A small change in the rules led to a sharp increase in the number of denials in US visas - ForumDaily
The article has been automatically translated into English by Google Translate from Russian and has not been edited.
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A small change in the rules led to a sharp increase in the number of refusals in US visas

Potential immigrants are increasingly being denied visas based on U.S. State Department determinations that they may become a “burden on society,” even if they demonstrate financial ability, sponsorship, and employment.

Фото: Depositphotos

When in March the Texan builder Arturo Balbino came for an interview at the American consulate in the border town of Ciudad Juarez, he was not nervous, says Reuters. A 33-year-old Mexican citizen who entered the country illegally 14 years ago was confident that he had every reason to obtain an immigrant spousal visa. Balbino has a wife and children who are US citizens, a father-in-law with a good income who promised in writing financial support if needed, and a letter from an employer who guaranteed a job at $18 an hour.

This was the last stage of the legalization of the status of Balbino. He was refused.

The petition was rejected on the grounds that its contents would be a "drain" on US taxpayers and would be a "burden on society" requiring government bailouts, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.

This decision forced Balbino to remain in Mexico indefinitely and turned the lives of his family.

Lawyers for some immigrants say that their clients are denied visas, even if the applicants comply with legal requirements in order to prove that they will be financially independent in the United States.

On the subject: How to get US citizenship, if the spouse - American

One of the reasons for the growth in the number of refusals was the little-known changes in the State Department’s foreign affairs leadership last year, which gave diplomats greater latitude in deciding whether to refuse to issue visas.

Changes occurred in January 2018. The ruling, officially proposed in October, received more 200 000 public comments, even reading of which would probably take months. Some critics say that in this way the State Department uses a kind of back door to tighten immigration policies.

“The State Department is trying to bypass public comment and make (policy) changes on its own,” said Charles Wheeler, an attorney with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network. “These changes are already having a terrible impact on people.”

In the federal court of the state of Maryland, the government dismissed allegations that changes in leadership were motivated by antipathy toward immigrants, and argued that such a “guide” was not subject to review in court and did not require public comment.

The guide implements a long-standing US law designed to exclude potential immigrants who could become a burden for the United States. The government acknowledged that the new rule “could potentially lead” to more frequent refusals based on the notion of “burden for society”.

Changes in the manual are not the only reason for the increase in the number of refusals to issue immigration visas. The number of failures on this basis increased (2015 was in 900, 2018 became 13500, 4 times more than 2017), according to government data. Now this figure is maximum since 2004 of the year.

Particularly tough enforcement of state requirements is called at the US Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, where all applications for a Mexican immigration visa are processed. It was there that Balbino was refused.

Previously, the State Department typically considered an “affidavit of support” signed by an American citizen or permanent resident offering to sponsor an immigrant as sufficient evidence that the person would not become a “burden to the public.”

To qualify as a sponsor, a person must earn at least 125% of the U.S. poverty level, based on household size. Balbino's father-in-law, who vouched for his son-in-law, earned nearly $90 a year—tens of thousands of dollars more than the state requires for a family of that size.

Balbino said his children's use of Medicaid for low-income households and food stamps were also a problem.

On the subject: Due to difficulties with student and work visas, immigrants leave the United States for Canada

Balbino and his wife are considering moving with their children to his hometown in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. A woman is not working and is trying to pay bills.

“We can’t do this on our own anymore,” Darlene Balbino said.

Since the family is poor, two out of five children aged 6 and 10 are already sent to live with their father in Mexico. The family calls this step very difficult.

“They spent their entire lives in the United States,” Balbino said. “They don’t speak Spanish.”

The 6-year-old boy was undergoing treatment for speech disorders in his Texas school, but after moving to Mexico his speech began to regress, said Darlene Balbino, who is still in Texas with her two older daughters and a baby. While she finds out what to do next.

Her husband is considering the possibility that the family can live apart for many years.

“Sometimes I want to think that everything will be fine and I can be with my family again,” Arturo Balbino said. “It’s very difficult to think that I won’t be able to come back and see my children grow up.”

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