In my last radio talk I told you about how my wife cannot step foot on American soil--she was turned down when she requested a six month visa to come visit. I also said in my talk that I could not explain the whole story in one short radio talk.
What was their reasoning, and I am talking about the INS -- or the Immigration & Naturalization Service. Why was she turned down?
I can see their side of the case. What they are afraid of is that once she is my wife and once she is in the United States, she can stay here forever. I can claim I will support her. She will not be a drain on the American system. She will simply be my wife. So what is wrong with that?
Their answer is that she might be a criminal, or she might be a carrier of some horrible disease. They are willing to let her in to America, but first she must undergo a lengthy process -- a six month to year long process -- when they check her criminal record, give her a thorough physical, etc., etc.
Now why should I object to that? It is a precautionary measure. It is good for the United States. We don’t want to let in criminals. We don’t want new diseases to be imported into our country.
They are right -- but why didn’t they warn us? Why didn’t they tell us that once she married me she would have to undergo this process. We traveled back & forth for a whole year. Each time she came here she said she was going to visit her boyfriend, her fiance, her husband to be. No one said anything. All the officials said fine, go right on through.
If only one of them had said -- you know, once you get married she won’t be allowed back in here until she has undergone an extensive check up. If only one official had even given us a small hint of what awaited us.
If they had, we could have begun the long application process last summer when we were both in England. If they had we might have decided to get married next summer not this past summer. If they had my wife would have kept her $40,000 a year job a year longer while this checking-out process was going on.
But they told us nothing and because they told us nothing my wife quit her $40,000 a year job and I bought airplane tickets for her to come here on September 24th (I lost $400 on non-refundable tickets) and I bought airplane tickets for her in December that she cannot now use, and I bought airplane tickets for her daughters for our wedding reception for my family in New York city. That wedding reception must now be cancelled, and I have something like $2,000 worth of airplane tickets that are non-refundable.
Because they kept us in the dark, they have cost me a fortune. Because they kept us in the dark they have forced a newly wed couple apart. Of course I can fly to visit her over there, but I have a full time job, I can’t just pick up and go over there.
I am furious -- and powerless. They got me -- they got us -- and they never ever warned us. They’ve cost me a fortune and forcibly separated me from my new wife. We would have been better off in every way if we never got married. Is that the message they are trying to send to Americans? Don’t marry. Live in sin. It is not sinful as far as the INS is concerned. In fact, as far as the INS is concerned, the sin is marriage.
Copyright © 2004 Henry Morgenstein