Residency Case

As a recent immigrant to America from South Korea and a permanent resident I am unable to vote in the upcoming election. However, I am already a beneficiary of the American political system, and a compassion that most Americans will never be blessed with. No, I am not a recipient of any government welfare or other program that is a burden and a cost to the American taxpayers. Instead, I have been given a second chance to live in the greatest and freest nation in the world as a result of a private relief bill recently approved by the U.S. Senate and House.

Thanks to Los Angeles Times reporter Eric Slater and others, your readers have read about the tragic circumstances that contributed to the dilemma I was confronted with because of the murder of my American husband during a robbery in early 1996. Not only did I lose my husband of 11 months, I faced deportation because our marriage did not last two years, as required by Immigration and Naturalization Service regulations; rather, the bullet of a robber ended it. It took the concern of Sen. Dianne Feinstein and the congressman representing my district, Brad Sherman, as well as, literally, an act of Congress to assure that I would not be deported and suffer further victimization.

I want to express my gratitude to Sherman and encourage the people in this district to vote for him on election day. I am living proof that the American political system can work, and that our elected representatives can do so in a true spirit of cooperation. Once I am eligible to become a citizen, I can assure you I will be an active participant in the political process by exercising my cherished right to vote.

JASMIN SALEHI, Sherman Oaks