Close X
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
ADVT 
International

Indian-American Doctor Couple Pankaj Satija And Monika Ummat Facing Deportation Gets Reprieve

Darpan News Desk IANS, 31 Mar, 2017 12:05 PM
    Two prominent Indian-American doctors in Houston facing deportation as their travel documents had expired have been given a rare last minute-reprieve by the US administration that granted them a 90-day extension on humanitarian grounds.
     
    Dr Pankaj Satija and his wife Dr Monika Ummat, both neurologists, have been working legally in the US for 15 years. They have a 7-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter.
     
    The problem started when they visited India to see Dr Satija's sick father in October last year. On their return they were stopped at the Bush International airport by Customs and Border Protection officials because their travel documents had expired, the Houston Chronicle reported.
     
    The Customs and Border Protection officials stamped their travel document saying that it would expire in June this year, when in fact the US Citizenship and Immigration Services noted that their document actually expired in June, 2016.
     
    Upon returning to the US about a week later, a Customs and Border Protection official at the airport noted the discrepancy. The officials, however, allowed them to enter temporarily to correct the error.
     
    On Wednesday, Dr Satija and his wife were abruptly told by immigration officials that they had 24 hours to leave the US. They were told that under a new policy, they could no longer extend their temporary permission to stay while they waited for permanent authorisation, local media reported.
     
    However, as they were about to board a plane for India yesterday, they were granted a 90-day extension on humanitarian grounds.
     
    The couple had called on their legislators and had taken the media along with their attorneys to plead their case. They reported, as ordered, to customs officials at Bush Intercontinental Airport, where they were told the agency had suddenly reversed course.
     
    "Somebody at a higher level has made that decision," they were told by an agent. "I understand that you are physicians and a lot of lives are at stake."
     
    The agency offered the couple three months of humanitarian parole, a rare measure allowing immigrants, who are otherwise not permitted to enter the US, the opportunity to do so due to a "compelling emergency" to sort out their paperwork.
     
    "It was an unusual act of grace from an administration that has so far seemed intent on removing as many immigrants as it can, making few exceptions, even for those, like the Satijas, with good reasons to stay," the Houston Chronicle said in its report.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    2 Indian Men Jailed For Smuggling Foreign Nationals Into United States

    2 Indian Men Jailed For Smuggling Foreign Nationals Into United States
    Two Indians have been sentenced to 17 months in prison by a federal court for their roles in smuggling foreign nationals into the US, the Department of Justice has said. The two have also been sentenced to three years of supervised release.

    2 Indian Men Jailed For Smuggling Foreign Nationals Into United States

    Don't Use Islamophobic Language: Indian-American Ami Bera To Donald Trump

    Don't Use Islamophobic Language: Indian-American Ami Bera To Donald Trump
    Worried over frequent hate crimes against Indian-origin people in the US, a senior Indian-American Congressman has urged President Donald Trump to refrain from using Islamophobic language that pits one group against another.

    Don't Use Islamophobic Language: Indian-American Ami Bera To Donald Trump

    London Attack: Police Shoot Assailant At Parliament, Car Strikes Several On Westminster Bridge

    London Attack: Police Shoot Assailant At Parliament, Car Strikes Several On Westminster Bridge
    Two men, including a police officer, were shot at outside Westminster on Wednesday, leading to the lower house of parliament suspending its proceedings, the media reported.

    London Attack: Police Shoot Assailant At Parliament, Car Strikes Several On Westminster Bridge

    Germany Gurdwara Attack: 3 Teens Sentenced To Seven Years In Juvenile Detention

    Germany Gurdwara Attack: 3 Teens Sentenced To Seven Years In Juvenile Detention
    Three radicalised German-born teens were on Tuesday sentenced to up to seven years in juvenile detention for carrying out a "religiously motivated" bomb attack on a Gurdwara that left a Sikh priest badly injured.

    Germany Gurdwara Attack: 3 Teens Sentenced To Seven Years In Juvenile Detention

    Former US Attorney Preet Bharara, Fired By Trump, Joins NYU Law School

    India-born former top federal prosecutor Preet Bharara, fired by the Trump administration after he refused to quit, will join the prestigious New York University's law school as a distinguished scholar.

    Former US Attorney Preet Bharara, Fired By Trump, Joins NYU Law School

    Indian-American Musician Calls Donald Trump's Immigration Policy 'Short-Sighted'

    Indian-American Musician Calls Donald Trump's Immigration Policy 'Short-Sighted'
    The singer-composer's parents came to the US as immigrants back in 1976. And he has carved a niche for himself as a musician, composing tunes for TV and films.

    Indian-American Musician Calls Donald Trump's Immigration Policy 'Short-Sighted'