A stand-up guy

CNN reports on Oscar Vazquez, an ASU grad who was an illegal immigrant. He was brought here by his parents when he was 12, and then grew up in Arizona. He distinguished himself in robotics, got married, and had a child. But, he knows that mechanical engineering jobs will require legal authorization to work, so he returned to Mexico and applied for a visa.

Unfortunately, for choosing to do the right thing, now he has to deal with the immigration bureaucracy.

The Vazquezes thought the process would be smooth. He applied for a waiver of his "excludability" based on extreme hardship to his family.

His initial application was rejected.

The U.S. government wanted to see more documents of the family's finances as well as evidence of the psychological impact of Vazquez's absence on the family, to prove hardship.

"Do they want to see me living in a box with my baby for it to be enough for them to let my husband come back home?" Karla asked.

"Do they want to see me lose my job and then my child to protective services because I can't provide for her? What more do they need?"

I work with a number of people who have immigrated to the US, and the story is always the same. Delays, obscure rules, and for those who married a US citizen, the dreaded marriage interviews. Our government workers are of course just following procedures, but I would rather see Oscar's choice rewarded with an easier path. This kind of thing should be encouraged.