I Will Cut People Out of My Life for Asking if My Wife Is Here Legally
Ignorance is no excuse for normalizing language that poses a threat to decent people
The US embassy in Peru placed a spousal visa in my wife’s passport. They told me it was good for one border crossing, and it expired the moment after we passed through immigration. If we didn’t travel to the US within a year, the visa would expire and we’d never get another one.
“After we arrive,” I said, “will they hand me a card or put a stamp in her passport to verify that she’s in compliance with the law?”
The agent shook her head and explained, “A letter will come in the mail.”
“A letter? Not an official government issued identification card?”
“You’ll be able to apply for a green card at a later date.”
“Okay, but what do I do in the time between when she arrives and when the letter comes?”
The agent just looked at me and blinked. I get that expression a lot in response to what I feel are completely valid questions. The whole world seems to think it’s fine that there’s an interval of time when an immigrant is in the United States legally, but they can’t prove it because they do not possess a valid, government issued document.
