UNL issues appeal to immigration office on scholar visa incident

In an effort to open a door closed to a Bolivian historian, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln administration today asked the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. immigration officials to move on the matter or provide an explanation on why newly hired Waskar Ari's visa has been stalled for eight months.

"I am disappointed that the students and faculty of the university have been deprived of the talents of Professor Ari," UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman. "Of course, we must be vigilant to protect our internal security but, as yet, I have seen no evidence that Professor Ari represents a security risk."

The plight of professor Ari came to national attention last week when the American Historical Association expressed public concern that Ari's request for a visa has been pending for unexplained reasons. Ari is a professor of Latin American history from Bolivia who was hired by UNL in June.

UNL petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for the 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. After he traveled to Bolivia from the United States last summer, however, Ari discovered that not only had the adjudication of the visa petition been delayed without explanation, but that the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia, had been told by the Department of State to cancel all existing visas.

In a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Cherthoff and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the UNL Department of History and its Institute for Ethnic Studies today expressed dismay over the incident and asked for an explanation and resolution to the matter.

"We offered Dr. Ari an appointment at the University of Nebraska one year ago on the strength of his unquestioned potential as an outstanding scholar and teacher in the field of Latin American history," the letter by history department chair Kenneth Winkle and Ethnic Studies director Marcela Raffaelli said, citing Ari's academic credentials, including his doctorate from Georgetown University, his scholarly publication record and his years of meritorious teaching experience in the U.S. at Western Michigan University and as a postdoctoral fellow at University of Texas.

"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," Winkle and Raffaelli said in the letter. "At the time of his appointment, we were -- and we remain -- 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."

"We were and remain to this day mystified at the U.S. government's refusal to grant a visa to a promising scholar of Dr. Ari's caliber, as well as to provide any explanation whatsoever for that decision. In the absence of any evidence that Dr. Ari poses a threat to American national security, the U.S. government's continuing refusal to grant him a visa seems unjustified and indeed inexplicable. We urge that the petition be granted without further delay, and if such appeal is not forthcoming, to provide us with a clear and compelling explanation."

Perlman said: "This country has benefited enormously from the free exchange of scholars with countries from around the world. Unnecessary disruption of this process also jeopardizes our national security."

Peter Levitov, associate dean of international affairs at UNL, said the university has submitted more than 500 H-1B visa petitions in recent years and has never encountered such a problem. Recently, an similar issue garnered international attention when an international scholar at the University of Notre Dame had his visa revoked, presumably under provision of the federal Patriot Act.

CONTACT: Peter Levitov, Assoc. Dean, International Affairs, (402) 472-3265