As Nolvia neared graduation from community college, we began to explore opportunities for her to gain practical work experience in her job field. We learned that she would be eligible for a temporary work permit under the student visa since her degree was in a "high demand" occupation. She would only have a few months before her student visa expired (remember, you must be a full-time student to retain a valid student visa).
So Nolvia tried to apply for the work permit a few months before graduation. Not allowed. Seems you must actually have degree and job offer in hand before making application. So we waited.
Graduation went as planned. It was a proud moment for all of us. Nolvia's brother even flew in from Missouri, where he too was attending university. She became the first of her family to receive a college degree.
She applied for the permit. She had a job offer from a hospital in Montgomery, AL, pending the permit. We all waited. She still couldn't work any job during the interval, because she was still here under the student visa.
Several weeks went by. We discovered a website that tracked applications and permit status. We discovered there was a huge backlog of applications. It looked like it might take months for her application to reach the top of the stack. Meanwhile, the meter was running on the student visa.
I decided to get political. I know the local bigwig in the Republican Party for this area. I called, explained the situation, and asked for his influence with our congressman. He made a phone call.
Several more weeks went by. The Internet site showed little progress in Nolvia's application status. I called again. I was given the congressman's phone number.
I was able to talk with a congressional aide. She was polite as I explained the situation. She agreed to talk with the congressman again. She suggested that I should understand that these immigration issues were politically "sensitive", especially since 9/11. I kept my composure. I resisted the urge to point out that it was not a group of immigrant Honduran orphans who flew planes into buildings on that fateful day. Instead, I encouraged her to get the congressman to step up to the plate and use his influence.
About two months later Nolvia received her permit. Four months had gone by. The first thing I noticed was that they had made the permit retroactive to her graduation date. A one year permit was effectively reduced to eight months by the stroke of a bureaucrat's pen. I suggested that she submit an application for an extension immediately.
Thankfully, the job was still open. Nolvia's first legal employment in the U.S. was about to begin. We moved her to Montgomery, about 70 miles away, where she would live alone for the first time.
And there was something else going on in the background of this story. Nolvia was in love. She and a fine young man had met in college and had been dating for two years. I was not surprised when she called to tell me about the engagement ring.
A new chapter in the immigration saga was about to begin. I'll tell you about it next time.
I am happy for Nolvia and all the good god has done in her life. I know others who are having this same problem. They do everything in the book that is correct and still there is some type of road block or another. This is very unfair to those who do it right they dot every i and cross every t. they don't skip on anything. it is not like they are getting fake visa and passports like some do and do not get caught by the homeland security folks at port of entries The government needs to revamp the visa system and make it more clear and concise, more straight forward for people to understand and complete. this would make it easier for those who do it right. Instead they need to crack down hard on all the fake paper work and passports flating around.
ReplyDeleteI think the love angle might be her best bet, and the most fun. I wish her well.
ReplyDeleteThe slowness of the visa process indicates both the problem of being understaffed and the huge number of people who want to move to the U.S.