Too Much to Ask?

I was married on Sept. 9, the happiest day of my life. On Sept. 10, I was informed that my wife and I could not be together. It seems I had made the unforgivable mistake of marrying a person from the Philippines.

I have been told that it will take seven to 10 months for us to be together here. It will take that long not because of the Philippine government, but because of ours. My wife is a dentist, not a call girl, hostess or pregnant teen-ager looking to catch an unwary American, but a professional person of some standing in the community. Still, we must wait.

With all the dialogue our government has been putting out about human rights, I can’t help but wonder if it isn’t more propaganda designed to cover the fact that my right and the rights of others in my predicament are being denied. At least I had always assumed that I had the right of choice in my mate.

Living in San Diego County, especially in North County, I see literally hundreds of undocumented aliens standing on street corners looking for work. I read in the papers and watch on the news how our police departments have so much trouble with these illegal citizens of our country. I wonder how it is that they are allowed to parade with impunity while those of us who try by legal means to have our relatives enter the country are denied.

All I want is to have my wife by my side. Is that too much to ask from our government? According to one INS official I spoke to, it is. Is this human rights at work?

STEVE CRISAFI Encinitas