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PETITION

Removal of V visa restrictions necessary to reunite spouses and children of Lawful Permanent US Residents.

Dear Sir,

We are writing on behalf of the individuals who have signed the attached petition and countless others affected by the interminable delays facing the spouses and children of green card holders. Every day this issue is ignored is one more day these families are separated.

Disproportionate Waiting Times Unjust

The reality of present immigration law is that spouses and children of non-immigrant visa holders can move to the US immediately, while the spouses and children of Lawful Permanent Residents must wait over five years to join their loved one in the US. The system puts Lawful Permanent Residents (i.e. green card holders) at a extreme disadvantage compared to non-immigration visa holders (i.e. green card applicants). For example, if an individual marries (even up to the very day) before their green card application is approved, their new spouse can join in the application, often with the new spouse receiving their own green card in less than one year. However, if the same individual marries (even the very next day) after their green card application is approved, their spouse now must wait five to six years to receive a green card. During this waiting period many spouses are kept apart because there are almost no options available to them that allow them to remain with the Lawful Permanent Resident. Such grossly disproportionate and unjust outcomes led to the creation of the V visa in 2001. However, the V visa has such very restrictive requirements that few immigrants qualify for it.

V Visa Requirements Too Restrictive And Unreasonable

The V visa is available to the spouses and children of Lawful Permanent Residents. However, the two main V visa requirements disqualify most applicants. First, there is a three-year wait period for pending applications. This three-year wait period before which the applicant spouse becomes eligible for the V visa is both unreasonable and too restrictive. Even harsher is the second requirement that the application must have been filed on or before December 21, 2000. Only if the applicant spouse fulfills these strict eligibility requirements will they be allowed to live and work in the US while their own green card application is pending. If they do not meet these requirements, they must remain outside the US for the five to six years during which their green card application is pending.

Harm Resulting From Such Harsh Restrictions

The immigration visa waiting time for beneficiaries whose spouses are already Lawful Permanent Residents is unjust. Similarly situated individuals are receiving harsh differences in treatment by the same US agency – the BCIS. Lawful Permanent Residents are potential US citizens who have patiently gone through the lengthy process of obtaining their own green cards and only wish to be reunited with their spouses and children. Because these spouses and children face such difficulties in obtaining valid visas that will allow them to join or stay united as a family while their case is pending with the BCIS, many violate US immigration laws either by entering the US illegally or by obtaining a valid visa through misrepresentation and then overstaying their visas. Lifting the restrictions of the V visa will allow families to re-unite and allow the applicant spouses to work in the U.S. legally while their own green card application is pending.

Lifting Restrictions Will Reunite Families

The petitioners, and others like them, want to see the current V visa restrictions removed. Removing these restrictions will not only make it easier for Lawful Permanent Residents’ spouses and children to obtain their own visas, but will help prevent immigration law violations and allow families to remain together. As the policies of furthering family unity and nurturing close ties echoes throughout US immigration laws and policies, it would be inhumane not to lift these unnecessary restrictions that separate Lawful Permanent Residents from their families for upwards of five years.

As it appears that the BCIS has not made any accommodation for this most compelling case, we submit the attached petition supporting the need to keep families together. Thank you for your attention to this most urgent matter.

Respectfully Submitted:

Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna, PC
Immigration.com
ImmigrationPortal.com

By: Rajiv S. Khanna, Esq.
rskhanna@immigration.com