Posts Tagged US Immigration

New immigrants’ guide to the United States of America

There are all kinds of links, advertisements and even misleading information about the resources available to a new immigrant in the United States of America. Some of them promise your skies and stars, while others cut and paste from the official website of USA Homeland Security.

Whenever I doubt, always go to the source of the information. The purpose of this article is not to spoon-feed you the guidelines and rules, but share the source of such information.

There is a comprehensive guide issued by the U.S. Government as an official publication. The guide is titled ‘Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants, Washington, DC, Revised Edition’ and the information come straight from the horse’s mouth: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Office of Citizenship.

This guide is a welcome document for new immigrants or for those who plan to migrate to USA in the near future. “Adjusting to your new life in the United States of America will take time. This guide contains basic information that will help you settle in the United States and find what you and your family need for everyday life. It also summarizes important information about your legal status and about agencies and organizations that provide documents or essential services you may need.”

The information range from a variety of topics: where to get help, how to get help, information on job search, where to get legal help, necessary contact information for immigration services and so on. The guide rightfully goes on to summarize ‘Your Rights and Responsibilities as a Permanent Resident’, including ‘Consequences of Criminal Behavior for Permanent Residents.’ Just so you know, you have been advised :) ! Read the rest of this entry »

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‘Bollywood Heroes’ Vs ‘US Customs and Immigration’ : The duel goes on!

The US Customs and Immigration affects Bollywood travels to US

Shahrukh Khan

Shahrukh Khan

SRK stopped by US Immigration office for additional questioning; he blame US immigration for profiling based on Muslim name!….. – 8/11/09
Salman Khan is concerned about the US Immigration office; cancels his US trip!…- 8/28/09

Salman Khan has cancelled his upcoming trip to New York. The bollywood star was planning to visit USA to promote his upcoming movie ‘Wanted’. One of the main causes for this cancellation is quoted to be the recent incident where US immigration stopped Shahrukh Khan for additional questioning at Newark airport.

There has been much reported on this SRK immigration incident. The whole thing is blown way out of proportion by the media with so many twists and turns. Many are of the opinion that the agenda was to promote ‘My name is Khan’, his upcoming movie about experiences of a Muslim in USA in post-9/11 era.

The US Customs and Immigration denies any profiling and called it a routine stop, mainly because his baggage was delayed. You decide- who is right and who is wrong.

Salman Khan

Salman Khan

As a part of security measure of modern days, every country including USA is being extra careful as to who crosses their borders.We all know, the US Immigration and Customs check-point is last place to find friendly faces. The custom officers’ job is to probe everyone who enters the country and try to separate the good guys from bad ones. They frequently stop all kind of travelers –white, black or brown- for additional questioing and screening. The officers do tend to be a bit authoritative, and many may consider them ‘rude’; but that is the nature of their job.

So there you have it! Two Khan’s-the Bollywood mega stars vs. the US Customs and Immigration…. It is hard to fathom that Bollywood is so much worried about ‘not-so-friendly’ US Immigration officers. These Bollywood heroes, whose daily job description is to overcome the hurdles and fight big bad bullies in the movies, seem to shy away when it comes to passing through US Immigration and Customs. Is it that the real life drama is more intimidating than a Bollywood script with a pre-planned favorable outcome?

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Come on our Bollywood heroes, you can do better than that! We are so used to your bigger-than-life persona, your bare-hand fights against evils of all sizes! You can single-handedly kill an army of villains in those movies; demolish anything that crosses your path, or that of your love-interest! You can jump out of high rise buildings, dash out of flying planes and come out winners without a scratch on your body. And yet, you are scared of an immigration officer at a US check-point? Where is all that bravery that we are so accustomed to witness on the big screens? We all thought that you are tough enough to put up with some questions from a non-smiling customs officer in real life! Read the rest of this entry »

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