Chapter 1: Who’s who

Me:

My name is Vinod. I am 29 years old. I came to America as a boy and grew up here and settled in Virginia. I work as a computer programmer. I currently live in a 2 story, 3-bedroom house. On the second floor there is the master bedroom and another bedroom. On the first floor there is the kitchen, the dining room, and a guest bedroom. In a corner of the kitchen there is a small office with a desk, some office supplies, and a computer.

Kavitha:

My wife of one year. She grew up in a very conservative home in India and came to America after marrying me. She is 23 years old. She has black hair, beautiful brown eyes, and light brown skin. Although she has a great figure, she is one of the shyest people I have ever seen. I am the only man to have ever seen her naked, and that was only after we got married. She has been healthy, and so has not been to doctors other than for the occasional cold or sinus infection. She dresses very conservatively and wears either saris or long dresses that come down to her ankles. I don't think she has so much as exposed her knee since the time she has been here! We are currently in the process of finalizing her immigration status so she can stay permanently in America.

My wife is very smart. Although she studied computers in India, because of her visa status, she is unable to work. To keep from being bored, she volunteers Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at the local high school helping teach students programming. Because she is only a few years older than her students, she insists that they call her by her first name “Kavitha” instead of her last name.

Dr. Bill:

My best friend from childhood. Our families were next door neighbors, and, as we were the same age, we always hung out together. We ended up going to the same college and were roommates in undergrad. I studied programming, and he did pre-med and later medical school. He just recently finished his residency and started a small primary care clinic a couple of miles from here. He is still unmarried and comes to our place whenever he wants a home cooked meal. As he grew up eating my mom's cooking, he loves spicy Indian food. He is constantly complimenting Kavitha on her cooking. Kavitha also views him as a good friend, and they will constantly tease each other. Although Kavitha goes to him when she gets sick, the extent of his examination of her has been eyes, ears, nose, throat, and a quick listen to her heart and lungs over her clothes. Occasionally, he says that she really should schedule a full physical with him. Upon hearing this, she has the cutest blush and says that that is unnecessary as she is healthy, and besides it would be too embarrassing for her.

Jamal:

An 18-year-old African American senior at the school at which Kavitha volunteers. He is tall and lanky. He is taking Kavitha's computer programming class. He is literally the smartest person I have ever met. His family is not wealthy, but his mother and dad work like crazy to make sure their son has a better life than they did. His dad works as a janitor for the school during the day time, and then in the evenings runs his own office cleaning business. For his part, Jamal has honored their hard work. He gets pretty much straight A's in school. He also loves Kavitha's computer programming class, and because he does not have access to a computer at home, he will sometimes come over to practice programming problems with Kavitha on our computer.

Robert and Jorge:

Classmates of Jamal, also 18 years old. They are both medium height but stocky. From what my wife says, they are rude bullies. They are always making life miserable for Jamal, tripping him, throwing his books, and making fun of his father being the school janitor. They are also rude towards my wife, constantly ogling her, and saying comments like “It is a shame that you always keep your beauty hidden.”

Chapter 2: The letter

I will never forget the date. It was Friday, April 5th. A week earlier I had gotten a notice in my mailbox that there was a special package for me at the post office. However, I had had a busy week at work, and the post office was always closed by the time I was off work. Today however, I made time to go the the post office and get the package. And good thing I did! It was a package addressed to my wife from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Together we opened the package and with sinking hearts, read the letter.

* * * * *

Dear Visa Applicant,

We are sending this letter by special delivery to inform you that we have not received your completed medical examination forms. Please find the forms for the female examination enclosed. If these are not completed and postmarked by Tuesday, April 9th, your application for your permanent visa will be considered delinquent and automatically denied.

Sincerely,

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

* * * * *

As we finished reading this, the doorbell rang. Before I had a chance to respond to the doorbell, my wife started crying. "For the past year we have been working on this visa application, and now it is all for nothing. If only you had gotten the package sooner, we would have had time to schedule an appointment to get this done." I told her not to worry. I would check on my phone for an appointment. Unfortunately, the earliest appointment anybody had was Wednesday. It would be too late!

Just then we looked at each other and said at the same time "Dr. Bill!". In our worry, we had forgotten about our friend. I called him, putting him on speaker phone so Kavitha could hear as well, and explained the situation to him. After I finished talking, he reassured us and said not to worry. He was out of town for the weekend, but he would come by on Monday and fill out the forms.

I asked him when we should come by the office. "Don't bother", he replied. He explained that filling out these forms was just a matter of checking a bunch of boxes and signing.

"I am hungry for some of Kavitha's chicken curry. How about I come over to your house and sign the forms after dinner?" He told us to fill out the medical history and family history parts of the forms and he would take care of the rest. We both breathed a sigh of relief.

I then remembered about the doorbell. However, when I went to the door, whoever had rung the doorbell had given up and left. In a much happier mood, Kavitha and I worked together and quickly filled out the parts of the forms dealing with her medical and family history.

Chapter 3: Friend fills forms

Having done what needed to be done, we had a relaxing weekend. On Monday, I came a home early to help Kavitha with the cooking. There is regular Indian cooking, which is what happens most of the time, and then there is all out Indian cooking. This was all out Indian cooking! I think Kavitha was so grateful to Dr. Bill for helping us out of this situation, that she wanted to make a big meal. She cooked three different kinds of curries as well as an assortment of different kinds of breads and sweets. The whole house smelled delicious.

As soon as Dr. Bill pulled into the driveway, he could smell the aroma of the spicy food. I saw him get out of his car and hurry up the driveway. I quickly let him in and Kavitha ran up to him and gave him a big hug and thanked him for doing this. He looked at Kavitha and said he was happy to help. Then he looked at her again and asked her if she was ready for her "complete physical exam"?

Kavitha blushed deeply red and just stared at Dr. Bill without replying. After a second or two, he smiled and said that he was just joking and hadn't even brought his medical supplies with him. Kavitha punched him in the arm for scaring her. Dr. Bill then said, "I'm starving, let's eat, and we can fill out the forms after dinner."

The meal was excellent. Kavitha now knew for sure that Dr. Bill wouldn’t do a full exam on her and relaxed. Her modesty would be preserved. There was a lightness to her affect that I had not seen since we got the letter.

We then retired into the living room. I sat on the couch with Kavitha and Dr. Bill sat on the recliner facing us. He talked as he worked through the forms.

“Vitals – You don’t look or feel feverish. I am sure your heart rate and respiration rate are fine. Your blood pressure was normal the last time we checked it at the office.”

"Eyes, ears, nose, throat - I don't think anything's changed since I last examined them last month when you came in with your cold."

"Thyroid - don't see any goiters, looks normal to me".

"Heart - sounded good last time I listened"

"Lungs - You seem to be talking fine without wheezing. Sounds normal."

"Abdomen - You ate well, I am sure it's normal"

"Musculoskeletal – You are walking and moving well. Don’t see anything to be concerned about."

"Breast, rectal, pelvic."

Upon hearing those words, Kavitha blushed and looked away.

"It looks like I am allowed to skip these portions. Congratulations, we are done!"

And with that, the forms were complete.

He signed the physician section reading the declaration as he did so "I hereby declare under penalty of perjury that I have performed the above examinations in accordance with US immigration policy, and these are my findings.” He then gave it to me. There were places for Kavitha to sign as the applicant, and me as her sponsor. We signed and gave the forms back to him to look over one final time.

Chapter 4: The missing signature

Dr. Bill took the forms. "What's this extra signature - 'Third party (may be office staff)'

Where are we going to get that extra signature tonight?"

Just then, as if by some great coincidence, the doorbell rang. It was Jamal asking if he could practice the programming exercises that were assigned in class earlier today. We told him to come on in. This was working out perfectly! We asked Jamal if he could do something for us. He said he would be happy to help whatever way he could. Dr. Bill then gave him the forms and asked him to sign on the last signature line.

As I looked at him, for a second it seemed a strange look came over his face, and then in an instant it was gone, and he looked normal again. He read through the declaration that he had to sign. "I hereby declare under penalty of perjury that these examinations have been conducted in accordance with US immigration policy."

He looked quickly at Dr. Bill on the recliner and me and my wife on the couch. Everybody was in our regular clothes and no medical equipment was visible.

He then looked hard at my wife. "Kavitha, did you really and truly have all these exams performed on you tonight? You know the US government takes perjury very, very seriously."

Kavitha always was a poor liar.