Immigration

So it’s my birthday and I’m back in Chile. I haven’t written in a while, but for a good reason. Basically the only thing that’s been on my mind as of late has been my immigration problems. And I didn’t want to write about those before the got resolved.

This is what happened in a nutshell.

For Christmas 2007 I travelled to Chile to visit my parents. In order to get back into the states I needed to get a visa stamp on my passport. All you need to get that stamp is work authorization, which I had. So all in all this should have been an easy process, except that it’s me versus the immigration department and we apparently mix like water and oil.

They said two-to-three business days at the US embassy. After this period I had to make a choice. Go back to the States with my other passport, as a tourist. Or wait it out for an uncertain, but predictably prolonged, period of time. I was expected at work so I chose the former. Upon arrival, however, my immigration attorneys “advised me” (effectively an order) to go back. I could not work while in the US because I had come in as a tourist. Fortunately this did not ruin my visa status. So I go back to wait it out.

I emailed the embassy inquiring about my visa and passport. A cryptic one line response comes back; Washington had flagged my passport and put a hold on my visa. In short, people in dark coats are scrutinizing my papers. That was to be expected right? I am after all the exception to every rule when it comes to immigration.

Example: Often times, when I go through customs, I get strange looks from the officers. No fault of my own. I answer the questions that are written on the forms correctly. But these questions are simply not meant for people like me. The forms are filled out somewhat like this: Nationality – Mexican, Place of Birth – Netherlands, Place of Residence – USA, Passport Issued in – Trinidad, you get the idea. The best is when they ask me to fill in ALL the countries I have visited in the last ten years inside a small square box. I laugh and list the continents instead. Save me some time.

In any case, for some reason Washington was suspicious of me… again. Something to do with something I had done in 2006. Perhaps it was all those countries I listed on the immigration paper. Can’t know for certain.

So I try to call. You can’t call the US embassy in Chile. They do not take calls.
So I try to visit again. You can’t get in unless you have an appointment.
So I try to make an appointment. You can’t make an appointment if the embassy is already treating your case.
So I try to send them some more papers and information in an attempt to expedite this issue. I should have known by now. But you can’t send papers unless the embassy requests them.

The place is a fortress. It looks like a fortress and behaves like a black hole. But wouldn’t you know it; they have a beautiful pavilion inside. What does go on in there?

So I sat and waited. Fortunately I had done nothing illegal. I am, after all, an abiding world citizen. After waiting a full month, along comes the DHL courier and drops off my passport. No notice, just business as usual.

I had a chance to compare the US embassy with the Mexican embassy. I strolled in, no worries. Wandered around the building for a while and was attended by the consul himself who was standing by the counter. I imagine the US consul behind multiple biometric security gates a few floors underground.

Today dual nationalities are somewhat rare. In the future things will be different I think. What happens when 10% of a populace has multiple nationalities? I will write about these types of questions in my following post.