Legal Residents Dismayed Over Latest Measures

The delay does not apply to foreigners who are married or have children when they first apply to immigrate, because they can usually bring their immediate family along as part of the same application.

But those who marry foreign-born people or have a child abroad after their green card is granted must contend with yearly legal caps on the number of immigration visas to bring them to the United States.

Several Washington area immigration lawyers say it is unrealistic and cruel to expect legal permanent residents to avoid meeting and falling in love with foreign nationals until they become U.S. citizens.

"It happens all the time," said Ophelia Calderon, a lawyer based in Arlington County. "People will go home on a visit and reconnect with their sweetheart from high school, or just meet someone new. . . . I warn my clients against it. But you can't control love."

A case in point is that of Vinay Malik, 31, an Indian patent agent living in Sterling who said he searched unsuccessfully for a wife in the United States before falling for a family friend in India this year.

"She's so good-natured. She has such a great personality. When you meet the right girl, you just know," Malik said.

"And I decided that rather than settle for someone who I wasn't absolutely happy with [to avoid the visa delay], I should instead choose the right girl."

Although he and his wife, a software consultant, were aware of the potential separation in store for them, it has proved more challenging than they anticipated. They try to speak on the phone twice a day, but the time difference and their busy professional lives force them to keep the conversations brief. They have been unable to attend key moments in each other's lives, such as Malik's graduation from law school last week.

But more than anything, Malik said, he misses "the small stuff -- just living with the person you care most about and sharing the small joys of life."