The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has sued the Department of Homeland Security in a ramped-up effort to bring a long-awaited hire to the United States.

UNL filed a lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court asking a judge demand federal officials to consider the visa petition of Waskar Ari, a Bolivian professor hired by UNL in 2005 to teach courses on Latin American history.

Ari has been stuck at home in La Paz for nearly two years as officials stall approval of his work visa for security-related concerns.

His Washington, D.C.-based attorney, Michael Maggio, believes the delay may be thanks to a mistaken suggestion Ari is linked to Bolivian president Evo Morales, a frequent and harsh critic of the Bush administration.

Maggio, also one of two lawyers representing UNL in its lawsuit, says the idea is “preposterous.” And he’s not convinced homeland security officials were even authorized to conduct such an extensive background check on Ari — hence the basis for the suit.

“We don’t know what they were thinking, and we don’t even know if they were thinking at all,” Maggio said Monday from his Washington office. “And you wouldn’t think it would take this long to figure out who’s the naughty and who’s the nice.”

The Department of Homeland Security now has 60 days to file a response, Maggio said.

It might try to fight, but it also may decide to save time and resources by moving forward with Ari’s visa petition, said Peter Levitov, UNL’s associate dean of International Affairs.

In that case, Levitov is optimistic the visa would be granted and Ari would, at long last, be allowed to come to campus.

“We’ve been holding his position for two years,” Levitov said. “The university very much wants him.”

Reached by e-mail, Ari said he believes he will eventually find his way to Nebraska.

“I keep the faith that sooner or later my case will be cleared and justice will prevail,” he wrote. “I am sure my arrival will be a very happy moment not only for me but for many students and faculty and many others.”

UNL hired Ari as an assistant professor of history and ethnic studies in February 2005, just before he earned a doctoral degree from Georgetown University. Ari was viewed as a top draw for his expertise on Latin American indigenous communities.

In June of that year, Ari returned to Bolivia for a quick family visit. Upon arriving, he found that not only had his student visa been canceled, but he could not get a replacement work visa to come to the U.S. because the government had detected “derogatory information” in his file.

Someone may have linked Ari to Morales because they are both Aymara Indians, Maggio says.

But he, Ari and UNL all say there is no evidence Ari poses a security threat. Still, despite significant media attention, Ari’s case has not moved forward.

“There’s no reason for this petition to be denied,” Levitov said. “There’s no reason at all.”

In general, foreign students and faculty have found it much harder to enter the United States since Sept. 11 because of tighter security, Maggio said. But he said only a handful of universities have taken legal steps as UNL has.

That leaves UNL — and Ari — simply waiting.

Wrote Ari: “I am sure I will definitely arrive to Lincoln, because there is no real reason to keep me out of the U.S. academia to which I belong.”

Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.