When it rains it pours, this is especially true for our immigrant sisters like Sunayana Dumala, who as of last February, lost her husband to a nefarious hate crime in a bar at Olathe, Kansas, carried out by a Navy veteran with a skewed vision of American values. Now, Ms. Dumala could face deportation. Since her immigration status was tied to that of her late husband, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, one of the two Indian-born engineers who was shot that day by Adam W. Puritan. Who may not have only ripped Sunayama’s family apart, but whose hateful trigger-happy rhetoric could now jeopardize her stay in the country.
‘Do we belong here?’ That’s the question Ms. Dumala asked herself six days after the shooting in a Facebook post. As the Adam carried out his attack on Mr. Kuchibhotla and his close friend Alok Madasani whilst screaming ‘Get outta mah country!’ a troubling American crossroad was reached, and it is time to decide what path the country will thread.
Ms. Dumala’s husband was here in the country on an H-1B visa, one that allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers on specialty occupations. Upon Mr. Kuchibhotla’s death, Ms. Dumala’s residency was terminated and when she went to India to attend her husband’s funeral, she was aware of the possibility that she might have not been able to return.
Kevin Yoder, a Republican congressman from Kansas’ third district, was not going to sit idly by as tragedy surmounted Ms. Dumala.
After pushing President Trump to condemn the shooting in a joint address to Congress, he and his staff started working in ways to assist Ms. Dumala’s immigration issues.
“It would have been a real tragedy, on top of the initial tragedy she suffered, to attend her husband’s funeral in India and then be locked out of the U.S. because of it, this woman suffered enough. We need to fix this.” Told Mr. Yoder to the New York Times.
Fortunately, after only one month Mr. Yoder’s office was able to secure a 12-month employment authorization document for Ms. Dumala who returned from India to continue her work as a developer for Intouch Solutions, a pharmaceutical marketing agency. During this 12-month grace, Ms. Dulama will be able to apply for her own H-1B visa and a U visa which is a nonimmigrant visa set aside for victims of crimes and their immediate family members.
It seems that Kevin Yoder’s hard stance on immigration has softened after these events. “I think we ought to have a special exception,” Yoder said. “You don’t get deported because your husband was murdered. They don’t come and grab you at a funeral and say, ‘Now you’ve lost your status.’”
This change of heart hasn’t gone unnoticed by Ms. Dumala, the support she has received from the congressman, the FBI, employers and American friends have brought some reassurance to her situation.
After being questioned if she still felt like she didn’t belong she said to the NYT. “A lot has happened in the last few months. And one incident does not portray what the entire country stands for, which was evident when people from different communities came forward to lend their support in the time of tragedy and grief.”
Our hope is that in time we can repair the damage that has been brought upon by the people driven by hate and we can make amends with the American values that we cherish so and shine the brightest at our darkest times.