Muslim Parents reunite with Toddler after Two Years in the US

Abdeloihab Boujrad, 38, a U.S. citizen but originally from Morocco, and wife Leila Bendaoud, 31, A Moroccan couple living in Falls Church, Va, reunited with their toddler on Aug. 6, 2007 after a two year-separation due to delays on his immigration papers. They had been trying since June 2005 to get their son to join them in the United States. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been criticized by legal experts and immigrant advocates on their immigration hold-ups.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been working closely with the USCIS to monitor and screen all immigration documents since the 9/11 attacks, causing indefinite citizenship and green card delays. “I received many letters saying the application is pending. They kept on giving different answers, but never denied the application,” said Boujrad. “I made about 150 phone calls to the INS Vermont Service Center.”

Boujrad, who came to the United States in 1997 after winning the U.S. immigration lottery in Morocco, started working on saving money from a hotel management position and a part-time taxi cab business. He returned to Morocco on 1999 to get married. Even after passing his citizenship test in 2003, the USCIS delayed his oath ceremony for eighteen months. After constant phone calling and personal visits to the immigration office, Boujrad was invited to the citizenship oath ceremony in 2005. “When you apply for citizenship and have passed the test, I was told by my attorney it shouldn’t take more than six to seven months to take the oath and receive citizenship status, but for me, it took almost two years,” said Boujrad.

Upon receiving his citizenship status, he immediately filed for his wife to come to the United States with his son. As Leila’s visa allowing her to travel to the United States was about to expire in 2005, she hesitantly decided to leave their 18-month old son with her husband’s sister. Leila received her permanent residence status in 2006.

The Washington-based Muslim civil rights advocacy group CAIR suspected the unusual delay was caused by the similarity in Boujrad son's name, Ahmed YassinAhmed Yassine, to the founder of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Group Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who was killed in 2004 by Israeli military forces.

“We strongly believe his name had a lot to do with the hold-up,” said Attorney Morris Days, civil rights manager of Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) MD/VA Chapter.

According to Morris, Muslims have faced unexplained delays and denials on immigration and citizenship applications since the attacks of 9/11. The USCIS is implementing rules that are not legislated and citizenships are being delayed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

“I thought it was hilarious when the USCIS kept on telling us the case is under administrative review. What kind of an administrative review could a three-year-old go through?” questioned Morris. The USCIS usually reviews cases when there is some deficiency or the case needs clarification, with someone being in the United States. The Boujrads' case did not need any clarification, said Morris.

“While I understood I have to be patient, I still suffered from depression,” said Boujrad. Leila cried for weeks, didn’t communicate for months, and spent the majority of her time with the neighbor’s children to take her mind off of her son. A desperate Leila also at times asked her husband to take her back to Morocco. “Things were very difficult for my wife and I. We never imagined having our first child and then being forced to be estranged from him,” said Boujrad.

The only communication all this while was via a web-cam but it is still not the same as interacting in person, said Leila.

In 2007, one evening after Maghrib prayer, Boujrad told his story to Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center’s outreach coordinator, Imam Johari Abdul-Malik. Imam, eager to help, immediately called Imam Mohammed Magid of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS). Boujrad was told to contact an immigration attorney at CAIR MD/VA and media picked up the story and brought attention to his “unexplainable case.”

In June 2007, after national media coverage highlighted the struggle of the family, USCIS approved the paperwork allowing his son to immigrate.

Ahmed Yassine can speak fluent Arabic, a fact that his parents are really proud off and they are happy their son has spent time early in his age in a Islamic environment.Now, the Boujrads hope their son memorizes the Quran. They are currently looking into a full-time Hifz school for Ahmed Yassine while waiting on the arrival of their second child.

Source: alternet.org