The U.S.--Who is welcomed?

Monday was a tough day. Abdoulaye, who has been a true friend since my arrival, had an interview at the U.S. Embassy for a tourist visa. I had helped him fill out the forms and cover some of the corresponding fees. To have an interview, you must make a phone call to a certain phone number which is charged to the applicant in the amount of $16. The applicant then has the right to 8 minutes on the phone to arrange an interview. The applicant must bring several passport photos, proof of employment with stated salary, and proof of a flight reservation to the U.S. which costs around $10. When granted the interview the applicant must pay a processing fee of $130 regardless of interview outcome. U.S. Immigration law is crafted in the exact opposite spirit of judicial law. Any applicant--including those interested in just a 30 day tourist visa--is, by law, assumed guilty of intent to permanently immigrate. The onus is upon the applicant to prove beyond a doubt that he or she is sufficiently rooted at home: married, children, homeowner, bank accounts, and a salary large enough to dissuade the applicant from looking for a better-paying job opportunity in the U.S. If the applicant is single, rents a room, works in a supermarket warehouse, doesn’t have significant savings, then he--I’m speaking of Abdoulaye--is found by U.S. law to be guilty of the potential to stay illegally in the U.S., and is denied a 30 day tourist visa. The fact that he has American friends who have provided paperwork that attests that they will host him in the U.S. makes no difference. The fact that, by his friendly nature, he has served as the unofficial and often indispensable cultural and city guide for the Fulbright teachers for the past 3 years, helping us make sense of this place and really appreciate our experiences, makes no difference. He is not allowed to step foot in the land of immigrants.

After Obama’s election, Abdoulaye was truly inspired, as are millions of individuals worldwide, that anything is possible. A simple 30 day visit to America. To see with his own eyes what is possible in the land of opportunity. To come back to Senegal with a strengthened resolve to achieve. To really believe the sky is the limit. To visit so many friends in America who would love to welcome him as a small sign of gratitude for all he did for them during their time in Senegal.

A 30 year old who would like to make a 30 day visit. A man who wants to leave his dead-end job to build a sustainable future. A man who would like to continue to support his brother and his parents, and his other siblings, and have enough money to be able to meet a woman and eventually marry and start a family. When he called me after the interview, he told me, “Elie, c’est dur.” “Elias, it’s hard.” He repeated this simple phrase several times, started to choke up over the phone, then broke down and started to cry. I joined in.

Simple hopes...dashed in a world that is not so simple.