A friend is sitting in the Atlanta Jail, eating peanut butter sandwiches on the public dime instead of earning a living and paying his taxes, because of an immigration snafu.
Years ago, Mr. Li worked with a lawyer who, as it turns out, was a con artist. My wife was helping Mr. Li with some paperwork at the DMV. They ran a background check. The next thing we knew, Mr. Li was spending Christmas in jail. China must now review its files to see if it can/will identify Mr. Li as a current citizen; he’s been in the US for years.
I believe the important points are as follows:
1) There seems to be no system in place to allow Mr. Li to return to his life while this 3 month process plays out. Why can’t they slap an ankle bracelet on him? He has no history of violence and strong ties to the community.
2) Immigration is a mess. I doubt many would argue that point. Is there any serious legislation in the pipeline?
3) Everyone involved has been courteous and professional. Our concern here is about a system that does not, from our vantage point, appear to be helpful.
We have a lawyer for Mr. Li, but so far it doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere anytime soon.
Has anyone else had similar problems, and what did you learn?
