up to 97% Islam. He is also from one of the 15? 21? countries whose citizens must be on a national registry while residing in the United States. His immigration process has taken longer than necessary, and he feels that it is because of his skin colour and religion. I don’t know that I believe that, but he can think whatever he likes.
Ginger, I think mhendo was pointing out the difference between Arabic and Islamic. The two are not synonyms. Arabic just refers to Arabic-speaking countries.
So, what’s the deal december, do you now want sympathy and understanding from all the “civil libertarians” and “peace demonstrators” that you have been ridiculing on these boards?
And do you expect people to support you in your outrage against the practices of the same administration that you’ve been brown-nosing lo these many months?
And what does your cousin’s husband think of your support for racial profiling? Or your assertion that it’s not so bad if John Ashcroft and the justice department exceed their authority and illegally detain someone just because they feel like it?
While i feel for the person you discuss in the OP, your own position smacks somewhat of crocodile tears. Or is it just the case that the rules you support should not apply to your family?
To me this underlines the ridiculous nature of racial profiling. The Pakistani government is none too happy about how its citizens (as opposed to Pakistan-born Canadians) are being treated, either.
It’s your boy’s laws. Maybe this will finally get through your head.
granted, this sucks, and is a major reason i am opposed to a lot of the new immigration crap running around.
Yet another newsflash: If you’re not a US citizen, you need some kind of visa to reside here. Essentially, december’s cousin (based on what december said in the OP) was residing here illegally.
I don’t understand. If he is married to a US Citizen, and is presumably in the process of applying for permanent residency, shouldn’t he have a stamp in his passport stating that he is being processed for 1-551 (Temporary evidence of lawful admission for permanent residence)?
I didn’t think you were even allowed to leave the country until you received that stamp in your passport.
I don’t understand the law. I know he was a resident and working here, so he must have had work visa of some sort. I think the problem is obtaining a re-entry visa.
LolaCocaCola – thanks for your point about the passport stamp. I don’t know why that didn’t apply to him.
Poetry? The appearance is that you find satisfaction in the suffering of December’s family because it will serve to teach him a lesson that you believe is valuable. That reeks.
I’ll even extend those sentiments and say that i feel for everyone in december’s family who is affected by this. I was more intrigued at the way in which december was so quick to criticize the same sort of policies that he has been supporting for so long just because someone he knows happens to be the victim now.
Empathy cuts both ways, you know, and december has shown decidedly little, particularly in the threads that i linked to in my post.
As a new immigrant myself, I am unable to leave and re-enter the US until such time as my status has changed to either citizen or resident alien. He should have known this before he left. If I chose to disobey the laws and slip through - and being that I still hold a Canadian drivers license, and have my birth certificate, both in my maiden name, I could - I probably could do so. However, due to your cousin’s skin colour, he would probably be more closely scrutinized.
