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Wilton family returns to the U.S. after a vacation turned foreign confinement

A Wilton family returned from Canada Wednesday after what they thought was going to be a week?s vacation close to four months ago.Amir Khan and his family planned to explore the Toronto area for about

News 12 Staff

Nov 20, 2006, 4:08 AM

Updated 6,652 days ago

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A Wilton family returned from Canada Wednesday after what they thought was going to be a week?s vacation close to four months ago.Amir Khan and his family planned to explore the Toronto area for about a week in July. When Khan, an immigrant from India, went to the U.S. Consulate in Toronto to get his Visa stamped, officials there said his name was "red flagged" and he would need security clearance. He and his family spent the next five days sightseeing and checking the Internet, waiting for an e-mail giving him the green light to return to the United States. Days turned into weeks and weeks to months as Khan was missing work and his kids were missing school. He says he would call various government agencies every day. He was repeatedly told that he was not allowed, by law, to return to the United States.Finally, after 116 days, the Khan family was told they were given security clearance to return to the United States. Khan is still questioning the process that kept him away from home for so long. He says by performing security checks without the proper resources to devote to it, the only people who suffer are the ones who were trying to follow the law.