Convoluted US visa system leads to travel nightmare

I’m a typical 17-year-old American high schooler.

I play soccer, tutor precalculus, and do my best to keep straight As.

But, I’m not legally allowed to drive, work, or even vote when I turn 18 in a few months.

Why? Because I am an immigrant.

My family and I have legally resided in this country for 13 years thanks to the H1B visa, but we are still waiting for our green cards. Citizenship won’t come until five years after that. There are many opportunities and even basic rights not afforded to legal immigrants like us.

It is a travesty that the country that was built by immigrants has instituted so many unfair, unreasonable policies. I experienced the severe flaws in the system first hand recently, when what should have been a short, fun trip to India to visit family turned into a nightmare.

The visa stamps on our passports expired a few years ago, even though we had a “Notice of Approval” issued by the government, which allow us to remain in the U.S. through February 2022. Policy dictated that if we left the United States, we would be required to renew our visa stamp at a U.S. embassy abroad.

We had “nothing to worry about” lawyers told us.

They were wrong.

While my parents’ visa stamp was approved, I was denied. The embassy required a completed DS-5535 form. This was implemented by a 2017 Executive Order signed by President Trump. According to the Federal Register, this form is only meant to be given to “0.5% of U.S. visa applicants worldwide” who have been determined to warrant “additional scrutiny in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibilities.”

Peculiarly, the form inquired about my employment history as well as the names of any “current or former spouses.” It wanted to know all my social media accounts. Despite having little to report, we dutifully submitted the form.

What followed was the most difficult, painful period of my life. We never heard back, and my passport was not returned to me. My parents made repeated calls and wrote emails to the embassy and Department of State, even the White House and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ombudsman — but to no avail.

We contacted our Congressman; his office sympathized and sent several inquiries, but there was no timeline to the resolution of my case. My teachers supported me and sent online assignments for months, but eventually the school had to unenroll me. My parents’ jobs were on rocky ground due to their prolonged absences, so they made the painful decision to return home — without me.

I did not belong in India. My home, the United States, considered me an outsider and a “security threat.” My heart ached. The worst part was not having any clue when I might return.

Luckily, my parents sought legal help, and eventually, my visa was approved.

Undoubtedly, the U.S. immigration system is severely flawed. Requiring visa stamps on a passport despite being already granted a Notice of Approval by USCIS is excessive and unnecessary. Additionally, there is no incentive or motivation to complete “administrative processing” of cases like mine within any timeframe, which leaves the lives of legal immigrants and their families on tenterhooks. Plus, the criteria for assigning DS-5535 background checks is opaque. If my family had green cards, this whole administrative processing ordeal would have been avoided.

The fact that someone can live in this country for 13 years legally, pay taxes and still not even be eligible for green card status is mind-boggling.

Over the years, the U.S. has come closer to establishing a fair immigration policy. But we aren’t there yet.