Musings on Immigration

Many couples choose to adopt from outside of the United States because of the excessive time and expense involved with domestic adoptions. Other factors such as the availability of infants and the health and/ or functionality of domestic birth mothers also play a significant role. Here are the answers to the most common questions asked by those about to embark on an international adoption. Do I have a better chance of adopting a young baby if I adopt internationally? Yes. It is easier to find an infant to adopt. Unless you are lucky enough to be picked by a birth mother in the United States , infants are more readily available in other countries. In a number of countries, it is possible to be matched with or locate an infant shortly after birth and to bring that child home to the United States before he or she reaches one year old. This of course reduces the risk of Reactive Attachment Disorder and intellectual delays caused by malnutrition in infancy. Older children are also more re...

Visa applicants are advised to arrive at the embassy no more than 15 minutes before the scheduled interview; however the queue will start to form outside the embassy gates about an hour before hand. Most embassies have a kiosk at the embassy gates where you will be asked your name and appointment time. The guards have a list of those attending their interviews that day. You are not permitted to bring cell phones or bags into the embassy building and will be asked to leave these in the kiosk while you go into the actual embassy. Once inside, you will be directed to take a seat or a number. Embassy appointment offices look similar to (run-down) banks with (unhappy) bank-tellers. There will be a number of officers working at different windows. When your number or name is called you will speak to an officer, hand in your documents and make any necessary payments. The officer will check to make sure that you have the right kind of passport photos, a copy of your approval notice, compl...

The reunification of families is the foundation of our immigration system, and more importantly, the foundation of our society. Virtually every immigration law in place today is either designed to encourage families to reunite in the United States or to stay together as they immigrate. There are laws to reunite refugee families, keep the families of employment-based immigrants together, and, of course, enable a variety of close family members to immigrate to the United States if their relatives are U.S. citizens (USCs) or lawful permanent residents (LPRs). Congress has clearly and consistently emphasized the importance of families as the foundation of our overall immigration strategy. Or, at least it says it has. Current System Not Family-Friendly Unfortunately, the reality of this nation’s family-based immigration system is that it is woefully inadequate in reuniting families in any reasonable timeframe. Congress’s failure to include family members in the legalization programs of the ...

The slogan for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is “Everyone deserves a lifetime.” This is exactly what we (Kim and Mandira) have been fighting and training for the last several months: the chance for everyone to have the opportunities of life. This experience has been incredibly rewarding and generous in so many ways. We wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to help the men and women all over the world who are faced with the onset of breast cancer, like the inspirational two year survivor Janet Podlogar, Kim’s mother, who battled and survived this terrible disease. The fear, confusion, anger, tears, pain, depression, complications, and all of the surgeries and treatments all wear on individuals and families affected by the disease. Our 3-day experience began on a rough, rainy, and chilly day, but the inclement weather wasn’t able to dampen our spirits on Friday, October 24 th ! After a wet 18.3 miles, everyone was safely relocated and able to sleep indoors Fri...

This week’s national elections brought home a very simple fact. The American People have, for a third election cycle, once again rejected Anti-Immigration candidates. Hate simply does not sell in America, and the Anti-Immigrationists only peddle hate. Frank Sharry and the folks at America’s Voice, issued a press release today confirming what many of us already suspected, Latinos came out strongly for President-Elect Obama and the Democrats. The key demographic came out so strongly not because they inherently believe all that Democrats espouse, but rather because the Republican party, the party most Latinos would culturally and philosophically be more drawn to, rejected them, classified them as “illegal” and law breakers, and literally chased them away and lost them, perhaps for a generation or more. Anti-Immigrationists, who tragically have found a home in the Republican party, can say they are only talking about “illegal aliens” and that they love legal immigrants, but the realit...

Some recent articles have focused on the lack of discussion on immigration during the presidential campaign. This should come as no surprise to anyone who lived through last year’s debacle on immigration reform. The reality is that “immigration” is the new third rail of American Politics. Touch it, and you die (at least politically). This reflects nothing more than a misunderstanding of the impact of positive immigration reform would have on our society and our economy. What would the Anti-immigrationists do, if they could not rail again “Illegal” aliens? Now, do not be fooled by the standard Lou Dobbs retort: “I am completely in favor of legal immigration.” In fact, one of the leaders of the Anti-Immigration movement, Mark Krikorian, recently made it quite clear in his new book, “The New Case Against Immigration: Both Legal and Illegal.” Krikorian, finally comes clean on his movement’s real purpose–Stop all immigration. This position reeks of the Know-Nothing politics of the...