CityNews – A February 24th report in the New York Post reported that a former NYPD officer is currently stuck in Chiang Mai because his eight year old adopted Thai son has been denied a visa because of a “technicality”.
Raymond O’Prey expressed in the article his love for his son, Mick, and explained how he and his Thai wife, Jamriang, under no circumstances can abandon the child.
The couple would like to go back to New York, O’Prey said, but as the visa has been denied, twice, they have no choice but to stay in Chiang Mai.
The boy was taken into care by Jamriang in 2009 when his own mother could no longer look after him. It took a further two years for the adoption to be finalized.
The reason why the boy has been denied a visa, stated the family’s lawyer, is because they cannot prove that during those two years it took to adopt him they could not prove that he had been in their care.
Although, it is reported that immigration officials were give ample proof of the boy’s whereabouts during the two years, that included photos, bills, and proof of his being schooled while with the couple. According to US immigration officials, this wasn’t enough. The US Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review has twice denied their appeals.
The family is again going through another visa application. Their lawyer was reported to have asked a US senator that if a certain Japanese baseball player can so easily acquire a visa, why can a small child in dire need of help not get one?
Read the full story here.