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Even legal immigrants face family visa hurdle

May 7th, 2007
by VJ News

Elsewhere in America, strident voices propel the immigration debate. Protesters march behind U.S. and Mexican flags, chanting pro-immigrant slogans in Spanish and demanding amnesty for people who crossed the border illegally.

A quieter but equally desperate quest unfolds in Northeast Ohio, where advocates of immigration reform are more likely to be people like Marcela Gallardo.

She was 52 in 1995, a newly sworn-in American citizen, when she applied to have her children join her from the Philippines. Twelve years later, she’s still waiting for visas for them.

“It’s very hard,” said Gallardo, who promotes her cause by filling out forms, paying filing fees and praying. “I want to be with my kids, too. I’m getting old now, and I need them here.”

As a naturalized U.S. citizen, Gallardo is entitled to bring over her children. Some day. Her family must wait in line for visas that are especially scarce for the Philippines, India and China – nations that happen to be primary suppliers of immigrants to Greater Cleveland and Ohio.

In recent years, Asia became Ohio’s largest immigrant source, eclipsing Europe and leaving Mexico and Central America far behind.

So while advocates for immigration reform in California and Texas shout “Amnesty Now” and protest border fences, immigrants to Ohio are more likely to say “Families First” and to ask “How About Us?”

They seek reforms to the legal system of immigration and action on visa backlogs that make them wait years to reunite with family, to accept job offers, to get on with their lives.

Their cause does not capture as much attention in the national discourse, a slight that both puzzles and distresses the Asian immigrant community as Congress prepares to resume its debate on immigration reform.

“They’re worried a new law will not consider people like them,” said Margaret Wong, a Cleveland immigration lawyer with many Asian clients. “They’re worried it will only cover Latinos and not Asians. The needs are very different.”

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This entry was posted on Monday, May 7th, 2007 at 5:14 am and is filed under Family Immigration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.