In her column World View, Trudy Rubin of the Philadelphia Inquirer highlights cases of deserving applicants whose visas have been inexplicably delayed. From her correspondence with IRAP director Becca Heller:
“The US Embassy in Damascus was informed in January of 2011 that she needed emergency surgery for breast cancer,” wrote Heller. But it took 10 more months to get the visa approved in November – and her husband and sons DID NOT RECEIVE VISAS. Only because IRAP put consistent pressure on the U.S. government did the woman’s family finally get visas – this week. “Although we were assured a number of times beginning in January that her case would be expedited,” says Heller, “even with the expedite it took over a year.”