Immigration Policy Separates Nuclear Family
Unitefamilies.org urges Congress to act on proposed HR 1823 to revive the temporary, non-immigrant V-visa for legal permanent residents who are separated from their spouses and minor children.
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) May 2, 2005 -- Unitefamilies.org, an organized group
of legal residents (website: www.unitefamilies.org), is urging congressional
representatives to support HR 1823 proposed by Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)
and Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ). This bill will amend provisions of the V-visa –
a temporary, non-immigrant visa type - and help unite spouses and minor children
of legal immigrants.
Many legal permanent residents (green card holders)
are currently living in the United States, separated from their spouses and
infant children. They are waiting for their I-130 petitions (petition for
relative) to be approved. Statutory numerical limitations on available visas,
coupled with immigration backlogs, causes waiting times of 5 years or more.
Legal immigrants feel that it is unfair and cruel to break up nuclear families.
During this long wait, the foreign resident spouse and young children
are not allowed to enter the United States, even for a brief visit. The
permanent residents, on the other hand, must reside predominantly in the United
States and thus the web of US immigration laws ruthlessly separates married
couples from each other and from young children.
Unitefamilies.org is
supporting HR1823, which will amend the current restrictions on V-visa and make
it usable by foreign resident spouses and minor children of legal immigrants to
enter the US temporarily while their I-130 petitions are pending with the
Immigration department. Removing the current restrictions on V-visa will allow
legal residents to unite with their immediate families and thereby end years of
family separation.
Acting on this bill will fulfill President Bush’s
promise that he made during his 2000 campaign: “If we are a nation that believes
in family values, we need to help husbands and wives and children of permanent
residents be allowed to visit while the INS is handling their paperwork.”
Unitefamilies.org urges its members and concerned citizens to write and
call their congressional representatives to act on the proposed bill. Keeping
husbands and wives separated from each other and from young children is sending
wrong messages about American family values.
Group members point out the
contradiction that is in the current political atmosphere: the claims to promote
family and moral values, yet having polices that break up families – immediate
families of law abiding, taxpaying legal immigrants.
“Our Immigration
laws and procedures are very complicated and they even appear tough. However,
divided families and forcefully separated couples talk of the ugly and inhumane
side of our Immigration Laws.
We seldom hear or think of the Legal
Immigrants -those who became immigrants through legal procedures, those who
never broke any law. Recent debates on the hill are intended to help illegal
immigrants only. Congress ignores the suffering of taxpaying, law-abiding legal
immigrants”, the group says.
The nucleus of Legal Permanent Residents’
families is shattered due to separation from spouses and minor children – thanks
to contradictions in the current immigration law.
All types of temporary
guest workers and even students are allowed to bring their spouses, children and
even parents to the US without any delay. However, the same immigration law
forces a taxpaying, legal immigrant to wait for a minimum of 5 years to be
united with his/her foreign resident spouse and infant child.
“It is
appalling that such contradictions within the law have so far escaped notice. It
is time Washington lawmakers took a good look at the heartbreaking stories
coming out from legal immigrants of this country”, says Unitefamilies.org.
Amending provisions of existing non-immigrant, temporary V-visa will
provide relief to separated families and at the same time will ensure ample time
for the Congress to evaluate and reform nation’s immigration laws.
A
similar and parallel solution (K-visa) exists for U.S. citizens to help them
bring foreign resident spouses and children to the US.
It is unfortunate
that our immigration laws unfairly discriminate against legal immigrants. What
is more ironical is the fact that our immigration laws are more hostile to
taxpaying legal immigrants than to temporary workers and students-group
says.
Unitefamilies.org is a volunteer group and growing strongly. New
members, mostly victims of family separation caused by unfair immigration laws,
are joining this group every day. Group’s website can be found at www.unitefamilies.org
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb235637.htm