June 13th 2007 : 13 was just another number to me. This changed on 06/13/2007 US Department of State issued a communique which allows qualified immigrants to file for the last and final state of the much coveted Green Card (permanent residence) to the glorious country of US of A.
A multitude of immigrant souls are ecstatic, they take time of from their mundane and compromised existence to find and collect tens of documents required for the application. I for one, go in for a medical examination which not only costs a substantial amount of money for a family of four, we are also poked with needles for several immunizations, blood and tuberculin tests. Pain and light fever for two days .... a lost weekend.
There is a sudden explosion of activity : Civil surgeons are very busy churning out immunized immigrants one every 30 minutes or so at the cost of about 1000 dollars per family. Copy shops are busy taking copies of documents, Local COSTCO is out of supplies for the passport pictures. I stop by CVS, which has a line of eight people taking 8 pictures each. Next stop : STAPLES, the only color copier has a queue of people taking color copies of their passports. I manage to collect tens of documents and application forms necessary for the 'adjustment of status' application. My old parents and in-law now join the hundered of parents running around to acquire affidavits and other necessary documentation.
After several sleepless nights, faxes, phone calls and courier packages later, I manage to collect all the requisite docs and send them over by Fedex overnight to our lawyers offices in Manhatan.
Lawyers are inundated with several hundered fillings, they do not respond to my several phone calls and emails.
Lawyers finaly are ready to file on the 2nd of July. Department of State revises the Visa bulletin and issues instructions to reject any and ALL green card fillings on or after 2nd of July.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
Thank you America, for giving us hope and promise for 18 days only to trample our aspirations for the future.
This is a form of economic slavery, many of the people in this twilight zone are unable to work for another employer, usualy put in substantialy longer work hours and are given second class citizen status in work and social spheres.
Fade to Pitch Black
Secretary Rice: "Trafficking in persons is a modern-day form of slavery, a new type of global slave trade. ....Today we are again called by conscience to end the debasement of our fellow men and women."