Coast host fights immigration

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By William R. Toler

Radio host Art Bell may never return to the high desert.

The legendary host of  Coast to Coast A.M. told listeners of an ongoing battle with immigration officials while filling in for weekend host Ian Punnett June 6.

Outraged by a lack of cooperation or communication by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Bell sent a letter to Sen. Harry Reid asking him to look into the matter.

In the letter, and on the air, Bell explained how he and his Phillipino wife Airyn had been following all of the rules and regulations regarding her Visa.  In October of 2008,the Bells sent in the required form, evidence of marriage and a fee of $545, the final step of a two-year process.

Three months later, they recieved a letter from the California service center requesting additional information. The Bells complied within a few days. According to postal reciepts, USCIS received the package of material on Jan. 15.

However, Bell says that in early March “we received a notice that USCIS had not received our additional evidence and moreover that there was NO appeal and it was case CLOSED!”

After that he called USCIS and was told to send in evidence that he had sent the materials in…which he did.

Then, he received a letter back saying that USCIS had sent the wrong form and he should send in $575. Not wanting to argue, although he had already sent in the original fee, Bell once again complied.

“They returned the check saying it was incomplete, but that was all they had asked for, most of the responses from USCIS seemed to refer to other cases, not ours, but I was tired of fighting,” Bell said.

Included in the “evidence” to USCIS were:

• Marriage License
• Daughter’s Birth Certif.
• JOINT bank accounts (2)
• Health insurance
• Joint car registration
• Art’s Last Will (With Wife and Daughter as receiving sole benefits)
• Social Security paperwork for all
• Pictures of trips taken
•  The (2) homes Art owns in Nevada, payed in full
•  (2) signed (Notarized) statements from friends attesting that the marriage is indeed in good faith
• Many additional documents proving it is a real Marriage entered to in good faith and still healthy

That same month, the Bells had to return to the Phillipines to take care of family matters. However, once back in Manilla, the Bells were informed that Airyn could not return to the U.S.

The following letter was a response following a letter from a congressional aide on the Bells’ behalf:

Thank you for contacting the Congressional Liaison Team within the California Service Center. Since the applicant is out of the country after the case was denied. The petitioner will need to start from filing the I-130 petition again for the beneficiary.

The reason for the denial was explained in the denial notice that your constituent received. The evidence was not received.

The applicant’s status has been terminated at this point, and she will not be able to return to the United States using the stamps in her passport.

Sincerely,

Yining Wu
Adjudication Officer
Congressional Unit
DHS/USCIS/CSC

“I think of myself as a good American” Art said,”however I do not feel as though I have been treated as one.”

Listeners called in with their own similar experiences with trying to do things the right way, instead of just slipping across the borders illegally like so many people do each day.

It would be nice to hear Art Bell once again broadcast from the high desert, but I don’t blame him for not wanting to return to a country that has placed such a burden on his life because of bone-headed bureaucrats hidden away in an office protected from the public and their own mistakes.

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Filed under News, civil rights

Tags: Airyn Bell, Art Bell, Coast to Coast A.M., Harry Reid, host, immigration, marriage, Phillpines, radio, United States Customs and Immigration Services, Visa