American
Family Values Are Being Compromised
By Ashley Katz
UniteFamilies.org
Washington, DC
Imagine that you are a young
child living in a country other than the United
States and you have not seen your father for over
five years. This is caused by no fault of his,
but because of a drastic flaw in the US Immigration
law. This law prohibits you from visiting your
father, a green card holder living in the US,
while your immigrant visa petition is being approved.
Imagine going five years (the length of a typical
waiting period) of your young life without your
father – him being little more than a stranger
who visits occasionally.
For many children, this scenario is a reality.
Law-abiding, lawful permanent residents (LPRs)
living in the United States are being unfairly
separated from their spouses and minor children
while their I-130 petitions, an application for
the green card holder’s spouse and minor
children to live in the US, are pending. All of
this aggravation and red tape, all because that
law-abiding green card holder got married after
December 2000.
The long waiting period of five years or more
that green card holders and their families must
endure is caused by statutory numerical limitations
on available visas, coupled with immigration backlogs
and bureaucratic delays. This waiting period breaks
up families and sends the wrong message about
American family values.
While this loophole is heart wrenching, there
is a solution. There is currently a bill in the
US House of Representatives, HR 1823, that would
amend the provisions of a temporary, non-immigrant
visa, called the V visa, and would help unite
spouses and minor children of legal immigrants
with the LPR living in the US. The bill was introduced
by Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ-1) and currently
has nine co-sponsors.
Though HR 1823 would amend the provisions of the
V-visa and allow foreign resident spouses and
minor children of legal immigrants to enter and
live in the US temporarily while their I-130 petitions
are pending, it is not the final solution. Amending
the Immigration and Nationality Act to remove
numerical limitations on visas for spouses and
minor children of legal immigrants is the solution.
HR 1823 needs more support. Visit www.UniteFamilies.org
to learn more about how resolve this most pressing
issue.
About UniteFamilies.org
UniteFamilies.org is a volunteer-run organization
focused on the issue of family separation. Their
belief is that keeping husbands and wives separated
from each other and from their young children
sends the wrong messages about American family
values. For more information, visit www.UniteFamilies.org.
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