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B Mackenzie on At the immigration office, a bit of a shock s.o on At the immigration office, a bit of a shock GSE on At the immigration office, a bit of a shock Susieq on At the immigration office, a bit of a shock JKW on At the immigration office, a bit of a shock To comment on any posting, click on the word 'Comments' at the end of the item. |
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« Today is a holiday in Italy, a day to shop and put up the Christmas tree | Main | Christmas in Piazza Navona » December 12, 2005At the immigration office, a bit of a shockI had applied to renew my permesso di soggiorno (permit to stay -- i.e., visa) at the immigration office in June. Without this document I am considered an illegal alien. They told me to return the following month to pick up my renewed copy. Here it is December and I'm still going back every 3 or 4 weeks with no luck. Seeing as how I will be returning to the U.S. for the holidays and need my permesso to re-enter Italy, I decided to sit down with the immigration officer and politely demand my long-awaited papers. The office is open from 9 a.m. to noon during the week, so I left for school early Tuesday morning to stop by. At 9:30 I arrived at the entrance. I asked the guard to see the immigration officer. "Not here," the guard replied, rocking his chair on two legs, his feet propped up on the desk. "He went out for a coffee." "Will he be back soon?" I inquired. "I don't know. Try back in a half hour." I was appalled. This guy works for three hours a day and he takes a half-hour coffee break? I waited, keeping my temper while trying not to notice how late I was going to be for class. When the immigration officer finally arrived, I entered his office and genially explained that I had been waiting for six months for my permesso and had to get it before my departure. "Ahh, don't worry!" the officer laughed, carelessly waving his hand in the air. "You're American. You won't have any problem getting in or out of the country. If you were Albanian or Sri Lankan -- that's another story. But with an American passport you can do what you want. Just tell them at customs that you're on vacation or something." I sat there with my jaw dropped, shocked at his political incorrectness and uncensored honesty. There I was sitting across the desk from the very government official who controls this stuff, and he was telling me that I could basically break all the rules. "I will however, fill out this 'urgent request' form to speed up the process of getting you your permesso," he told me. He printed a form and began to fill it out. "Let's see, 'Reason for urgent request?' I'll write that you have a death in the family. Yeah, that will make them hurry up." He finished filling out the form, looked up at me and winked. "Just come by whenever." Posted by Kelsea CommentsThis guy works for three hours a day and he takes a half-hour coffee break? Sounds like some college professors I had. JKW Posted by: JKW at December 12, 2005 3:34 PM I thought he was going to ask you for a bribe. Consider yourself lucky -- in many parts of the world, immigration will make your life harder, not easier. Posted by: Susieq at December 12, 2005 5:30 PM Your shock over his 'political incorrectness' just shows how OVERLY politically correct we are here in the U.S. as we strip search 85 year old women at line at the airport in order to not 'profile' despite clearly knowing who we SHOULD be looking for. Posted by: GSE at December 13, 2005 2:28 PM taking breaks on a 3hr day work schdule. no wonder why my case is still not complete. and i filed my application 4 years ago! Posted by: s.o at December 14, 2005 12:30 AM It is common here in Europe to take excess breaks and get too much vacation time. My husband has a 32 hour per week job and still gets around 7 weeks or more of PAID vacation and up to six months of paid sick leave. If he doesn't take the vacation, they force him to. I am American so go there a lot and notice that customs do profile, almost only searching black or Asian men. At least they admit to it here. Posted by: B Mackenzie at December 15, 2005 7:23 AM |
Kelsea Brennan-Wessels is a sophomore at The American University of Rome |
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Comments
This guy works for three hours a day and he takes a half-hour coffee break? Sounds like some college professors I had.
JKW
Posted by: JKW | December 12, 2005 3:34 PM
I thought he was going to ask you for a bribe. Consider yourself lucky -- in many parts of the world, immigration will make your life harder, not easier.
Posted by: Susieq | December 12, 2005 5:30 PM
Your shock over his 'political incorrectness' just shows how OVERLY politically correct we are here in the U.S. as we strip search 85 year old women at line at the airport in order to not 'profile' despite clearly knowing who we SHOULD be looking for.
Posted by: GSE | December 13, 2005 2:28 PM
taking breaks on a 3hr day work schdule. no wonder why my case is still not complete. and i filed my application 4 years ago!
Posted by: s.o | December 14, 2005 12:30 AM
It is common here in Europe to take excess breaks and get too much vacation time. My husband has a 32 hour per week job and still gets around 7 weeks or more of PAID vacation and up to six months of paid sick leave. If he doesn't take the vacation, they force him to. I am American so go there a lot and notice that customs do profile, almost only searching black or Asian men. At least they admit to it here.
Posted by: B Mackenzie | December 15, 2005 7:23 AM