Archive for December 22nd, 2009
Expedited Removal and US Tourist Visas Thailand
Visitors holding tourists visas ought to be extra careful in handling their travel documents to avoid being subjected to expedited removal.
In the recent years, DHS has begun enforcing strictly the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA for brevity) against aliens requesting entry in the US especially to holders of US Tourist visas. This active move by the government was brought about by the increased number of violent crimes and terroristic activities in the county.
In 2008 alone, the Office of Immigration Statistics Annual Report declared that the Department of Homeland Security or DHS had apprehended 792,000 foreign nationals for violation of INA and 97,000 known criminal aliens in the country. Approximately 359,000 aliens were removed from the US. The 113,500 or the 32 % of the total number of removals were made through expedited removal.
Expedited deportation also known as expedited removal is defined by the INA as a process by which the Department of Homeland Security through an immigration officer may order an alien removed. This serves as the first line of defense against unlawful entries.
The recognized grounds are violations against those stated under INA § 212(a) (6) (C) or (a) (7) which mainly prohibits misrepresentations and fraudulent documentation or not having proper entry documents.
Under this type of removal, an alien is removed without undergoing a hearing before an immigration judge. This is in contrast with the traditional removal process wherein a removal proceeding is held and the decision is appealable to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
The only recognized excuse to avoid immediate removal is fear of persecution or intent to apply for asylum. In this case, instead of deciding on the matter, the officer refers the issue to the designated asylum officer. In due course, the situation will be brought before an immigration judge.
To save oneself from humiliation and possibility of a bar to future legal entry, travellers need to make sure that all the required travel documents are at hand before boarding the plane.
It is important that Thai fiancées who want to travel to US should apply for a K1 Visa Thailand and also the Thai spouses should apply for the K3 Visa Thailand. Travelling to the US on a US tourist visa from Thailand might pose some difficulties if they are questioned or turned away by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer upon entry if discovered that their real intent is to marry the US Citizen.
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