Saturday, May 1, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Help lucas see his Grandma | causes.com
My name is Maria Laura Kinard and I have a problem I would like to ask for you help with. I grew up in Argentina and lived there until ..... years ago when I met my husband, an American named Joe Kinard. Prior to marrying Joe and moving to his home in South Arkansas, I, myself, had extreme difficulty getting cooperation from the U.S. State Department to get a visa. Now, several years later, I am faced with a similar problem regarding my mother being able to come and visit us.
In the years between, Joe and I have had a son and are raising him in rural South Arkansas, where Joe grew up. Joe's mother passed away a couple of years ago, and so my own mother is his only living "parent". Likewise, my mother is our son Lucas' only living grandparent. My mother was not able to be here for Lucas' birth. Lucas will turn 4 in August and so far, she has been only been able to see him twice since he was born -- and then only because we traveled to Argentina to visit.
Here is the problem that is making it so difficult: my mother has dual citizenship in Uruguay and Argentina. She is not married and I am an only child. Because of that, the U.S. State Department will not even consider -- let me repeat, not even consider -- granting my mother a tourist visa to come for a short visit. They assume, wrongly, that with no husband and her only child living in the U.S. that she has no ties to Uruguay or Argentina. This, however, is entirely untrue! My mother is a businesswoman with existing property and business interests in those countries. She has no intention of abandoning them. In addition, my mother speaks very little English and has no desire to start over again in the U.S. She only wants to be able to come and visit her family.
Does Lucas have fewer rights to see his grandmother than other kids just because she is foreign? Or let me ask it differently, is there any reason for Lucas' grandmother to be denied permission to visit her grandson just because she is foreign? Family means a lot to us. When Joe and I decided to get married, Della, my mother-in-law was still alive but she was a bed patient. We had to discuss where we would live. One thing factor that determined we live in the U.S. was the fact that he could not leave his mom alone in the U.S. in that condition. So we decided that it was necessary that I be the one to quit my job and move here. When we made that decision, we assumed my mom would be able to come and visit us here, but we were wrong.
At this point in time, our only other option is for the three of us to leave our own work and property to travel there. In addition to the complication and expense of that travel, since we have farm animals to care for, it involves arranging for those chores to be covered by others in our absence. It would be so much simpler and less expensive for her to be able to come to visit here.
As I said before, the consulate has firmly told her that they will not even consider her application for a tourist visa. One consulate employee even told her that "she would never set foot in the United States."
What can you do to help? I would like to ask you to pray for us and to make others aware of our dilemma. These things should not be happening!
In the years between, Joe and I have had a son and are raising him in rural South Arkansas, where Joe grew up. Joe's mother passed away a couple of years ago, and so my own mother is his only living "parent". Likewise, my mother is our son Lucas' only living grandparent. My mother was not able to be here for Lucas' birth. Lucas will turn 4 in August and so far, she has been only been able to see him twice since he was born -- and then only because we traveled to Argentina to visit.
Here is the problem that is making it so difficult: my mother has dual citizenship in Uruguay and Argentina. She is not married and I am an only child. Because of that, the U.S. State Department will not even consider -- let me repeat, not even consider -- granting my mother a tourist visa to come for a short visit. They assume, wrongly, that with no husband and her only child living in the U.S. that she has no ties to Uruguay or Argentina. This, however, is entirely untrue! My mother is a businesswoman with existing property and business interests in those countries. She has no intention of abandoning them. In addition, my mother speaks very little English and has no desire to start over again in the U.S. She only wants to be able to come and visit her family.
Does Lucas have fewer rights to see his grandmother than other kids just because she is foreign? Or let me ask it differently, is there any reason for Lucas' grandmother to be denied permission to visit her grandson just because she is foreign? Family means a lot to us. When Joe and I decided to get married, Della, my mother-in-law was still alive but she was a bed patient. We had to discuss where we would live. One thing factor that determined we live in the U.S. was the fact that he could not leave his mom alone in the U.S. in that condition. So we decided that it was necessary that I be the one to quit my job and move here. When we made that decision, we assumed my mom would be able to come and visit us here, but we were wrong.
At this point in time, our only other option is for the three of us to leave our own work and property to travel there. In addition to the complication and expense of that travel, since we have farm animals to care for, it involves arranging for those chores to be covered by others in our absence. It would be so much simpler and less expensive for her to be able to come to visit here.
As I said before, the consulate has firmly told her that they will not even consider her application for a tourist visa. One consulate employee even told her that "she would never set foot in the United States."
What can you do to help? I would like to ask you to pray for us and to make others aware of our dilemma. These things should not be happening!
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