Blind man fails citizenship test after being denied Braille

[90DayFinancier 910]

A blind man has been denied US citizenship after immigration agents refused to provide him with an English language sentence to read in Braille.

Lucio Delgado, 23, was born blind and uses a cane to get around. He moved to the US from Mexico six years ago.

Mr Delgado said he was offered a large-print sentence to read, which he could not, being totally blind.

 

 

He was told during the test to go and get a doctor's note to prove that he was blind, but he could not afford to do so because he does not have health insurance.

A spokesman for the USCIS told the Post that they began offering Braille tests in November, months after Mr Delgado sat for his exam.

A lawyer for Mr Delgado said the USCIS had contacted him since his story was first reported last week to offer him another appointment later this month

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-us-canada-51760448

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

Because the test wasn’t offered, yet they reached out to him when it became available, don’t see the problem

[yuna628 9,676]

NYT does give some more info here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/07/us/citizenship-exam-blind-man-braille.html

 

Quote

He went to an optometrist for documentation to prove that he was blind. He requested a Braille reading test months ahead of his appointment. He scoured the Citizenship and Immigration Services website for practice tests and took every one he could find.

On May 21, the day of the exam, he traveled two hours on public transportation to the agency’s office in downtown Chicago. He said he aced the civics part of the test — no wrong answers — and completed some of the English exam orally.

But when it was time to test his reading skills, an agent told him that the agency did not have the materials in Braille and offered a version of the test in large print instead.

“And of course I had to say, ‘I’m totally blind,’” Mr. Delgado said.

The agent, he said, told him to go to another eye specialist — an ophthalmologist this time — within a month to get further proof of his blindness. But Mr. Delgado is uninsured.

“I had some doubts because I was wondering, ‘Why do they want me to visit another eye specialist?’” he said.

He made calls to Citizenship and Immigration Services and eventually was able to set up another appointment in Chicago on Sept. 17. Once there, agents told him they would probably be able to smooth things out so he could be naturalized.

He did go to an eye doctor, and provided documentation, but the agent thought that wasn't good enough. 

 

8 minutes ago, Randyandyuni said:

Because the test wasn’t offered, yet they reached out to him when it became available, don’t see the problem

They didn't exactly reach out to him either. It sounds like he had to make another appointment and jump through some hoops until the press got involved and they contacted him directly. It is very odd that for all these years we have no tests for the blind? How did a blind person pass before? I feel like the agent in this case probably would get into some trouble. In any case it sounds as if the gentleman and his family are quite poor. They need insurance somehow..

[Steeleballz 7,550]

13 minutes ago, Randyandyuni said:

Because the test wasn’t offered, yet they reached out to him when it became available, don’t see the problem

 

    To me the problem is it's 2020 and they just started doing the test in braille this year. 

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

2 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

They didn't exactly reach out to him either. It sounds like he had to make another appointment and jump through some hoops until the press got involved and they contacted him directly. It is very odd that for all these years we have no tests for the blind? How did a blind person pass before? I feel like the agent in this case probably would get into some trouble. In any case it sounds as if the gentleman and his family are quite poor. They need insurance somehow..

Which begs the question, how did he gain entry if he/his family is so poor?  It's been awhile since we filed for a visa, but surely the $$ requirements have gone up, not down since that time?

[yuna628 9,676]

3 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

Which begs the question, how did he gain entry if he/his family is so poor?  It's been awhile since we filed for a visa, but surely the $$ requirements have gone up, not down since that time?

Oh yeah for sure, it's really expensive. By the article it sounds like he was brought here with his family as a teenager, they fled violence and persecution and all have green cards.. so I'm guessing some kind of asylum or refugees?

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

3 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

Oh yeah for sure, it's really expensive. By the article it sounds like he was brought here with his family as a teenager, they fled violence and persecution and all have green cards.. so I'm guessing some kind of asylum or refugees?

ahhh, gotcha.  Also explains why a blind person was already here.  Because as SB pointed out, it's strange that it's 2020 and USCIS doesn't have a braille test yet.  It's hard to believe this is the first blind person to ever apply for USC.

[yuna628 9,676]

4 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

ahhh, gotcha.  Also explains why a blind person was already here.  Because as SB pointed out, it's strange that it's 2020 and USCIS doesn't have a braille test yet.  It's hard to believe this is the first blind person to ever apply for USC.

Perhaps we'll find there is a whole community of blind persons that just renew their cards every year instead of going for citizenship. It is a little embarrassing that we didn't have such a test before.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

24 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

ahhh, gotcha.  Also explains why a blind person was already here.  Because as SB pointed out, it's strange that it's 2020 and USCIS doesn't have a braille test yet.  It's hard to believe this is the first blind person to ever apply for USC.

 

  It could be that this specific office was not following policy, or that perhaps they didn't even have a consistent standardized policy for this. The statement issued by USCIS really sounds like this is something they have just recently attempted to address. 

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

Well, we have no idea how many blind people have ever tried to naturalize, so perhaps this is a newish thing.  But it appears the USCIS was already addressing it.  Pretty much a non-issue.

Edited March 7, 2020 by Voice of Reason

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

Or it could be there are 2 reports with different information and levels. Of details

[90DayFinancier 910]

The man "took" his naturalization test in May, tried to work with USCIS without luck and finally got a new appointment after going public via the press. Anyone who has tried to get an appointment from USCIS knows the challenges.

 

It is not the policy if the US government to discriminate based on physical capabilities. ADA is still the law of the land.  They have clarified:

 

“U.S.C.I.S. has policies in place to ensure accommodations are provided for people with disabilities when requested and we make every effort to ensure that these policies are followed at all times,” the agency said in a statement on Friday. “If U.S.C.I.S. becomes aware of an error in adhering to these policies, we make every effort to ensure corrections are made.”

The agency said it would provide Braille English tests for any blind or visually impaired citizenship applicant who requested them."

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

2 hours ago, 90DayFinancier said:

The man "took" his naturalization test in May, tried to work with USCIS without luck and finally got a new appointment after going public via the press. Anyone who has tried to get an appointment from USCIS knows the challenges.

 

It is not the policy if the US government to discriminate based on physical capabilities. ADA is still the law of the land.  They have clarified:

 

“U.S.C.I.S. has policies in place to ensure accommodations are provided for people with disabilities when requested and we make every effort to ensure that these policies are followed at all times,” the agency said in a statement on Friday. “If U.S.C.I.S. becomes aware of an error in adhering to these policies, we make every effort to ensure corrections are made.”

The agency said it would provide Braille English tests for any blind or visually impaired citizenship applicant who requested them."

Right.  So since this has already been resolved, how is it a "current event"?  Problem noted/problem solved.

[90DayFinancier 910]

11 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

Right.  So since this has already been resolved, how is it a "current event"?  Problem noted/problem solved.

Is the man a citizen?  No he gets his chance next week, his journey is in progress.

Are all the offices up to speed on how to help their clients with disabilities?  Remains to be seen. 

 

If you feel this thread belongs somewhere else, avail yourself with the report button. 

 

 

 

 

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

2 hours ago, 90DayFinancier said:

Is the man a citizen?  No he gets his chance next week, his journey is in progress.

Are all the offices up to speed on how to help their clients with disabilities?  Remains to be seen. 

 

If you feel this thread belongs somewhere else, avail yourself with the report button. 

This thread was a waste of bandwidth is all I am saying.  Problem found, problem resolved.  Ranks right up there with a car whose gas tank is on E sitting at a gas station.