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An Open Letter to INS Commissioner James Ziglar

Dear Commissioner Ziglar,

I am writing to you regarding Notice #02-08927 issued on April 8, 2002, by the Immigration and Naturalization Services proposing significant changes in the admission period for visitors, who are typically under the B-2 visa. This notice proposes cutting the current minimum admission period for visitors from six months to just 30 days.

This will have a significant adverse impact on the lives of a sizeable section of the legal immigrant population in the United States. Our parents and close relatives visit the US for the sole purpose of spending a short time with their families and usually go back well within six months. These visits allow the immigrants to fulfil their professional responsibilities -- which form a cornerstone of the US economy -- by remaining in the country, and yet spend time with their close family members. They also fulfil a basic need in the close-knit family structures of many immigrant communities.

The new regulation flies in the face of the very family values that we as a country preach. Quite often, the sole purpose of the visit of many people on B2 visas is to spend time with their kith and kin. The regulation that proposes to limit the stay of family members to 30 days will put an enormous burden on these visitors and have a psychological impact on the US residents. One must also remember that it takes 36 hours of travel time each way from countries such as India.

In a clarification issued on April 10, 2002, the INS states: "The rule will place the burden on the visitor to explain to an INS Immigration Inspector the nature and purpose of the visit in order for the Inspector to determine a period of time that is fair and reasonable for the completion of the purpose of the visit. When Inspectors cannot determine a fair and reasonable period of admission, INS will grant a 30-day period of admission."

A mother wants to spend a couple of months with her daughter who lives in the United States. Would the INS consider it a compelling reason to grant an extended stay? What yardstick does an immigration inspector use to determine a fair and reasonable time that a mother should spend visiting her daughter? The INS is terribly out of touch with reality.

It is understood that the immediate motivation behind this new regulation is to curb the influx of terrorists into the US. However, from a practical point of view, the people who will be affected by this are the relatives, quite often retired parents, of law-abiding, tax-paying, hardworking immigrants who are keeping the American dream alive. To think that reduction of the duration of visitor visas from six months to 30 days will effectively curb the influx of potential terrorists is, at best, simplistic. On the other hand, by disrupting the lives of hardworking, legal immigrant Americans, the INS is enabling the terrorists to succeed in their mission twice over.

This is not an isolated incident. The bigger picture will show that the INS has utterly failed to extend the basic courtesy, dignity and respect that any human being deserves to many legal immigrants. For instance, in January, legal immigrants had to wait for hours together in sub-zero temperatures to get their paperwork processed by the immigration offices at Bloomington, Minnesota, my home state. Who would oppose the argument that the INS is way overdue for a reform?

I strongly advocate that this new INS proposal be reconsidered. I request you to ensure that the imminent disruption of the lives of innocent immigrants in the United States, and their families, caused by the potential enforcement of this regulation, does not happen.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Dr V Gopal

(Dr Vipin Gopal is a director and former president of the India Association of Minnesota, which has 20,000 members of Asian Indian origin. A senior principal research scientist at Honeywell International, he is also a member of the Minnesota Asia Pacific Policy Roundtable. He can be reached at vipin_gopal@hotmail.com)