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And how's your Visa situation?
Nov. 5th, 2007 10:18 amThis is the kind of thing I just don't understand:
http://www.vnews.com/10242007/4310041.htm
Hanover -- On Friday, Oct. 12, Dartmouth assistant squash coach Hansi Wiens was sitting in the lobby of the Highgate Springs customs office on the U.S.-Canada border, waiting for agents to finish interviewing his fiancee, Valeria Vinnikova. The pair had been in the U.S. for three months, and they were crossing into Canada hoping to secure an extension of Vinnikova's visa.
That didn't happen. Instead, Vinnikova rushed out to Wiens, weeping, and pressed a necklace into his hands. The couple spent about two minutes together, Wiens recalls. Then a group of uniformed officers put Vinnikova in handcuffs and leg shackles and told Wiens to drive away.
Vinnikova, 21, was arrested for a minor infraction related to her visa paperwork, Wiens and lawyers involved in the case say, and now faces a deportation order that would bar her from returning to the U.S. for 10 years. The scenario is a nightmare for the German couple, who were just settling into Hanover as Wiens begins his coaching career with Dartmouth's athletics department.
“I can't live for 10 years without her,” Wiens said.
As Mr. Wiens said:
“It's not like this is a country that we're at war with. Germany and the U.S. are supposed to be friends,” Wiens said. “We love it here, and we'd like to live here if it’s possible.”
Peter Jamison can be reached at pjamison@vnews.com or (603) 727-3234.
This woman has been in custody without review for a MONTH. How can this be in our best interest? That we make enemies of our allies? That the way we make it "all right" is to say: "They do this to us, too"? Can you imagine how the US would react to the Germans treating one of our citizens in this manner?
Is anyone else uneasy about the next time you leave the country?
And what can be done? You can't write a senator who is not your senator -- they won't take the emails, they toss letters. I'm posting this so if you know anyone in the Dartmouth region, make sure they know about this -- make sure the local reps and senators are protesting.
Part of what made America what it is -- the good things -- are the immigrants who continue to make us a great country. We were all immigrants once, and we need to get this hysteria at the borders fixed pronto.
I didn't mention much about my trip to California this last time -- other than to grouse about the dumb lab situation -- but I did get a double-take at my drivers license when I went through the airport line. I was bone thin back then and looked pretty awful, the opposite of the current problem -- and my recent passport was taken with the puffiness in my face. So when I have both of those with me, I may just have a problem next time I need it as ID. It may be worth the price to have a new picture only for one more year, so it looks more like the passport...which also is a horrible shot of me.
I am so ashamed of my country. And I don't know what to do, because my senators only care about the people who put money in their pockets.
http://www.vnews.com/10242007/4310041.htm
Hanover -- On Friday, Oct. 12, Dartmouth assistant squash coach Hansi Wiens was sitting in the lobby of the Highgate Springs customs office on the U.S.-Canada border, waiting for agents to finish interviewing his fiancee, Valeria Vinnikova. The pair had been in the U.S. for three months, and they were crossing into Canada hoping to secure an extension of Vinnikova's visa.
That didn't happen. Instead, Vinnikova rushed out to Wiens, weeping, and pressed a necklace into his hands. The couple spent about two minutes together, Wiens recalls. Then a group of uniformed officers put Vinnikova in handcuffs and leg shackles and told Wiens to drive away.
Vinnikova, 21, was arrested for a minor infraction related to her visa paperwork, Wiens and lawyers involved in the case say, and now faces a deportation order that would bar her from returning to the U.S. for 10 years. The scenario is a nightmare for the German couple, who were just settling into Hanover as Wiens begins his coaching career with Dartmouth's athletics department.
“I can't live for 10 years without her,” Wiens said.
As Mr. Wiens said:
“It's not like this is a country that we're at war with. Germany and the U.S. are supposed to be friends,” Wiens said. “We love it here, and we'd like to live here if it’s possible.”
Peter Jamison can be reached at pjamison@vnews.com or (603) 727-3234.
This woman has been in custody without review for a MONTH. How can this be in our best interest? That we make enemies of our allies? That the way we make it "all right" is to say: "They do this to us, too"? Can you imagine how the US would react to the Germans treating one of our citizens in this manner?
Is anyone else uneasy about the next time you leave the country?
And what can be done? You can't write a senator who is not your senator -- they won't take the emails, they toss letters. I'm posting this so if you know anyone in the Dartmouth region, make sure they know about this -- make sure the local reps and senators are protesting.
Part of what made America what it is -- the good things -- are the immigrants who continue to make us a great country. We were all immigrants once, and we need to get this hysteria at the borders fixed pronto.
I didn't mention much about my trip to California this last time -- other than to grouse about the dumb lab situation -- but I did get a double-take at my drivers license when I went through the airport line. I was bone thin back then and looked pretty awful, the opposite of the current problem -- and my recent passport was taken with the puffiness in my face. So when I have both of those with me, I may just have a problem next time I need it as ID. It may be worth the price to have a new picture only for one more year, so it looks more like the passport...which also is a horrible shot of me.
I am so ashamed of my country. And I don't know what to do, because my senators only care about the people who put money in their pockets.
