Memories of Migration Episode Eight: Visits

Queens Public Library Podcasts

In this eighth episode, we're thinking about visits—receiving family, friends, and others as guests. In terms of legal procedures, visiting the U.S. requires paperwork, fees, and interviews to apply for visitor visas. Depending on national laws and an applicant's travel documentation and history, we learned in our research for this episode that the structure and length of these processes vary greatly. We also learned about laws that regulate visits to the U.S. These date back centuries to the Naturalization Law of 1802 that first established the requirement for all entry into the U.S. to be recorded by the federal government. In 2004, the U.S. government instituted the Visa Waiver Program, which deems citizens of certain countries eligible to travel to the U.S. without a visa. As of 2019, laws around entry into the country undergo ongoing shifts. In this episode, we'll hear stories about hosting visitors after migrating to Queens and of relationships formed and changed through these travels. While we listen, we can think about how we stay connected with each other as we move from place to place. Learn more about Queens Memory at http://queensmemory.org.