Israeli goes on hunger strike for Green Card
Rami Scharf has faced years of unexplained delay in obtaining green card status
Scharf, 43, of Haifa, is married and father of three children aged 10 – 18, and works for American company in Virginia which supplies services to the US's National Cancer Research Institute.
Recounting his long and still incomplete journey to receive a Green Card, Scharf said that "the request was first stuck for three years in the Department of Labor until a work permit was granted. Only after three years, the file was transferred to the Department of Immigration."
"Despite repeated requests, I was not given an answer why it was stuck," he added.
After turning to the representative of the House of Representatives Chris Van Hollen, his aides checked the issue and in 2005 the request was transferred to the final stage of status change process. This stage should have taken a number of weeks. It is a technical stage only, but it has been going on for six months.
"In principle this can be delayed forever. Therefore I have no other way to protest other than going on hunger strike," Scharf said.
In a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, Scharf said: "We live and work in a legal manner in the United States since 1998 as law-abiding residents, contribute to the economy and American society. I believe we deserve better and faster treatment from the department you head."
