Former AMA Superbike and F1 racer Roberto Pietri’s attempt to get to Miller Motorsports Park to watch his son Robertino race in the AMA Superbike Series there and at Road America a week later ended in the airport at Atlanta. Besides competing in the AMA Superstock Series starting in 2006, Robertino Pietri, 23, is also the reigning FMV Venezuelan National Superbike Champion and the reigning FIM Latin American Superbike Champion. Roberto Pietri, a Venezuelan national who went to school in the United States and who turned 54 last Sunday while his son raced at Road America, was the victim of Customs officials who couldn’t agree on what documents Pietri needed to get into the United States, and who improperly refused Pietri entry, according to an official from the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela. “The officer at the Atlanta airport did not read or even want to understand the issues,” says Pietri’s attorney, Stacy Raphael, who works with the law firm of racer Stephen Hewitt. Pietri started having trouble back in November 2007, when he obtained a new visa from the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, bearing a stamp that reads “No Inadmissibility.” Still, he managed to get into the U.S. three times, watching his son Robertino ride at Daytona International Speedway twice (at a tire test in December 2007 and during Speed Week in March 2008) and also visiting Robertino in Southern California. Because of the difficulties Pietri experienced when trying to get into the U.S. with the visa, he turned to the law offices of attorney Stephen Hewitt, who races motorcycles at Willow Springs, and asked the firm to contact the U.S. Consul in Caracas to straighten things out. “Mr. Pietri has been experiencing difficulties when entering the United States because of the ‘No Inadmissibility’ phrase,” wrote attorney John Lopez, another lawyer who worked with Hewitt’s firm. “He has been subject to lengthy delays and questioning by USCIS personnel at the Atlanta International Airport.” It should be noted that Pietri was falsely accused of a criminal act years ago–charges that have long since been cleared up. And that is the purpose of the “No Inadmissibility” stamp annotation–to tell the immigration officer at the point of entry that the visitor’s background has been investigated and cleared. “The specific annotation on your client’s visa should alert the immigration officer at the port of entry, however, that your client’s past activities have already been thoroughly checked by the issuing consular officer and that no inadmissibility exists,” wrote Sharon E. Feiser, Deputy Visa Chief for the U.S. Embassy in Caracas. “Our annotation serves the precise purpose of telling the immigration official just that it is OK to admit the bearer of this visa because there are no inadmissabilities per the Immigration and Naturalization Act,” Feiser wrote on January 18 to Pietri’s lawyer. “Consular officers are REQUIRED to annotate visas in the manner in which your client’s has been annotated. Consular officers around the world routinely use this particular annotation as required by 9 FAM (Foreign Affairs Manual). I must say that in my experience as a consul, I have never had anyone raise this issue before.” However, when Pietri arrived at Atlanta on May 30, on his way to Miller, he was required to go through a special registration procedure. After waiting more than two hours, Pietri was told that he needed a special waiver along with his visa to be admitted, with an immigration agent adding that “someone at the Embassy has not done his homework,” Pietri says. At that point, Pietri says, “I asked what were my rights (and) this officer said to me, ‘You have no rights,’ so from that point on I decide to play the game their way as by doing that I had the chance to get on a plane back to Venezuela that same afternoon.” Upon his return to Caracas, Pietri again contacted his attorneys, who contacted the U.S. Consular office in Caracas, where an official said that the customs officer in Atlanta hadn’t looked thoroughly into Pietri’s case. “Simply put, the immigration officer at the point of entry failed to read the case notes detailing the reason why the visa was issued (no waiver required because charges were dropped),” Feiser wrote to Pietri’s attorneys on June 3. “It is good to note that he did not cancel the visa, he just refused entry, which is the right of the immigration officer to do at any time with any type of visa. Please note, we only issue the visa, which is permission to board the plane to go to the United States. We cannot tell the immigration official to allow anyone to enter.” But the immigration officer did hand-write “cancelled” across Pietri’s visa, requiring him to apply for a new one, Raphael says. A Customs spokesman contacted by Roadracing World said the agency could not speak about a specific person’s case, citing confidentiality concerns. But Joe Castellano, Chief Customs and Border Protection Officer and public affairs liaison, did confirm that an immigration officer at a port of entry always has the final say on whether or not an alien can enter the U.S. “Determination of admissibility is always made at the point of entry. Having a visa is not a guarantee of entry,” Castellano says. The end result is that when Robertino Pietri stood on an AMA Superstock podium for the first time–after finishing third at Road America on June 8–his father Roberto was not there to see it. And judging by the impasse–some might call it a turf war or a pissing match–between the consular staff/State Department and the border patrol, it’s not likely that Roberto will be able to see his son race at Laguna Seca July 18-20 either. When departments of the U.S. government battle between themselves, apparently there is no recourse. As the immigration agent told Roberto Pietri in Atlanta, “you have no rights”¦”