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from the issue of March 22, 2007
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Ari case prompts UNL to file suit against Homeland Security
BY KELLY BARTLING, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Ari case prompts UNL to file suit against Homeland Security
By Kelly Bartling, University Communications
After a 22 month wait, UNL filed a lawsuit March 2 against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to compel the agency to act on an employment visa petition for Waskar Ari.
Ari, a Bolivian historian, was offered a position at UNL in June 2005. He earned a doctorate from Georgetown University and taught at Western Michigan University and as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas before being hired by UNL.
"This action is to compel the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, to make a decision on the university's petition," said Peter Levitov, associate dean of International Affairs. The suit, filed by the Washington, D.C., firm Maggio Kattar, who is representing the university pro bono, prompted a renewed flurry of national news interest.
"Dr. Ari received several job offers at other American universities, and we are both appreciative and proud that he decided to accept an appointment at the University of Nebraska," said Ken Winkle, history chair. "We are deeply impressed with Dr. Ari's superlative academic record, his rigorous and ambitious research agenda, his palpable dedication to teaching and scholarship, and his sterling reputation as both a student and colleague among some of our most respected peers within our profession. In particular, we value the unique perspective on Latin American history and culture that Dr. Ari is able to articulate as a member of the Aymara indigenous people of Bolivia."
In June 2005, UNL petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for an H-1B visa classification for Ari, submitted all necessary documentation, and paid a $1,000 fee for premium processing to allow him to enter the U.S. and begin teaching in August 2005. However, after he traveled to Bolivia from the United States in summer 2005, Ari found that the adjudication of the visa petition was delayed without explanation and that the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia, had been told by the Department of State to cancel all exiting visas.
In February 2006, UNL administrators wrote the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration officials asking them to move on the matter or provide an explanation on why Ari's visa was stalled.
Thomas Ragland, representing Maggio Kattar, which specializes in immigration law, said the university's claims are related to the First Amendment, academic freedom and an unlawful approach to background checks for foreign academics.
The government has 60 days to respond to the petition. Ari, who remains in Bolivia, told reporters he was selling real estate to make ends meet.
GO TO: ISSUE OF MARCH 22
NEWS HEADLINES FOR MARCH 22
Quilt Center construction goes green
Indigenous educators find second chances at UNL
Teaching and learning expo is March 29
Ari case prompts UNL to file suit against Homeland Security
Employees hit Union links
IQSC stitches green concept into national quilt competition
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