Family immigration situation compounded by health issues

Many Louisiana immigrants still have relatives living in their countries of origin. For some, the time is near when their family members will be able to join them in the United States. Others have been trying to overcome visa challenges. Other immigrants throughout the nation are currently engaged in similar struggles, such as one woman who needs a stem cell transplant and can’t get one because of a family immigration problem.

The woman’s sister has reportedly been denied a visa to enter the United States on three separate occasions. The 61-year-old woman with leukemia is in desperate need of help that her sister apparently can provide because she is eligible as a stem cell donor. As anyone who has suffered or witnessed a family member battle this disease knows, it can be extremely difficult to find a matching donor.

The woman’s sister lives in Vietnam and is supposedly a 100 percent match as a stem cell donor for her. The government has repeatedly denied the sister’s temporary visa application, stating that she has failed to provide evidence that she would be compelled to leave the United States after the transplant is complete. Those trying to help the cancer-stricken patient find that odd, since the younger sister is a business owner in Vietnam, owns property and is the mother of two children.

The ill woman’s daughter expressed frustration that the family can’t help her mother because the U.S. government will not allow her aunt to enter the United States. Although this is not the first group of people to face family immigration problems, situations like this involving ill-health and dire need are especially devastating. Many Louisiana immigrants have overcome similar problems by relying on experienced guidance from immigration and naturalization law attorneys.

Source: NBC, “A Cancer Patient Found a Stem-Cell Donor, but the U.S. Hasn’t Granted Her a Visa“, Agnes Constante, Sept. 20, 2017