Extensions of Remarks E275 EXTENSIONS of REMARKS
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February 18, 2005 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E275 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS THE INTRODUCTION OF THE COM- A terminally ill naturalized U.S. citizen who terms and return to their countries, but it does PASSIONATE VISITOR VISA ACT has not seen any of her siblings for more than say that the deck won’t be virtually impossibly 20 years wanted to see just one of them one stacked against them from the get-go. And HON. ED CASE last time. A sister had applied for a non- third, this bill applies only in the narrow case OF HAWAII immigrant visa to be able to visit and care for of an applicant whose close family member IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES her sibling and, in the process, would volun- has a serious illness or has died or has some tarily leave behind her own husband and other similar family emergency, as dem- Thursday, February 17, 2005 young children in the Philippines for this pur- onstrated by proof to the satisfaction of the Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to re- pose. Unfortunately, her visa application was consular officers. introduce my bill from the 108th Congress that recently denied. The main reason cited was I stand here today willing to take the chance will provide greater flexibility in issuance of that her husband’s income was too modest of loosening the standard for those most in temporary visitor visas to the alien relatives of and she was not currently employed. need because it is the right thing to do. Our citizens in urgent and compelling cir- A recent article in the Honolulu Advertiser U.S. consulates are not entitled to deny an cumstances involving those citizens such as detailed the gripping story of Francisco Guer- American his or her life. I urge passage of the life-threatening or terminal health conditions or rero, a U.S. citizen who for the past 6 years Compassionate Visitor Visa Act. memorial services. In doing so, we will assure has had to undergo dialysis treatment for sev- [From the Honolulu Advertiser, Feb. 13, 2005] that our own brothers and sisters are provided eral hours three times a week in Honolulu, DENIAL OF VISA STYMIES FILIPINO ORGAN basic compassion and family unity in their time while in the Philippines, his son Glenn, not a DONORS of need. U.S. citizen, is willing to donate a life-saving (By Frank Oliveri and Vicki Viotti) The post-9/11 world demands that our immi- kidney that is considered a near-perfect For six years, Francisco Guerrero has had gration policy ensure our national security. So match. Yet Glenn has been denied a tem- his blood cleansed by a machine for several let me say up front that nothing in this bill fore- porary visa to visit the U.S. for the operation hours three times a week at St. Francis Med- closes U.S. consular prerogatives in that re- because our consulate has determined he ical Center in Honolulu because his kidneys gard. does not have a demonstrated intent to return have failed. However, after this prerequisite has been to his country thereafter. I include the text of In the Philippines, his son, Glenn, studies architecture and waits with a life-saving kid- met, we need to provide for a greater accom- that article at the end of my remarks today. ney that is considered a near-perfect match modation than current law and practice allow These are compelling stories of a well-inten- for his father. But the U.S. government of immediate and urgent needs of our own fel- tioned Federal immigration policy gone very won’t grant the 28-year-old a temporary visa low citizens for relatives seeking temporary wrong. I suspect that many of you have similar because he can’t prove he’ll return to the admission due to extenuating circumstances. stories affecting families in your district. Philippines. Specifically, my bill allows such applicants to Again, the problem these stories graphically The U.S. Consulate in Manila says the overcome the statutory presumption against illustrate and the solution my bill offers have Lawag City resident fits the profile of an un- immigration for a brief stay occasioned by a nothing to do with preserving our homeland desirable visitor—someone who poses a risk security. These applicants were subject to a of overstaying a temporary visa because of demonstrated and immediate family obligation his background and his homeland’s tenuous or need involving a parent, child, sibling, security review like other applicants, and noth- situation. grandchild, or grandparent. ing in the Compassionate Visitor Visa Act Glenn Guerrero has only a part-time job, is My office has been involved in numerous would alter that. relatively poor and already has a pending ap- cases in which many of my constituents were The reason for the rejection of such applica- plication to emigrate to the United States. left heartbroken at the news of a nonimmigrant tions lies instead in the application of the pre- The Guerreros’ plight is not uncommon at visa denial for such occasions as to attend a sumption clause in current immigration law. In St. Francis, the only organ transplant center funeral or visit a terminally ill family member. practice, applicants for nonimmigrant visas are in the Central Pacific. There are at least 15 presumed to be at risk of defaulting on their Filipino patients there who face the same There are also instances where the immediate bureaucratic roadblocks to getting a visa for relative of a U.S. citizen or legal permanent visas and remaining in our country illegally un- an organ donor, and all have been rejected. resident has been denied entry into our coun- less they can affirmatively prove that they will They have all but given up hope of bringing try to donate a matched organ to a family return to their countries. In the cases above, their relatives to the United States for the member. the applicants provided documentation to life-saving surgery. No patients are known to These families were willing to purchase overcome this presumption and demonstrate have died while trying to cut the red tape plane tickets, arrange for accommodations, in they had every reason to return to their coun- after finding a donor match. But hospital of- short everything anyone of us would do for a try of origin: they maintained homes, busi- ficials said many Filipinos have a rare blood nesses, bank accounts, and would leave other type and die while waiting for a kidney be- visiting loved one. Temporary visa applicants cause they never find a match. had documentation to prove that they had family members, often children, behind, but to The issue, according to interviews with im- every reason to return to their country of ori- no avail. migration experts, hospital staff, patients gin: they maintained homes, businesses, bank The Compassionate Visitor Visa Act says and their families, is the intense scrutiny of accounts, and had other family members, that the presumption clause, as applied to the visa applications from potential Filipino often small children, that would remain behind. close family members of U.S. citizens or legal organ donors since the Sept. 11, 2001, ter- Yet it was to no avail, and families were left permanent residents that are seriously ill or rorist attacks. separated for important, often life-changing, who have died, is wrong and should be Before 9/11, St. Francis successfully proc- essed about three visa applications a year to events. changed. It is focused on the wants and bring organ donors to the states. Since then, These are some examples: needs not of the applicant, but our own fellow the immigration laws have stayed the same The parents of a 27-year-old U.S. citizen citizens. but officers at the consulate who review ap- who was murdered by her husband were Opponents of the bill may argue that the re- plications have gotten tougher. They search barred from attending her funeral, which had sult would be to detract from homeland secu- for clues giving them reasonable assurance to go on with out them. They were thereby rity and enhance the default rate on non- that the organ donors will return to the prevented from then comforting their 5-year- immigrant visas. First, again nothing in this bill Philippines. old granddaughter. All told, they have made changes or compromises procedures designed ‘‘We don’t determine between a medical visit or a trip to Disneyland,’’ said Kelly over a half-dozen I8-hour bus rides to the U.S. to identify and weed out security threats, so Shannon, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Embassy in Manila to obtain travel visas, only that cannot be used as an excuse to avoid the Consular Affairs at the U.S. State Depart- to have their applications turned down every focus of this bill. Second, this bill does not say ment. ‘‘Congress wrote the law, and it is vir- time as they were deemed to not have suffi- that consular officers cannot consider evi- tually unchanged since 1952. It requires the ciently strong ties to their own country. dence of applicants’ willingness to honor visa assumption of an intention to emigrate. You ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. VerDate Aug 04 2004 02:17 Feb 19, 2005 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A17FE8.024 E18PT1 E276 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks February 18, 2005 have to show a reason to compel your return than in the Philippines.