Waiver Reform NOW

My name is Dionne Dupre D'mello. I am a United States citizen, married to an Indian national. My husband is ineligible to receive a visa to the U.S. and is banned from re-entering the U.S. for the rest of his life.

What sort of horrible crimes must have he committed to receive such a harsh punishment? NONE. His only transgression is the overstay/misuse of his valid visa- a simple civil offense, NOT a crime. My husband has been away from me, our family and our happy little home for over 2 years now.

I support fair laws and family unity!

Hundreds of thousands of other U.S. citizen spouses, parents and children also suffer the same forced separation of family due to their loved one's ban for non-criminal immigration violations. These bans, anywhere from three years to a lifetime, are disproportionate to the violations they punish. I don't dispute that some punishment may be in order, but the current bans are cruel and UNJUST. Regardless of your stance on immigration in general, can you sincerely say that this isn't so?

I support waiver reform!

As a member of American Families United, an organization lobbying in D.C. for waiver reform, I call for comprehensive immigration reform to treat me, a U.S. citizen, as well as all the others who may get relief in these changes. Please don't forget all the immediate relatives who have ALREADY left the country.

I call for sensible and just laws that value family unity!

"Broken homes make broken people. Please mend our Immigration Laws!" Dana Forrester, Vice President, American Families United

Sunday, March 24, 2013

So close, yet so far away

It's Sunday, March 24, 2012.  Yesterday we filed a service request with USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency which is adjudicating our waiver). The official processing goal that they set is 4 months. Our waiver has been with them for 4 months and 3 weeks. That's one of my biggest problems with this process. The not knowing. I would rank it as number 2 on "World's Worst Feelings." The worst of course is missing somebody you love and not being able to do anything about it.  So it's a different feeling from not knowing the outcome. Will he be denied? Approved? That's it's own separate nightmare. Well it's the same nightmare, same scene, but different character? I got it- It's a different symptom of a sickness. Missing him is like the fever, not knowing when we will have an answer is the body aches, not knowing the outcome is the stuffy head, actual process of proving yourself to several federal systems is the .... well u get it. I am bored with griping about it anymore. Where I really meant to go with this post was to explain how after 2 years and 4 months of going through this process and separation, the closer we get to the hopeful end, most days I take comfort in the fact that it's almost over. Stepping back to look at the big picture, IF (and really nothing ever goes according to plan/schedule in immigration. I'm not just saying that. And it's not just our case. It's just about everyone I have ever communicated with about the process. It's two steps forward, one step back. THE WHOLE WAY.)...so, IF things went the way i realistically think they might go, my husband would be back by his birthday at the end of July. So that's only 4 more months! If that's the case we are almost 90% of the way through this!!! From this perspective we are so close! But of course you try living without your beloved spouse for 4 months and tell me what you think. Four months is a long time. A long, long time. And what if we get to what we think is the end and it's not? What if it doesn't end? What if after all this time, they deny the waiver?
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