Immigration Law Change Affects NMH Faculty Member

GILL, MA—A Northfield Mount Hermon School teacher is one of thousands of legal immigrants who lost a chance at a green card because of a quickly changed policy at the US Department of State July 2.

Bea Garcia, who chairs the world language department at NMH, and advises SaLSA, the Spanish and Latino/a Students Association at the school, is an Uruguayan national, who came to the US in 2001 to teach at Deerfield Academy on an H-B1 visa and has worked at NMH since 2003.

On June 13 the Department of State announced that there would be a very small window, starting July 2, for those with Garcia’s status to file the final form to apply for a green card. Like thousands of others, she scrambled to assemble the necessary documents and schedule and complete a physical exam. On July 2, however, the government changed its policy, saying it would not allow the applications until the fall.

“I'm not yet an immigrant,” says Garcia. “Not, at least, according to the law. I am an ‘allien worker’ an ‘intending immigrant.’” After two weeks of gathering birth and marriage certificates from Uruguay at great cost to her, and filling out “a lot” of paperwork, she says she had been “broke but hopeful” that at least her application would finally be processed this week. “Especially for my son, this can be a very difficult,” says Garcia.

The fee to apply for a green card will increase July 30 from $395 to $1,010, including a fingerprinting fee. The applications are hefty, requiring medical exams, a lot of documentation, and the applicant's presence in the United States.

Contact: Kate Snyder, 413-498-3357 or ksnyder@nmhschool.org.

Top of Page