本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛40岁的胡艳红(译音)1999 年持商务签证进入美国一直在餐馆和按摩院打工，由于没有合法身份生活一直漂浮不定，直到三年前在达拉斯遇到了现年53岁的房地产开发商艾森伯格 (Ralph Isenberg)，她的生活才发生了彻底的改变。然而这段百万富翁与中国按摩女的疯狂爱情，现在已不再是个浪漫的故事，因为胡艳红即将被遣送回中国，而艾森伯格已打算为保住妻子和女儿而进行绝食。
2004年3月13日，艾森伯格在认识胡艳红后不久，便在家中举行了婚礼。2005年7月1日，两个人的爱情结晶－－女儿尼拉娅(Niraya)出生了。有关胡艳红与艾森伯格的浪漫故事暂且不表，因为那段故事早已被胡艳红即将于8月15日被遣送回国的头号大事给淹没了。
Yanhong Hu, who wed millionaire developer Ralph Isenberg in 2004, must return to China by Aug. 15. Mr. Isenberg said he's prepared to die for his family, including daughter Niraya.
艾森伯格为了自己的妻子和刚满月的女儿而豁出去的举动和决心，已成为达拉斯几家媒体关注的中心。用达拉斯媒体的话说，“英雄救美”的艾森伯格为了胡艳红可以说已冒了所有风险。为了她，与他结婚 30年的妻子同他的离婚了；为了她，他的好朋友们也同他断绝了关系；为了她，已成年的儿子和妻子也躲他远远的。
现在艾森伯格已决定，准备好为了保护自己的新婚妻子而不惜一切，甚至去死。在达拉斯城市规划委员会担任委员的艾森伯格最新表示，在他已尽了自己的全部努力来保护胡艳红不被遣送回国后，他已计划近日举行绝食抗议。
自从三年前在达拉斯的一家按摩院认识胡艳红以后，艾森伯格已为胡的身份问题游说了不少政界和商界领袖，既有联邦国会议员也有德州的全州议员，还给这些举足轻重的领袖们写信，希望他们能帮助解决胡艳红的公民申请。然而，艾森伯格在8月1日从美国移民局得到的回答却是，不会再允许他的妻子在8月15日之后还呆在美国。
在女儿尼拉娅出生后，艾森伯格和胡艳红一直寻求获得半年的延期，以便更好地照顾女儿。可这样的合理要求已被美国移民部门给拒绝了，艾森伯格的气愤和失望可想而知，“我的四分之三的家人在纳粹德国都被折磨死了，在我最坏的梦中从来未曾想过，我会为了保护和自己的家人在一起，而在美国土壤上展开斗争。”
医生已告诉艾森伯格夫妇，他们的新生婴儿太小，无法跟他们一起乘飞机旅行。这样一来，胡艳红与前夫所生的、已被艾森伯格认领为养女现在一起生活的、马上就要上高中的女儿，如果在母亲万一被遣送回去，以及艾森伯格往返于中国和达拉斯期间，就不得不扮演一个保姆的角色。而到了那时，这个被记者称为温馨和睦的家庭就会强行分开。
美国移民官员称，他们已对胡艳红“仁至义尽”了，因为2001年胡曾在达拉斯卷入一起妓女案，还由于违反移民规定，缺席一次移民听审会而被关押了52天。但艾森伯格在写给美国政界和商界领袖的信中辩护说，有关部门在他们结婚前对胡艳红的卖淫指控完全是没有根据的。
达拉斯移民执法局首席律师汉克(Paul Hunker)在谈到胡艳红案子时介绍说，在美国国务院可能批准她的美国永久居民的申请前，她需要移民部门四次放弃违反移民法的指控。汉克说：“这确实是一起极为非常的案件，我当了12年的政府律师还头一次遇到这样的案子。”
一直帮助艾森伯格夫妇游说移民部门再给予半年延期的塞森斯(Sessions)则担心，母亲一旦被遣送回中国，新生婴儿的健康会受到威胁。不过，达拉斯移民局的律师汉克则认为，在执行移民法过程中，财富和政治影响都无法成为一个关键因素，但一个美国公民的出生将会被认真给予考虑。汉克还解释说，如果不是考虑到婴儿，移民部门早就把胡艳红递解出境了。
由此看来，胡艳红案已不太可能在最后时刻出现转机。艾森伯格说，这些天他总能看见妻子在深夜抱着女儿，一边围着房子转一边擦着眼泪。多维社在编译这篇文章时，在达拉斯晨报网站看到艾森伯格抱着女儿与胡艳红在一起的照片。胡艳红说：“现在孩子实在太小了，我不能把孩子带走，也不能把孩子留在这里。”
如果胡艳红离开美国，那么谁也无法保证她还能回到美国，因为违反移民法，她已面临着五年之内不得入境的处罚。现在艾森伯格一家人都愿意随同胡艳红一同返回中国，但需要美国移民部门保证能让她尽快回到美国。但美国移民部门现在还没有，可能也不会作出这样的保证。
艾森伯格的女儿的教父、在达拉斯法庭担任法官的琼斯(Thomas Jones)表示，移民部门在处理此案时应该更富有同情心，因为此案并不是关于一个母亲，也不是关于一个父亲，而是同一个刚出生的美国公民有着最直接的关系。曾经任命艾森伯格为市规划委员会委员的达拉斯女市长米勒(Laura Miller)也表示，她对艾森伯格一家人的遭遇感到难过，市长还把艾森伯格的家庭描绘成“真正幸福、充满爱意和完美的家庭”。
然而，对于艾森伯格来说，对于这位在家中挂着林肯像和自由女神的百万富翁来说，他已被同移民部门的麻烦给难住了，“它正在摧毁我的家庭，我不知道应该怎么去做，我是应该跟孩子在一起，还是应该跟我的妻子回中国呢？”在谈到自己的妻子时，艾森伯格说：“我希望她能过上更好的生活，我感觉到她呆在这里能更安全一起。”
据介绍，1999年持商务签证进入美国的胡艳红，曾在中国获得过工程学位，但到美国时却因为英语不好而被迫去餐馆打工，有时一天要工作13个小时，但却只能挣到20美元。后来，她在加州从事按摩，并获得执照。艾森伯格说，在胡艳红从加州搬到德州时，并不知道加州按摩执照在德州无效，绝望之后她只好去一家达拉斯浴室工作
对于艾森伯格有关妻子的这些说法，他的亲朋好友和生意伙伴们都表示怀疑，甚至有人担心胡艳红是个骗取别人信任的专家。一名早前曾怀疑他们关系的朋友说，在艾森伯格与胡艳红刚一交往时，大伙都劝他悠着点，但现在已没有人怀疑这对夫妻的感情和关系，并称赞胡艳红非常可爱，“毫无疑问她非常爱艾森伯格，我也从事没看到他这样幸福过。”
艾森伯格对达拉斯晨报说，他与胡艳红都曾经历了一段不幸福的婚姻，在没有遇到胡艳红之前，他感到十分孤独。用艾森伯格自己的话说，他曾在女人身上花了上百万美元。也许有人会说是艾森伯格从按摩屋里拯救了他未来的妻子，但他强调说，是妻子真正拯救了他。艾森伯格说：“我已把我的灵魂出卖给魔鬼，我已失去了全部自尊，所有商界政界认识我的人都知道我在浪费生命，那时我基本上就是个被人谈论笑话。”
“但在认识胡艳红以后，这一切都结束了。”艾森伯格说，两个人在认识了两年后，于2004年3月13日在家中举行了婚礼，几名律师是他们的见证人。随后，一家人为了保护家庭的未来，便开始打起移民官司，艾森伯格为胡艳红准备的卷宗文件，就有4英尺厚。艾森伯格气愤地说：“只因我有一名中国妻子，便遭遇这个国家的强迫，政府已犯下一个官僚式的错误。”
“如果没有我的妻子我会怎么样？”艾森伯格自问道，“如果为了我的家人，我不得不去死的话，那么OK。我已有数百万美元的生命保险，还有数百万美元的财产，他们全归我的家人。”艾森伯格最后说。
City official plans hunger strike for wife
Agency cites violations in deportation case
01:27 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 2, 2005
By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
It was an unlikely romance: A millionaire real estate developer falls madly in love with a Chinese masseuse on the verge of being deported.
Ralph Isenberg risked everything for her. His marriage of 30 years disintegrated. His best friend stopped talking to him. His adult son and daughter shunned him.
Now he says he's prepared to die for Yanhong Hu.
Mr. Isenberg, a member of Dallas' City Plan Commission, said he is planning to begin a hunger strike this week after trying everything to keep his new wife in the country.
Since they met about three years ago, he persuaded high-placed government and business leaders – including U.S. Reps. Pete Sessions and Eddie Bernice Johnson and the entire Dallas City Council – to write letters of support for her residency application.
But Monday, immigration officials said they would not allow Yanhong Hu, who now goes by Nicole Isenberg, to stay in the country past Aug. 15. The couple had sought a six-month extension after the birth of their daughter on July 1.
"Three-fourths of my family perished in Nazi Germany. ... I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would have to fight to keep my family together on U.S. soil," Mr. Isenberg said, choking back tears.
Doctors told the Isenbergs that the newborn, Niraya, is too young to travel to China.
Mrs. Isenberg's daughter from a previous marriage, whom Mr. Isenberg adopted, is about to start high school and may have to stay behind with the newborn in the care of their nanny as Mr. Isenberg splits his time between China and Dallas.
Immigration officials said they have been more than generous with Mrs. Isenberg, who pleaded no contest to a 2001 prostitution charge in Dallas, was incarcerated for 52 days for immigration violations and ordered deported in absentia when she missed an immigration hearing.
A statement from the Isenbergs sent to government and business leaders around the country says the misdemeanor prostitution charge, which preceded their 2004 marriage, was unfounded.
'Egregious' case
Paul Hunker III, chief counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dallas, said Mrs. Isenberg needs four waivers for immigration law violations before the State Department can approve her application for permanent residency.
"This is really one of the most egregious cases I've seen in my 12 years as a government attorney," he said.
Mr. Sessions had lobbied for a six-month delay in her departure, citing concern for the health of the baby.
Wealth or political influence cannot be a factor in the enforcement of immigration law, but the birth of a U.S. citizen is strongly taken into consideration, Mr. Hunker said.
"Originally, the Aug. 15 date was set with the birth of their child in mind, because of a request made by their attorney," Mr. Hunker said. "If we didn't care about the child, we would have picked [Mrs. Isenberg] up and deported her."
Dallas immigration lawyer Richard Fernandez, who is not involved in the case, said American immigration authorities will often allow the parents or spouses of citizens to apply for permanent residency in the U.S. if there are no negative factors.
"Adjustment of status is a privilege, and it's in the discretion of Citizenship and Immigration Services," Mr. Fernandez said. "Generally if you're open with them, they're amenable to helping you out, especially if there is a little baby involved."
No guarantees
A last-minute reprieve seems unlikely for the Isenbergs, and Mr. Isenberg said he sometimes finds his wife pacing the house in the middle of the night with Niraya in her arms, weeping.
"Right now the baby is too young. I cannot take the baby," Mrs. Isenberg said. "And I can't leave a newborn baby here."
If Mrs. Isenberg leaves, there is no guarantee she can return, and she faces a five-year ban for being deported in absentia. The Isenbergs are willing to go to China to sort things out but want some assurance that she can return quickly.
Dallas Justice of the Peace Thomas Jones married the Isenbergs and is their baby's godfather.
"I would venture that immigration is on point legally, but there comes a time when we need to be more humane," Judge Jones said. "This is not about the mother, this is not about the father, this is about the baby – a U.S. citizen, native-born U.S. citizen."
Mayor Laura Miller, who appointed Mr. Isenberg to the City Plan Commission, said she is sad for the Isenbergs, whom she described as a "really happy, loving, terrific family."
"It's very unfortunate. I wish that she could stay here and be a family," Ms. Miller said Monday when the Isenbergs' attempts for an extension collapsed.
For Mr. Isenberg, whose home is decorated with statues of Abraham Lincoln and Lady Liberty, his troubles with immigration are perplexing.
"This is just devastating to a family. I don't know what we're going to do," said Mr. Isenberg, 53. "Do I stay with my children or do I stay with my wife?"
Mrs. Isenberg, 40, originally came to the U.S. in 1999 on a business visa. Chinese authorities had forced her to use an IUD that was making her sick, she said.
"I wanted a better life. I feel more safe here," she said.
Mrs. Isenberg had an advanced engineering degree but arrived in this country unable to speak English. She worked as a waitress during 13-hour shifts for $20 a day, she said.
She didn't understand that a massage license in California was no good in Texas and was led by desperation and naiveté to a job in a Dallas bathhouse, the Isenbergs said.
But some of Mr. Isenberg's closest friends and business partners were skeptical. They feared that she was a con artist.
Dave Roberts said he had cautioned his longtime business partner and friend to move slowly with Nicole but now has no doubts about their relationship.
"She's delightful, and I don't think there's any question that she loves Ralph," he said. "This is the happiest I've ever seen him."
Stories of romance
Eventually, as Mrs. Isenberg became a regular at parties and functions, mingling with the likes of Rudy Giuliani, those with a romantic streak began to lend their support. If Mr. Isenberg ever had any suspicions about his future wife, they disappeared when she allowed him to adopt her 14-year-old daughter.
Now, people remark on the gleam in his eye. They say he looks younger, and they listen to his giddy stories about the lovebirds' Titanic moment on the prow of a New York City night cruise past the Statue of Liberty.
They were both married, unhappily, when they met, Mr. Isenberg said. He was deeply lonely and, by his own account, had spent about a million dollars on the company of women. So while some may say that Mr. Isenberg rescued his future wife from the unsavory life of a bathhouse worker, it is Mrs. Isenberg who really rescued him, he said.
"I had sold my soul to the devil. I had lost all self-respect. Everyone in the business community, City Hall, they knew I was running around on my wife. I was basically a joke," he said.
"That all ended when I met Nicole."
They wed March 13, 2004, in their living room, using attorneys as ring bearers.
In his fight for his family's future, Mr. Isenberg has assembled several 4-inch-thick binders of immigration documents. While Mozart drifted downstairs from his adopted daughter's piano lesson, Mr. Isenberg flipped through the pages, recounting what he sees as flaws in the government's proceedings.
For instance, Mrs. Isenberg said she never received notice of the immigration hearing that led to her deportation in absentia. The notice was sent to her previous attorney in California, though she had filed change of address forms after her move to Texas.
"To be forced from this country because I have a Chinese wife, and the government made a clerical error, it's not conceivable. It's not American," Mr. Isenberg said.
He intends to rent an RV and drive around the state lobbying officials to help him keep his family together. First stop: Crawford, Texas.
"What am I without my wife?" Mr. Isenberg asked. "If I have to die for my family, OK. I've got millions in life insurance, millions in assets. They'd be taken care of."更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
2004年3月13日，艾森伯格在认识胡艳红后不久，便在家中举行了婚礼。2005年7月1日，两个人的爱情结晶－－女儿尼拉娅(Niraya)出生了。有关胡艳红与艾森伯格的浪漫故事暂且不表，因为那段故事早已被胡艳红即将于8月15日被遣送回国的头号大事给淹没了。
Yanhong Hu, who wed millionaire developer Ralph Isenberg in 2004, must return to China by Aug. 15. Mr. Isenberg said he's prepared to die for his family, including daughter Niraya.
艾森伯格为了自己的妻子和刚满月的女儿而豁出去的举动和决心，已成为达拉斯几家媒体关注的中心。用达拉斯媒体的话说，“英雄救美”的艾森伯格为了胡艳红可以说已冒了所有风险。为了她，与他结婚 30年的妻子同他的离婚了；为了她，他的好朋友们也同他断绝了关系；为了她，已成年的儿子和妻子也躲他远远的。
现在艾森伯格已决定，准备好为了保护自己的新婚妻子而不惜一切，甚至去死。在达拉斯城市规划委员会担任委员的艾森伯格最新表示，在他已尽了自己的全部努力来保护胡艳红不被遣送回国后，他已计划近日举行绝食抗议。
自从三年前在达拉斯的一家按摩院认识胡艳红以后，艾森伯格已为胡的身份问题游说了不少政界和商界领袖，既有联邦国会议员也有德州的全州议员，还给这些举足轻重的领袖们写信，希望他们能帮助解决胡艳红的公民申请。然而，艾森伯格在8月1日从美国移民局得到的回答却是，不会再允许他的妻子在8月15日之后还呆在美国。
在女儿尼拉娅出生后，艾森伯格和胡艳红一直寻求获得半年的延期，以便更好地照顾女儿。可这样的合理要求已被美国移民部门给拒绝了，艾森伯格的气愤和失望可想而知，“我的四分之三的家人在纳粹德国都被折磨死了，在我最坏的梦中从来未曾想过，我会为了保护和自己的家人在一起，而在美国土壤上展开斗争。”
医生已告诉艾森伯格夫妇，他们的新生婴儿太小，无法跟他们一起乘飞机旅行。这样一来，胡艳红与前夫所生的、已被艾森伯格认领为养女现在一起生活的、马上就要上高中的女儿，如果在母亲万一被遣送回去，以及艾森伯格往返于中国和达拉斯期间，就不得不扮演一个保姆的角色。而到了那时，这个被记者称为温馨和睦的家庭就会强行分开。
美国移民官员称，他们已对胡艳红“仁至义尽”了，因为2001年胡曾在达拉斯卷入一起妓女案，还由于违反移民规定，缺席一次移民听审会而被关押了52天。但艾森伯格在写给美国政界和商界领袖的信中辩护说，有关部门在他们结婚前对胡艳红的卖淫指控完全是没有根据的。
达拉斯移民执法局首席律师汉克(Paul Hunker)在谈到胡艳红案子时介绍说，在美国国务院可能批准她的美国永久居民的申请前，她需要移民部门四次放弃违反移民法的指控。汉克说：“这确实是一起极为非常的案件，我当了12年的政府律师还头一次遇到这样的案子。”
一直帮助艾森伯格夫妇游说移民部门再给予半年延期的塞森斯(Sessions)则担心，母亲一旦被遣送回中国，新生婴儿的健康会受到威胁。不过，达拉斯移民局的律师汉克则认为，在执行移民法过程中，财富和政治影响都无法成为一个关键因素，但一个美国公民的出生将会被认真给予考虑。汉克还解释说，如果不是考虑到婴儿，移民部门早就把胡艳红递解出境了。
由此看来，胡艳红案已不太可能在最后时刻出现转机。艾森伯格说，这些天他总能看见妻子在深夜抱着女儿，一边围着房子转一边擦着眼泪。多维社在编译这篇文章时，在达拉斯晨报网站看到艾森伯格抱着女儿与胡艳红在一起的照片。胡艳红说：“现在孩子实在太小了，我不能把孩子带走，也不能把孩子留在这里。”
如果胡艳红离开美国，那么谁也无法保证她还能回到美国，因为违反移民法，她已面临着五年之内不得入境的处罚。现在艾森伯格一家人都愿意随同胡艳红一同返回中国，但需要美国移民部门保证能让她尽快回到美国。但美国移民部门现在还没有，可能也不会作出这样的保证。
艾森伯格的女儿的教父、在达拉斯法庭担任法官的琼斯(Thomas Jones)表示，移民部门在处理此案时应该更富有同情心，因为此案并不是关于一个母亲，也不是关于一个父亲，而是同一个刚出生的美国公民有着最直接的关系。曾经任命艾森伯格为市规划委员会委员的达拉斯女市长米勒(Laura Miller)也表示，她对艾森伯格一家人的遭遇感到难过，市长还把艾森伯格的家庭描绘成“真正幸福、充满爱意和完美的家庭”。
然而，对于艾森伯格来说，对于这位在家中挂着林肯像和自由女神的百万富翁来说，他已被同移民部门的麻烦给难住了，“它正在摧毁我的家庭，我不知道应该怎么去做，我是应该跟孩子在一起，还是应该跟我的妻子回中国呢？”在谈到自己的妻子时，艾森伯格说：“我希望她能过上更好的生活，我感觉到她呆在这里能更安全一起。”
据介绍，1999年持商务签证进入美国的胡艳红，曾在中国获得过工程学位，但到美国时却因为英语不好而被迫去餐馆打工，有时一天要工作13个小时，但却只能挣到20美元。后来，她在加州从事按摩，并获得执照。艾森伯格说，在胡艳红从加州搬到德州时，并不知道加州按摩执照在德州无效，绝望之后她只好去一家达拉斯浴室工作
对于艾森伯格有关妻子的这些说法，他的亲朋好友和生意伙伴们都表示怀疑，甚至有人担心胡艳红是个骗取别人信任的专家。一名早前曾怀疑他们关系的朋友说，在艾森伯格与胡艳红刚一交往时，大伙都劝他悠着点，但现在已没有人怀疑这对夫妻的感情和关系，并称赞胡艳红非常可爱，“毫无疑问她非常爱艾森伯格，我也从事没看到他这样幸福过。”
艾森伯格对达拉斯晨报说，他与胡艳红都曾经历了一段不幸福的婚姻，在没有遇到胡艳红之前，他感到十分孤独。用艾森伯格自己的话说，他曾在女人身上花了上百万美元。也许有人会说是艾森伯格从按摩屋里拯救了他未来的妻子，但他强调说，是妻子真正拯救了他。艾森伯格说：“我已把我的灵魂出卖给魔鬼，我已失去了全部自尊，所有商界政界认识我的人都知道我在浪费生命，那时我基本上就是个被人谈论笑话。”
“但在认识胡艳红以后，这一切都结束了。”艾森伯格说，两个人在认识了两年后，于2004年3月13日在家中举行了婚礼，几名律师是他们的见证人。随后，一家人为了保护家庭的未来，便开始打起移民官司，艾森伯格为胡艳红准备的卷宗文件，就有4英尺厚。艾森伯格气愤地说：“只因我有一名中国妻子，便遭遇这个国家的强迫，政府已犯下一个官僚式的错误。”
“如果没有我的妻子我会怎么样？”艾森伯格自问道，“如果为了我的家人，我不得不去死的话，那么OK。我已有数百万美元的生命保险，还有数百万美元的财产，他们全归我的家人。”艾森伯格最后说。
City official plans hunger strike for wife
Agency cites violations in deportation case
01:27 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 2, 2005
By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
It was an unlikely romance: A millionaire real estate developer falls madly in love with a Chinese masseuse on the verge of being deported.
Ralph Isenberg risked everything for her. His marriage of 30 years disintegrated. His best friend stopped talking to him. His adult son and daughter shunned him.
Now he says he's prepared to die for Yanhong Hu.
Mr. Isenberg, a member of Dallas' City Plan Commission, said he is planning to begin a hunger strike this week after trying everything to keep his new wife in the country.
Since they met about three years ago, he persuaded high-placed government and business leaders – including U.S. Reps. Pete Sessions and Eddie Bernice Johnson and the entire Dallas City Council – to write letters of support for her residency application.
But Monday, immigration officials said they would not allow Yanhong Hu, who now goes by Nicole Isenberg, to stay in the country past Aug. 15. The couple had sought a six-month extension after the birth of their daughter on July 1.
"Three-fourths of my family perished in Nazi Germany. ... I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would have to fight to keep my family together on U.S. soil," Mr. Isenberg said, choking back tears.
Doctors told the Isenbergs that the newborn, Niraya, is too young to travel to China.
Mrs. Isenberg's daughter from a previous marriage, whom Mr. Isenberg adopted, is about to start high school and may have to stay behind with the newborn in the care of their nanny as Mr. Isenberg splits his time between China and Dallas.
Immigration officials said they have been more than generous with Mrs. Isenberg, who pleaded no contest to a 2001 prostitution charge in Dallas, was incarcerated for 52 days for immigration violations and ordered deported in absentia when she missed an immigration hearing.
A statement from the Isenbergs sent to government and business leaders around the country says the misdemeanor prostitution charge, which preceded their 2004 marriage, was unfounded.
'Egregious' case
Paul Hunker III, chief counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dallas, said Mrs. Isenberg needs four waivers for immigration law violations before the State Department can approve her application for permanent residency.
"This is really one of the most egregious cases I've seen in my 12 years as a government attorney," he said.
Mr. Sessions had lobbied for a six-month delay in her departure, citing concern for the health of the baby.
Wealth or political influence cannot be a factor in the enforcement of immigration law, but the birth of a U.S. citizen is strongly taken into consideration, Mr. Hunker said.
"Originally, the Aug. 15 date was set with the birth of their child in mind, because of a request made by their attorney," Mr. Hunker said. "If we didn't care about the child, we would have picked [Mrs. Isenberg] up and deported her."
Dallas immigration lawyer Richard Fernandez, who is not involved in the case, said American immigration authorities will often allow the parents or spouses of citizens to apply for permanent residency in the U.S. if there are no negative factors.
"Adjustment of status is a privilege, and it's in the discretion of Citizenship and Immigration Services," Mr. Fernandez said. "Generally if you're open with them, they're amenable to helping you out, especially if there is a little baby involved."
No guarantees
A last-minute reprieve seems unlikely for the Isenbergs, and Mr. Isenberg said he sometimes finds his wife pacing the house in the middle of the night with Niraya in her arms, weeping.
"Right now the baby is too young. I cannot take the baby," Mrs. Isenberg said. "And I can't leave a newborn baby here."
If Mrs. Isenberg leaves, there is no guarantee she can return, and she faces a five-year ban for being deported in absentia. The Isenbergs are willing to go to China to sort things out but want some assurance that she can return quickly.
Dallas Justice of the Peace Thomas Jones married the Isenbergs and is their baby's godfather.
"I would venture that immigration is on point legally, but there comes a time when we need to be more humane," Judge Jones said. "This is not about the mother, this is not about the father, this is about the baby – a U.S. citizen, native-born U.S. citizen."
Mayor Laura Miller, who appointed Mr. Isenberg to the City Plan Commission, said she is sad for the Isenbergs, whom she described as a "really happy, loving, terrific family."
"It's very unfortunate. I wish that she could stay here and be a family," Ms. Miller said Monday when the Isenbergs' attempts for an extension collapsed.
For Mr. Isenberg, whose home is decorated with statues of Abraham Lincoln and Lady Liberty, his troubles with immigration are perplexing.
"This is just devastating to a family. I don't know what we're going to do," said Mr. Isenberg, 53. "Do I stay with my children or do I stay with my wife?"
Mrs. Isenberg, 40, originally came to the U.S. in 1999 on a business visa. Chinese authorities had forced her to use an IUD that was making her sick, she said.
"I wanted a better life. I feel more safe here," she said.
Mrs. Isenberg had an advanced engineering degree but arrived in this country unable to speak English. She worked as a waitress during 13-hour shifts for $20 a day, she said.
She didn't understand that a massage license in California was no good in Texas and was led by desperation and naiveté to a job in a Dallas bathhouse, the Isenbergs said.
But some of Mr. Isenberg's closest friends and business partners were skeptical. They feared that she was a con artist.
Dave Roberts said he had cautioned his longtime business partner and friend to move slowly with Nicole but now has no doubts about their relationship.
"She's delightful, and I don't think there's any question that she loves Ralph," he said. "This is the happiest I've ever seen him."
Stories of romance
Eventually, as Mrs. Isenberg became a regular at parties and functions, mingling with the likes of Rudy Giuliani, those with a romantic streak began to lend their support. If Mr. Isenberg ever had any suspicions about his future wife, they disappeared when she allowed him to adopt her 14-year-old daughter.
Now, people remark on the gleam in his eye. They say he looks younger, and they listen to his giddy stories about the lovebirds' Titanic moment on the prow of a New York City night cruise past the Statue of Liberty.
They were both married, unhappily, when they met, Mr. Isenberg said. He was deeply lonely and, by his own account, had spent about a million dollars on the company of women. So while some may say that Mr. Isenberg rescued his future wife from the unsavory life of a bathhouse worker, it is Mrs. Isenberg who really rescued him, he said.
"I had sold my soul to the devil. I had lost all self-respect. Everyone in the business community, City Hall, they knew I was running around on my wife. I was basically a joke," he said.
"That all ended when I met Nicole."
They wed March 13, 2004, in their living room, using attorneys as ring bearers.
In his fight for his family's future, Mr. Isenberg has assembled several 4-inch-thick binders of immigration documents. While Mozart drifted downstairs from his adopted daughter's piano lesson, Mr. Isenberg flipped through the pages, recounting what he sees as flaws in the government's proceedings.
For instance, Mrs. Isenberg said she never received notice of the immigration hearing that led to her deportation in absentia. The notice was sent to her previous attorney in California, though she had filed change of address forms after her move to Texas.
"To be forced from this country because I have a Chinese wife, and the government made a clerical error, it's not conceivable. It's not American," Mr. Isenberg said.
He intends to rent an RV and drive around the state lobbying officials to help him keep his family together. First stop: Crawford, Texas.
"What am I without my wife?" Mr. Isenberg asked. "If I have to die for my family, OK. I've got millions in life insurance, millions in assets. They'd be taken care of."更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net