Hot Water

Hi again with a sigh from Escondido,

I am becoming increasingly sluggish at maintaining the Stofberg blog (playing around with special effects set aside). The late appearance of the February edition (less than a week ago) failed to hold much promise for March.

I've decided to follow up with a quick emergency post to let everyone know what is happening and what struggles we face this month.

By this time everyone is surely aware of how increasingly difficult it has become to obtain permission to stay, work or study in the U.S.A. The demands made by the hairy and sometimes extremely vague and confusing immigration laws are high and they are strictly enforced to protect the country against those 'unwanted' elements.

This sets the stage for our epic little drama:

Our story reaches its climax on the morning of February 4th as I got out of the shower and very nearly made the mistake of running to our bedroom butt-naked. I was not expecting any visitors and Bella sounded the alarm just in time:) I got dressed to meet them and was more than just a little surprised when our two visitors presented their badges and announced that they had come to arrest me.

A mere blog post does not afford me enough space to give a detailed account of the unfortunate series of events leading to my arrest , but here follows a brief summary:

When one applies for an F1 student visa from your home country, it does not permit you to enter the United States more than 30 days before your academic program commences. If, for whatever reason, you want to move at an earlier date, they suggest that you enter on a tourist visa (B visa) and apply for a change of status to F1 when the time is ripe. The idea is that you make your intentions to study clear when you apply for the B visa at the U.S. consulate in your home country and they, in return, add a 'prospective student' annotation to your B visa to fascilitate the change of status later on.

We found it necessary to move to the U.S. more than 30 days before my starting term so that Bella would not forfeit her greencard (she is only allowed to leave the U.S. for 6 months or less at a time) and so that we would have enough time to settle in Escondido. My only option was therefore to come to the U.S. on the B visa.

The thing is that I've already had a B visa for almost two years from a previous trip to America. I contacted the admissions office at the seminary to find out how I could get my visa annotated with the 'prospective student' stamp. After a little research they said it seemed that the annotation could be made by the immigration official at the port of entry if you made your intention to study clear and presented the necessary paperwork. The idea, of course, is that one should not enter the U.S. under the pretence of coming on a holiday and then change your mind later on - a favourite among those who attempt to illegally enter the United States.

So that's what we did: I made my intention to study very clear to the immigration official at the airport and presented the paperwork as proof of my admission to the seminary. What a nice surprise when the official told me that he has never heard of the so-called ''prospective student' annotation. I was ushered to a small office for a private interview (in the meantime poor Bella was waiting on the other side sick with worry that she might have to stay behind alone). I explained the whole situation to the official behind the counter and presented the paperwork that showed my intention to start seminary in January. In light of the misunderstanding he granted me entry but limited my stay to 29 December. He suggested I immediately contact USCIS to try and resolve the matter. He figured that 29 Desember would give me enough time to resolve the matter with the Winter term starting early January.

After spending a week with my parents-in-law in Reno, we set off to our new home in Escondido. I contacted the seminary to notify them of our dilemma. With their support I started filing my petition for change of status with USCIS. We were advised not to leave the country in an attempt to apply for a student visa from Mexico or Canada as there would be no guarantee that I would be allowed back into the U.S. We were to continue with our earlier plans as the USCIS website confirmed that it was still a legitimate route to take.

At that stage USCIS was almost 6 months behind in processing change of status petitions. Consequently one of our biggest concerns was what would happen if USCIS took longer to process my case than I was legally allowed to stay in the country. Another concern was that their current processing timeframes meant that I would miss both the Winter and Spring semesters at seminary.

We heard some rumours that the USCIS allows you to legally remain in the U.S. after filing a petition for change of status until the outcome of your case is decided. Just to be sure I contacted the USCIS customer service. They told me on two separate occasions that I would be allowed to stay in the country until my case outcome is decided. They also warned me not to leave the country under any circumstances as I would thereby automatically forfeit my pending case. Perfect!

A trunk of paperwork and many dollars later, USCIS notified us that they received my petition for change of status on 3 November. We kept praying that USCIS would make up for lost time so that I could maybe still start in January. After filing a petition you can monitor your case status online. You are not allowed to contact USCIS regarding your case unless you have not received an outcome by the time that the current processing time for your type of petition (dynamic indication on their website) has expired.

Our prayers were answered when USCIS unexpectedly caught up and processing times for my type of petition dropped from six months to three. This still meant that I would miss the Winter term, but that there was a good chance I would still make it for the Spring semester in February.

Anxious for updates on my case we decided to call in the help of our local congressman. February was now just around the corner and I was hoping that he would be able to expedite my case. On 23 January 2009 I received an email from his office containing a reply from some bigshot in USCIS (dated 21 January 2009) saying that my case was currently with a state adjudicator and that I should enquire again if I do not hear from them in 30-45 days.

Now my only option was to wait patiently until 3 February - three months since I filed my petition - so that I could contact USCIS to find out what was cooking. My online status still showed no change from the initial 'case pending' message. My call was escalated a few ranks to where I could speak to someone who could give me an answer. Just guess what they told me: That my case outcome had already been decided on 16 January!

Rather surprising news after the email from the congressional office confirmed my case was still pending as of 21 January. The USCIS representative told me that she was unable to give me the outcome over the phone and that I should contact them again if I did not receive notification by mail within 30-45 days :-( After explaining the urgency of the case to her, she suggested I make an appointment at my local USCIS field office if I wanted to hear the outcome of my case any sooner. I immediately scheduled an appointment for 13 February (the earliest possible date) and could only hope that the seminary would allow me to start one week into the semester.

This all brings us back to the climax of our epic little drama on 4 February 2009 when the ICE special agents came to our house to arrest me for staying in the country after 29 December. ICE works independently from USCIS and is responsible for arresting and deporting illegal aliens.

They asked to see my identification and paperwork. I was able to present paperwork for everything we have done up to that point as well as the official USCIS receipts. At least they responded somewhat sympathetic toward our situation. They admitted that I am not the kind of guy they normally look for :)

They confiscated my passport (nice hey?!) and ordered me to meet them at the federal buildings in San Diego the following Monday to file the necessary paperwork and take fingerprints for my upcoming immigration hearing.

I spent half the day Monday filling out paperwork at the ICE headquarters. I had to sign the order for my arrest which accused me of staying in the country after 29 December 2008. ICE totally denied the fact that my pending change of status petition earned me the right to remain in the country legally until I received a decision on my case.

Before heading home, I asked them if they would be so kind as to shed some light on the outcome of my USCIS petition - now unsure about where the USCIS petition fitted into it all. After about thirty minutes the officer returned with the news that my petition was denied on 16 January.

Although it might all seem a little depressing, the wonderful thing about it is that whatever they decide during the immigration hearing would naturally override the USCIS decision. If I received the USCIS denial in the mail it would have been the end of the story! We like to think of it as a small miracle and a second chance:)

I received the summons to court in the mail about a week later...my immigration hearing is scheduled for 8:30am on 24 March 2009. I am not sure what happened to my request for an immediate trial (within 7-10 days), but oh well:) They supplied us with a list containing various options for free legal assitance, but it does not look like the kind of representation one can count on. I have made a few good connections through a friend from seminary whose dad used to be a special agent for ICE. All my energy now goes into finding reliable legal assitance that will not leave us totally bankrupt.

We especially ask for your support in prayer during this difficult time. I am unsure whether it would be worth it for us to spend a lot of money in finding good legal assitance or whether I should try to represent myself. I feel we have a simple, straightforward case and that I probably know the in's-and-out's better than anyone. We have also not done anything wrong!

Seems that all hell breaks loose when one decides to go into full-time ministry:) Bella and I are fairly relaxed about the whole affair but dread the waiting.

We appreciate your continued support in prayer. We have done what we could...it is now solely in God's hands.

We have come a long way and although the journey sometimes leaves us tired and confused it would be absolutely silly not to trust God for the last bit.

That's it for now:)

Cheers,
Jac en Bella