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April 25, 2003
US Embassy Conundrum
As you may or may not know, I'm getting married in 2 weeks. I'm half Thai which means that my father, stepmother, brother, and two aunts are traveling here for my wedding.
I got a phone call from my father 2 nights ago saying that my oldest aunt was denied a visa for a 2 month stay here in the states. She has never traveled outside of Thailand, is unmarried, retired, and supports herself. Apparently bringing $5,000 in cash to the U.S. embassy isn't proof enough that you have money on hand and aren't trying to plot a trip to the U.S. to work illegally. She has many ties to Thailand but it just bothered me that she spent $100 on an application only to be denied without a chance to provide documentation proving she didn't intend on screwing up our country by not going back to Thailand.
It seems we have enough issues including illegal immigrants from Mexico, terrorism, lack of school funding and a million other things going on that should prevent us from preventing someone to come to the U.S. for a vacation. Obviously I'm wrong. I've pondered calling my senator and asking what the hell we're doing scrutinizing a 60 year old retired lady as opposed to someone else who may have more devious interests in mind.
I don't get much feedback here but if anyone has any good suggestions, I'm all ears.
Posted by beamz at April 25, 2003 9:49 PM
Comments
That’s really not good. People who work for them selves are usually looked down on for some reason, and it’s much harder for them to produce "official" paperwork. I work for myself and I know it’s a pain, however I have never left the USA so I can only imagine what she is going through.
What I would suggest is contact your congressmen from your district. If you search on the Internet you can find their official website and an 800 or local number for you. At least my guy has a whole office for helping people work through governmental red tape. Perhaps they can help you too.
I took the liberty to lookup your WHOIS info and found that we live in the same state! I believe the address you need is http://www.house.gov/burton/assist.htm. Remember though to go there soon and get it started, I bet it takes a lot of time.
Best of luck!
Posted by: Calculator Blaine at April 25, 2003 10:22 PM