PAST MAY HAUNT FAIRFIELD IMMIGRANT PREACHER

Pastor Fears Drug Convictions In '70s May Cost Residency

Springdale Valley Vineyard Community Church Pastor Keith Thomas loves
this country so much he wants to live here permanently.

But Thomas, 51, of Fairfield, fears two drug convictions in the 1970s
in London may prevent him from living in the United States.

Thomas hasn't been told why he was denied in May an interim work visa
and travel visa, which he applied to receive with his residency visa
in February.

Right now, Thomas' immigration attorney, Matthew Gunn, has requested
to know why the visas were "administratively closed" and no
notification was sent. Now they are at the mercy of the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services, Gunn said.

"At this point we are at their process to find out why they did it,"
Gunn said. "There is not a whole lot about the CIS that's efficient.
They have a lot of cases and are understaffed."

Thomas hasn't been allowed to work since Oct. 11, but he can remain
in the country while his residency visa application is pending. He
suspects the two drug convictions may have a part in the closures of
his case and will affect his application.

"What you sew is what you reap. I'm still reaping now many ears later
what I did as a kid. You never realize the consequences when you're
young," Thomas said.

Thomas was convicted in 1971 at 17 years old for bringing cannabis, a
stronger form of marijuana, into England from Morocco on a cruise
liner he worked on. In 1975 at 21, he was convicted for allowing
people to smoke cannabis on his property.

But he said that is behind him now. In 1977, Thomas became a
Christian. He married his wife, Sandy, an American, in 1980 and
applied for a green card then and was allowed to live in the United
States while his application was pending. He was denied in 1981 and
was told to leave or be deported.

"They said they could forgive the first drug conviction but not the
second one," Thomas said.

Thomas was working as a pastor at a Valley Vineyard Church in London
in 1998. He was allowed to apply for a work visa, which was a
three-year visa with a two-year extension, and work in the country.

"If I don't get the residency visa, I will be deported," Thomas said.
"I love this country. My family are Americans. I have great regards
for President Bush. I have nothing bad to say about this government
at all. Why can't I provide for my family in their country, and
helping this country? The kind of work that I do helps people."

Sandy Thomas is frustrated with the immigration because of the hoops
and challenges.

"You have to make an appointment, and then you talk with people that
push the papers around. You don't talk with the people who make the
decisions," she said. "We have been fighting this for a very long
time. I feel that the penalty far outweighs anything he ever did."

No one could be reached at the Citizenship and Immigration Services
office for comment, despite several attempts.

If it is ultimately decided he cannot live in this country, Thomas
and his family have decisions to make. Sandy is obligated to her job
to stay until April. His daughter, Anna, 20, said she's staying at
her job and his son, Simeon, 15, does not want to leave the school or
the country.

And Thomas said he doesn't want to force them to leave, either.

"We may have to live apart for awhile," Sandy Thomas said.