US Immigration PTSD

First, thank you everyone who has contacted me expressing love, support, and hope. It makes me think that no matter where we end up, we will always be well and surrounded by a great many friends. Thank you.

Also, since achieving emotional nirvana following the Charlie Point, I received three wonderful emails from 2.5 Canadians (one is half, but that half counts for a whole lot).

Two of the three seemed scandalized by the idea that something so small as driving without a license could jeopardize our visas and offered level-headed advice on where to look for information and assistance. The third watches a lot of Bollywood and therefore suggested that I get preggers, visit her in Toronto, pop out a Canadian baby, and no doubt hilarity, spontaneous dancing, and visas would ensue.

One also extolled the virtues of Google for finding out a little more about the process – imagine that. Leo had Googled, but I was very busy contributing to deforestation through tissue consumption, so I didn’t actually look; he found nothing in Portuguese. What we learned from ye ole mighty Google.ca is that – when there is a conviction involved – the Canadian authorities weigh the seriousness of the crime in the other country versus the seriousness of the crime in Canada. For example, a DWI is (rightfully) a really big deal Up North and can contribute to your visa being denied. Driving without a license is not a crime in Canada; it's a traffic infraction, which you're not supposed to mark down on immigration forms anyway. And since there wasn't even a conviction – only an "arrest" – we’re hopeful that this may not rise to the level necessary for a denial.

So that brings us to the "no" check next to the "ever committed, been arrested or charged with a crime" box. We already turned in the MA background check that led us to believe that it was a traffic stop but not an arrest. It was a small and honest mistake. We'll leave it as a small and honest mistake and hope that the visa officer accepts that explanation.

What I’ve learned through this whole affair is that I have a pretty intense case of US immigration PTSD. I can’t think about immigration outside of the punitive, inflexible, and wholly inequitable US immigration system. I can’t imagine why Canada would say “oh, no big deal,” because an American immigration officer would be lying in wait to tear our application limb-from-limb at the slightest sign of weakness, like a crocodile ripping to bits a helpless gnu on the banks of the Mara river (yes, I do like nature documentaries… why do you ask?). I must remind myself, therefore, that – for the 10,000th time – Canada isn’t the United States. If it were, both countries would not have continued to exist while sharing one of the longest borders in the world for the last few hundred years.

So, our plan of action… Even though I’ve gotten other emails from friends and relatives suggesting I lean on some political connections, etc… to vouch for my character and beef up our application, I’m going to let our documents speak for themselves this time. I don't want to keep drawing attention to Leo’s record; it's like a pimple – if I circle it in red marker, top it with a cherry, and start explaining that I was eating chocolate and rubbing bacon grease on my face, you wouldn't be able to stop staring at the pimple, and you'd probably think I was nuts.

Instead, we wrote the following cover letter:

Enclosed are the requested additional documents to accompany the student visa application for (Corin) and open-ended work permit for husband and dependant, (Leo):

· Proof of legal status in Brazil for (Corin)

· FBI background check for (Leo)

We were completely unaware that this 2005 traffic stop rose to the level of arrest, believing that (Leo) had a clean record as per his State of Massachusetts background check (included in our original submission); we made every attempt to fill out all Canadian visa application forms to the best of our knowledge given the information available to us. We apologize sincerely for the unintentional omission and would be happy to answer any further questions you may have regarding this or other aspects of our application.

Also enclosed you will find:

· Further proof of financial assets from (Corin’s) mother, (Sue)

· Duplicates of State of Massachusetts criminal background checks for both applicants; included in the original application were the tear-off second pages provided by the issuing authority

Thank you for your time and consideration. Please let us know if we can provide any additional information or documentation.

This way we don't jump the gun on their process, we don't come across as defensive, and we don't make a big deal out of it (in case they don't). In reality, we don't know what they're looking for or will deny or will accept or even what they know about the Brazilian immigrant existence in the US.

We also received an email from our would-be Vancouver landlord saying that everything is set for our arrival. Call me crazy, but it feels like a sign; I haven’t emailed her back yet because I’m starting to be hopeful about our chances – and that means that we’ll need this wonderful apartment ready to receive us at the end of this month!

My dear, delightful, indefatigable friend Jenni in São Paulo is turning in all of the rest of our documents today. Fingers crossed and wish us luck.

I now have to run along and practice for a presentation I will be giving this evening for the fabulous local expat group, Minas International, on international water conflicts and water governance in Brazil!