UNL wins Bolivian professor's work visa
Waskar Ari is one step closer to becoming a University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty member.
Two months after being sued by UNL, the Department of Homeland Security approved Ari’s work visa petition, prompting new hope the Bolivian professor will finally be able to assume his spot on campus.
The office of UNL’s Washington, D.C.-based lawyer, Michael Maggio, announced the news late Thursday.
“It’s great news. We’re cautiously optimistic,” said Maggio, who is representing UNL pro bono.
“We maintained in the lawsuit that the actions of the government were illegal because they didn’t have the authority to do what they were doing. … It was unconscionable.”
Ari was hired by UNL in 2005, but he has been stuck in La Paz, Bolivia, for nearly two years as approval of his visa petition stalled for security-related reasons.
Details on those reasons haven’t been made public, although Maggio says U.S. officials may believe Ari is dangerous because he was mistakenly linked to Bolivian President Evo Morales, a frequent and harsh critic of the Bush administration.
UNL has long viewed Ari as a top draw for his expertise on Latin American indigenous communities. So in March, it sued Homeland Security, hoping the government would decide one way or the other on Ari’s visa petition.
It has, but the university’s victory doesn’t guarantee Ari’s arrival: He must also apply for a work visa from the U.S. Consulate in La Paz. That could take weeks or months, and even then, his visa might not be approved, Maggio said.
Still, some on campus are guardedly optimistic that Ari eventually will be cleared.
“We are delighted,” said Kenneth Winkle, chairman of UNL’s Department of History. “I’m glad the government has allowed the process to move forward without any impediments.”
Ari’s position is open and waiting for him, Winkle said.
Added UNL spokeswoman Kelly Bartling: “We’re just grateful there’s some movement here. It’s not unreasonable to hope that he might be here in the fall to teach his classes.”
Ari himself has long kept faith he’ll find his place at UNL.
“I am totally optimistic and happy with the news,” he wrote in an e-mail.
While waiting, he’s been teaching and doing research at Universidad Mayor de San Andres, he explained, and giving lectures throughout Bolivia.
Still unclear is why the Department of Homeland Security decided to act on Ari’s visa petition. It didn’t provide any reasons to Maggio’s office, Maggio said, and a spokesman in the department’s media relations office in Washington declined to comment.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, other foreign faculty members and students also have had trouble entering the United States because of tighter security, Maggio said. Only a handful of universities have taken legal action, and he wonders whether the decision in UNL’s favor might affect the way Homeland Security conducts its background checks.
“You’ve got to ask: What are going to be the reverberations in the DHS?”
Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.
Two months after being sued by UNL, the Department of Homeland Security approved Ari’s work visa petition, prompting new hope the Bolivian professor will finally be able to assume his spot on campus.
The office of UNL’s Washington, D.C.-based lawyer, Michael Maggio, announced the news late Thursday.
“It’s great news. We’re cautiously optimistic,” said Maggio, who is representing UNL pro bono.
“We maintained in the lawsuit that the actions of the government were illegal because they didn’t have the authority to do what they were doing. … It was unconscionable.”
Ari was hired by UNL in 2005, but he has been stuck in La Paz, Bolivia, for nearly two years as approval of his visa petition stalled for security-related reasons.
Details on those reasons haven’t been made public, although Maggio says U.S. officials may believe Ari is dangerous because he was mistakenly linked to Bolivian President Evo Morales, a frequent and harsh critic of the Bush administration.
UNL has long viewed Ari as a top draw for his expertise on Latin American indigenous communities. So in March, it sued Homeland Security, hoping the government would decide one way or the other on Ari’s visa petition.
It has, but the university’s victory doesn’t guarantee Ari’s arrival: He must also apply for a work visa from the U.S. Consulate in La Paz. That could take weeks or months, and even then, his visa might not be approved, Maggio said.
Still, some on campus are guardedly optimistic that Ari eventually will be cleared.
“We are delighted,” said Kenneth Winkle, chairman of UNL’s Department of History. “I’m glad the government has allowed the process to move forward without any impediments.”
Ari’s position is open and waiting for him, Winkle said.
Added UNL spokeswoman Kelly Bartling: “We’re just grateful there’s some movement here. It’s not unreasonable to hope that he might be here in the fall to teach his classes.”
Ari himself has long kept faith he’ll find his place at UNL.
“I am totally optimistic and happy with the news,” he wrote in an e-mail.
While waiting, he’s been teaching and doing research at Universidad Mayor de San Andres, he explained, and giving lectures throughout Bolivia.
Still unclear is why the Department of Homeland Security decided to act on Ari’s visa petition. It didn’t provide any reasons to Maggio’s office, Maggio said, and a spokesman in the department’s media relations office in Washington declined to comment.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, other foreign faculty members and students also have had trouble entering the United States because of tighter security, Maggio said. Only a handful of universities have taken legal action, and he wonders whether the decision in UNL’s favor might affect the way Homeland Security conducts its background checks.
“You’ve got to ask: What are going to be the reverberations in the DHS?”
Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.
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