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Pallone's boon for NRIs

C K Arora in Washington

Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone has introduced a legislation in the US House of Representatives that would permit the admission to the United States of non-immigrant visitors who are the spouses and children of 'green card' holders.

''This legislation is intended to fill a void in our current immigration policy that has resulted in permanent resident aliens- people, who have come into this country legally and who are gainfully employed, being separated from their spouses and children, often for periods of several years,'' he said, in a statement at the weekend.

He said the bill would simply make it easier for family members to come to the United States on a temporary basis. Its goal was to alleviate the human hardship of prolonged family separation.

He noted that the issue of spousal and child reunification has been identified as one of the top domestic priorities of the Asian- Indian community in the United States and for many other ethnic groups with large numbers of people employed in the US.

The proposal has already received significant support from some of America's major corporations, particularly in the information and communications sectors, who recognise the importance of allowing their valued employees to have greater contact with their families.

Pallone has been pushing for this legislation for several years. He has also sought to have the US state department initiate pilot programmes at several US consulates to determine the effectiveness of the proposed new visas. The state department has thus far resisted the proposal.

The legislation would eliminate the implication that the existence of a petition for permanent residence implies that an applicant would not return to his or her home nation and would remain in the United States after the expiry of a temporary visa.

''This equitable solution simply grants to immigrant family members the same opportunity to visit the United States as all others desiring to come here as visitors or students,'' Pallone said.

He said the legislation anticipated the possibility that some might violate the terms of their visas by overstaying the period for which the visa provided. It penalises spouses or children of permanent residents who overstay their visas by allowing the secretary of state to delay their permanent visa petitions for a year.

He said the legislation would not result in an increase in the numbers of immigrants admitted annually. Nor would it have an impact on the labour market.

He said it would not have any adverse effects on any government social programmes, since the spouses would not be entitled to these benefits. ''It is simply intended to bring some relief to families separated by unfortunate administrative delays,'' he added.

UNI

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