| Bakeries in NH, letter writing campaign |
[May. 12th, 2009|09:21 pm] |
If you have relatives in NH you might be interested in this letter-writing campaign. From ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) ricevermicelli:
Basically, the story is that a woman who was in the country legally, working legally, and operating a business that was an important part of her local economy, is now stranded in France because her application for a renewed visa was denied. As a result, the bakery she co-owns in New Hampshire will probably close, to the detriment of the community. In a big city, some culinary excrescence like Panera would fill the spot. In Colebrook, NH the storefront will probably sit empty indefinitely.
It was an E2 visa. For those, you apparently either have to make "a substantial profit" or be "vital to the local economy" which it apparently is, for me to have heard about it through friends-of-friends even though it's a small town. The full story is here if you'd like all the links to go write a letter to her senator.
I don't know how much a Californian writing an e-mail would help, but I think there are some people on my friends list with relatives in the area.
--Beth
Edit 1: Why was she in France if she was worried about her visa being renewed? Apparently it's required, "He explained that until a few years ago, those in this country on an E2 Visa were not required to return to their home countries to get their Visas renewed. He explained that when the passport system was updated a few years ago, the embassies in the United Stated did not have the funds to upgrade their systems, and that is why so many E2 Visas are handled through the American Embassy in Paris.
However, as the volume of those looking for an E2 Visa increased, that embassy has not been able to keep up with demand and, once an application has been denied—such as Verlaine Daeron’s—it is highly unlikely that she will be returning to the U.S."
Edit 2: Ok, I clicked through the various links and sent an e-mail:
Legal Immigration
Hi,
I'm writing to ask you to help with the case of Verlaine Daöron, a french bakery owner in Colebrook, NH, who is currently stranded in France because her E2 Visa renewal application was denied. I am from California, but my east coast friends let me know about this bakery because they believe it is vital to the local economy.
Thank you,
--Beth Leonard
[contact information] |
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| Comments: |
It worked! We're getting our baker back! From today's (weekly) paper: ... good news came that day. After receiving an overwhelming amount of letters and petitions, the American Embassy in Paris called Daeron in for a highly unprecedented second interview and granted her the renewal. | |
