Everything is fragmented today. Everything from language, media, entertainment, trade, business and right down to families. This is largely due to globalization and advancements in travel technology. People have begun to venture beyond the boundaries of the homeland in search for a better life and better prospects. India has seen significant ‘brain drain’ since we won our independence in 1947. This is why USA, UK, EU, ME, South Africa have become hubs for large indian expat (NRI/PIO) population. There have basically two nomenclatures used for these people – 1. NRI – non resident indian, 2. PIO – person of indian origin. The former is an indian passport holder (a citizen of india) who is staying outside of india for an extended period and is perhaps the citizen of another country other than india. PIOs are people of indian descent who have been born abroad and who are citizens of foriegn countries with parents that are either PIOs themselves or NRIs.
There has been a great demand for people wanting to rejoin thier families. It could be parents wanting to live with thier children or siblings wanting to join thier brothers or sisters. The way this typically works is that the person living/residing in the foriegn country can apply on behalf of his family (immediate blood relatives). The resident may either be a permanent resident or citizen. Looking at USA as a case study, the process of immigration is quickest when the application is done by a Citizen which can take anywhere from 3-6 months (for siblings, spouse, parents). This is not to say that permanent residents (people holding a green card) cannot do the same. The process for them typically takes anywhere from 1-6 years depending on complexity. It also helps if the applicant study in granular detail the changing immigration laws that are posted on the US government website. This is a tedious process since any miss in paper work (application, supporting documents, etc.) would result in money and time getting wasted as the entire process would need to be repeated.
Ruth, has been offering such a consulting service for quite some time now. She has helped several people of various nationalities get thie relatives into the US. A lot of the countries she has worked with are from Latin America – Venezuela, El Salvador, Gautemala, Colombia, etc. She has even helped my aunt with her US tourist visa application. Anyone that wishes to contact her may do so by posting replies to this blog.
The Life of Ruth Y Rajiv 