Magyar News, 1990. november-1991. augusztus (1. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)

1991-04-01 / 6. szám

REFUGEE OR IMMIGRANT?

The refugee and immigration problems for the Hungarians changed in the past years. The characteristic of it used to be that if you could leave Hungary than you had a good chance to find asylum in some western country. Now, however, the political changes, more or less, wiped out the possibility to enjoy the privilege of a refugee. There are still people in the United States who haven'tfinished the process that they started out to achieve, the status of a refugee. There is a lot of confusion in the new situation where there are Hungarians trying to immigrate to this country. True, as it is, the USA is a free country, but this doesn't mean that anybody could do anything. For example, an American citizen visiting Hungary may tell some friend that it is O K. to come to the USA as a tourist and he will take care of everything so his friend could stay here. Not any more. Day after day we see situations where the inviterfeels hopelessly embarrassed not being able to deliver on his promise, and his tourist friend experiences total desperation not receiving the possibility to stay here, and worse, he has to go back to Hungary where he burned up all the bridges.

If anyone has a good heart to offer relatives or friends help to come to the United States to become a resident, he should consult the proper people who know the new laws and are able to give sound advice and assistance. Don't forget the road to hell is lined with good intentions.

The Magyar News asked Jane Belote from the law firm Belote and Belote in Ridgefield to give us some information on the new law. Jane is formerly a General Attorney with the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Hartford, CT. Thomas Belote is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, and Chief of the Immigration and Consular Law Unit for the Southern District of New York, and Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the U.S.

This is what Jane wrote for us:

In attempting to understand the U.S. immigration system, a newcomer to this country might find himself in a situation not unlike Alice entering Wonderland. Confronted not only with a complex array of laws but also with a daunting amount of misinformation and advice from wellmeaning friends and relatives, it is little wonder that the visitor who aspires to permanent residence or a prolonged authorized stay in the United States feels in varying degrees bewildered and confused. What then can one do to minimize the confusion and to make sound decisions regarding immigration objectives? Simply stated, one should attempt to learn as much as possible about the U.S. immigration system and then realistically assess how one fits into that regulatory scheme.

This task may be complicated by the fact that on November 29,1990,PresidentBush signed into law The Immigration Act of

1990 (the "Act"), the most comprehensive revision of the U.S. immigration laws. Some of its provisions took legal effect immediately upon enactment, but the majority of its provisions do not become effective until October 1,1991, the beginning of the next federal fiscal year.

The new law, which touches upon almost every aspect of immigration, contains numerous provisions of a widely diverse nature. Not only does itrevise thenumerical limits, categories and preference system that regulates permanent legal immigration, it also revises the grounds for exclusion and deportation, provides relief from some of the more onerous provisions of the Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986, extends temporary refugee protection to certain aliens who have been forced to flee their homelands (among them Lebanon, Liberia and Kuwait), and gives impetus to the anti-discrimination provisions introduced in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

The 1990 law creates three basic categories of immigrants: family-sponsored, employment-related and diversity-based. A detailed analysis of these categories is beyond the scope of this article, but for the readers it is important to note that the Act is expected to create more opportunities for highly-skilled immigrants (particularly those possessing post graduate educations) and to enhance the opportunities for family-sponsored immigration through the creation of additional visas. At the same time, it is expected to adversely affect the less-skilled and unskilled immigrants by restricting even further the availability of visas, thereby prolonging by years the time required to obtain permanent residence through employment

To illustrate the impact of the Act on family-sponsored immigration, for fiscal years 1992-4, family-sponsored immigration will be capped at 520,000 per year, and at 480,000 per year thereafter. Putting this into perspective, under current law, excluding immediate relatives, only 216,000 family-sponsored immigrants are admitted annually. There continues to be no restriction on immediate relatives, i.e., the spouses, minor children and parents of adult citizens, but for the first time their number is subtracted from the next year's allocation of family-sponsored immigrant visas. However, a floor is established by the Act in that the level of family-sponsored immigrants may not fall below 226,000 annually. The hoped-for result of the planned increase of visas for family-sponsored immigrants is a shorter waiting time for those qualified relatives of U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

This brief look at the new law is not intended as an exhaustive analysis but as encouragement to the reader to inform himself as to what the law provides and as discouragement from resort to the easy answer, the "quick fix" promoted by some. The truism that, "If is sounds too good to be true, it probably is” particularly pertains to

immigration matters. Thus the best approach remains an understanding of the system and an honest appraisal as to how one can fit into the regulatory scheme.

BISHOP KÁLMÁN CSIHA FAIRFIELD, APRIL 14, 1991

Bom September 17,1929 in Transylvania, Bishop Csiha attended schools first in Hungary, then in Romania. He graduated in 1954 from the Protestant Theological Institute of Kolozsvár (Cluj). His first assigned position took him to Arad, where he organized the parish and subsequently became their first pastor. In 1956, he married Emese Nagy, an assistant pastor. Their child was bom in 1958, but he saw her only years later. Charged with not collaborating with the Romanian authorities, Bishop Csiha was arrested in December 1957 and condemned to 10 years in prison. After 6 1/2 years he was granted freedom by a general amnesty. He continued his pastoral work in the parishes of Gogánváralja and Marosvásárhely (Tirgu Mures). Here, Bishop Csiha strengthened the church’s youth organizations and created active congregations despite Ceaucescue's policies of religious intolerance. In 1975, Bishop Csiha received his doctoral degree in theology. He became the dean of the Marosvásárhely district in 1980. From 1988 onward he also served as a missionary lecturer. In 1990, in the first free election of the last half century, he became the Bishop of Kolozsvár. In this capacity, he has become instrumental in the reopening of the Protestant High School in Kolozsvár. The Protestant High School, a 300 year old institution was confiscated during the Ceaucescue regime. Romania's new leadership made a solemn promise to restore the school to the church, but instead of the old building, they have assigned 4 rooms in an elementary school for the use of the 259 high school students. The students were selected from applications received from all regions of Transylvania. They are being housed with various congregational families. Bishop Csiha and his wife board seven students in their own home.

The Reformed Church district of Kolozsvár has more than 60 congregations without a pastor. With only elementary schools it is difficult to educate future ministers. A Protestant High School would provide the missing link between elementary education and the School of Theology.

TO THE READER

As you know the Magyar News is free and you can pick it up at the Hungarian churches at the end of every month. If you wish to receive it to your home send 5-6 or more self addressed, stamped envelopes at a time. We can’t do the addressing. We asked for some token contribution if you so desire but you still have to send the envelopes. / Editor/.