Red tape strands mother, son

A Canadian woman and her son have been living in a small motel room here in Fort Frances, subsisting on donations of food and money, since May 28 when they tried to cross back to the United States with her American husband.
Jackie Berry, 52, her son, Jason VanderHorst, 23, and her husband, Ron Berry, came to Fort Frances two weeks ago in order for her and her son to get new visitor’s visas to the U.S. because their previous ones—which are valid for 90 days—were about to expire.
The Berrys were married back on Dec. 6 in Iowa, where they had been living for almost a year. VanderHorst, also a Canadian, joined them there in March of this year.
For the last 18 months, Berry has been coming back to Canada every 90 days in order to renew her visitor’s visa, but had never encountered any problems before.
When trying to cross back to International Falls, Berry learned that because of her marriage to an American, her status had changed from visitor to “alien relative.”
“No one had ever asked me those questions before. If I hadn’t been so honest, maybe none of this would have happened,” she remarked Tuesday from her room at the Mid-Town Motel here.
The Berrys said they knew there were papers to be filed as a result of their marriage, but noted they couldn’t afford the fees, which range from $130 to about $330.
“We were living, not day-to-day, but very close to it,” Ron Berry said in a phone interview from Iowa. “We would not have crossed the border had we known what the results would be.”
Tom Kantos, port director for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in International Falls, said it’s not uncommon for couples to assume that marriage grants them special status.
“To simply get married and remain in the U.S, nothing happens automatically,” he explained. “If you get married, then it’s your intention to reside permanently.
“A non-immigrant visa does not cover that issue.”
“I understand what they’re saying,” Jackie Berry said regarding the INS requirement that she obtain an alien relative visa. “I just wish someone had told me before how important it was to get that done.
“And I think I should have been allowed to get my things so that I could live like a human being,” she added.
Because they had only intended to come here for the day, Berry and her son only had the clothes on their backs and $10 between them.
Since then, they’ve been staying in a small room with one double bed in a town they’d never visited before. The first night was paid for by the local Salvation Army, which also brought them some food, but they’ve been struggling ever since.
“We’ve spent almost $700. Every penny we get goes to paying for this room,” Berry said.
They’ve received some help from social services, from her husband who is a writer and part-time dishwasher, as well as from friends and Berry’s other son, who lives in the Netherlands.
Berry also receives a monthly widow’s pension of $1,200, but it won’t arrive until June 17. The motel has agreed to let them stay until the pension payment arrives, and also reduced the room rate by 25 percent.
Mother and son are both looking for work here, as well. “I applied here at the motel the day after we arrived, but the [advertised] position had already been filled,” Berry noted.
VanderHorst hopes to find work at the mill.
The pair has borrowed a small refrigerator and microwave oven to store and prepare the food they were given by the Salvation Army.
And after all this, Berry has decided she does not want to return to the U.S.
“I want to stay here. We’re treated better here,” she said, adding her husband plans to move to Fort Frances next month once she and her son have found work and a place to stay.
Berry still intends to seek immigrant status in the U.S., but said her husband also will seek landed immigrant status here, adding the people of Fort Frances have been very kind.
“If I had to get stuck anywhere, I’m glad it was here,” she said.
(Fort Frances Times)