Haitian Asylum Seeker Gets Tangled in Paperwork Mix-Up, Wins Bid to Stay in U.S.

Washington Post: Kesnel Sineus thought he was following all the rules in his bid for asylum. The Haitian native filed an application, wrote letters to nudge his case along, had an interview, then waited for the next step.It turned out to an unexpected one: Federal agents came knocking on his door. He was being ordered out of the country - his life derailed, in part, by a paperwork mix-up. Sineus' fight began in 2000, he says, after he paid a smuggler to get him to Miami by boat. An acquaintance in the Haitian community later helped him file for political asylum. Sineus spoke only Creole and was a stranger to the U.S. legal system. "I know only one thing," he says. "When I'm here, I'm safe." When a friend urged him to move to Arizona, Sineus, now 43, notified immigration officials of his new address. He started cleaning houses and offices in Phoenix.