Question for Geriatric/LTC Nurses...Elderly Immigrants

Nurses General Nursing

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have a question for LTC nurses. How do immigrants in facilities have their pictures taken for their Green Card renewals? My mom is cared for at home. She id bed bound and has dementia. She came here from the UK in 1952. Her Green Card is up for renewal. I asked not to take her to the immigration office about 30 miles away. Initially, they said sure and told me to take her to another about 40 miles from her home. We got a note from her doctor and established that we wanted to get an exemption for her. After multiple calls and letters. they said take her picture and send it in. I did, making sure the photo met their stated requirements. So 5 months later, they have rejected the 2 photos I sent. This process did not start 5 months ago, I applied for the renewal in November.

Yesterday, I spoke with several extremely rude people. The supervisor I spoke with was difficult to understand on the phone and very impatient. He told me, I cannot decide to take the photos. (I didn't. The immigration office in Salisbury, MD told me to take them). I must take her to the office to have them taken. I reminded him of the exemption. Then take her to the post office or Walgreen's, I was told. If she can't go the office, then neither of those options work. What a terrible jerk of a man!

Then... I asked him what do people in a nursing home do when their Green card is up for renewal. "Ma'am you are ridiculous! I am not speaking with you anymore."

So what do folks do in a nursing home, my friends? I do not want to take my mom to the busy immigration office as we begin flu season. Not to mention, how I will lift her, etc. and how to take the time of work. This isn't a medical need, so FMLA won't cover it. Any ideas.

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I don't think INS would be banging down your door trying to deport your mom, then again with President Trump he might just throw her over the wall paid for by Mexico. I am thinking about asking UK to help pay for that wall.

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Specializes in Home Health (PDN), Camp Nursing.

Call your congressmans office. Be ready with who and what office you spoke to when. Sometimes they love to jump in on this stuff, and when they do it's pretty amazing how quickly it gets done.

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My mother does get Medicare because she has been a legal tax paying resident for 60+ years. I don't want them to take her Medicare or something for being non-compliant. This is such a ridiculous situation. I think to be so rigid about the picture is absurd. If I take her out of the house an she gets the flu or falls, I will be beyond pissed. I believe if you are incarcerated, the application can be delayed until your release. She lives in DE. I am tempted to write to Joe Biden. He probably wouldn't do anything.

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Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.

Call you congressman, make an appointment and write down an extremely heart-tearing letter. This might help. But in general terms, ICE makes no exceptions for non-critical medical reasons. They are rightfully concerned about "dead souls" (documents done for persons already dead sold on black market for criminal activities) hence the requirement for personal visit.

Some local photographers may know the requirements for pictures and come home to take them That was what I had to do when I was on strict bed rest, and I had no problems. But make sure it is not his first experience with pics needed for immigration.

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My mother does get Medicare because she has been a legal tax paying resident for 60+ years. I don't want them to take her Medicare or something for being non-compliant. This is such a ridiculous situation. I think to be so rigid about the picture is absurd. If I take her out of the house an she gets the flu or falls, I will be beyond pissed. I believe if you are incarcerated, the application can be delayed until your release. She lives in DE. I am tempted to write to Joe Biden. He probably wouldn't do anything.

I want to reiterate the advice given you by Alex Egan and KatieMI. Call your US Senator or Representative.

My experience has been that they will get this resolved fast. At 5pm one day my mother called her US Senator to ask his staff who to contact in the government about a problem. They insisted on pulling the Senator out of a meeting to speak with her. He assigned an aide to work on the problem. The aide called her several times that evening to give her updates. The problem was resolved by 8am the next morning.

Senators and Representatives love to be able to solve problems for their constituents.

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