All the Wrong Reasons
There’s a lot to ponder in this open letter to Barack Obama from Vaclav Havel, Lech Walesa, et al., but I’ll stick to this part:
We have to cherish and protect the multitude of educational, professional, and other networks and friendships that underpin our friendship and alliance. The U.S. visa regime remains an obstacle in this regard. It is absurd that Poland and Romania — arguably the two biggest and most pro-American states in the CEE region, which are making substantial contributions in Iraq and Afghanistan — have not yet been brought into the visa waiver program.
I’ve seen variations on this theme many times over the years: the U.S. government should do something for such and such country because that country’s government contributed troops to some U.S.-led war. I sometimes agree with the policy change suggested, as in this instance. It’s absolutely ridiculous that my Romanian mother-in-law was recently denied a non-immigrant visa on a whim from a sour embassy employee. (An immigration official here in the U.S. even told my sister-in-law that the visa should have been granted.)
But of all the reasons this or any other policy should change, the fact that Romania’s handout-hungry leaders assisted in a war of aggression (when less than half of Romanians supported it) should not count for much – to libertarians, at least.
Andy
July 22nd, 2009 at 6:09 am
The U.S. needs to change its immigration strategy as much as its foreign policies. The USA should not be invading the world. It should also not be inviting the world either.
oldish_crank
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Let Matt's people come!
liberranter
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Quite frankly, the other nations of the world, if they had any common sense or self-respect, would be urging their citizens to BOYCOTT travel to the United State until said rogue nation regains its senses and starts respecting human freedom and dignity again. To come groveling and begging on one's knees at the Retarded Giant's feet, beginning the tyrant to "Please, oh please, let us in!" not only encourages the continuance of its bullying and predations on the rest of the world, but also shows it that the rest of the world is unworthy of respect normally accorded sovereign nations capable of defending their own interests.
Matt Barganier
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Well, nations don't visit nations. Friends visit friends, parents visit children, business partners visit one another, etc. I'm for depoliticizing as much of life as possible.
liberranter
July 23rd, 2009 at 7:07 pm
True enough. In an ideal world the whole passport and visa concept wouldn't even exist (in fact, it actually didn't exist until relatively recently, in historical terms). Unfortunately, this barrier to human freedom of movement is part of modern life and it's also, equally unfortunately, a political one. It seems therefore that the only way to put pressure to bear on states that practice immigration control abusively is to use political countermeasures.
All of that said, I sincerely hope that you are able to successfully navigate the State Department bureaucracy in the near future and get your mother-in-law into the country.
Matt Barganier
July 23rd, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Thanks.
Marina
July 24th, 2009 at 7:47 am
O h my god! How embarrassing for the countries that signed this awful letter!
chris
August 4th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
I'm having a similar problem with my wife. I'm thinking that most of these keep the border closed libertarians haven't had to deal with something so so so bureaucratic. My wife is Polish, has a master's degree and no criminal record. We not trying to bring a child or a another relative over and we're already married, we have it 'easy' and you wouldn't believe the bureaucratic mess I have to deal with.
I'm not against protecting our borders either, but the methods GOP'ers and pseudo libertarians seem to be in favor for, to me at least, show a lack of experience in 'the system' every bit as bad or worse than any other piece of our federal government.