Sharon's family members were violently targeted, including her
cousin who was murdered and her brother whose business was firebombed. When Sharon became pregnant with her first child, she was threatened by
a member of a different religious organization for raising her child in
a non-Muslim faith. Joseph and Sharon came to the United States legally on visitor visas
in November 1998. Due to their fears of persecution in Egypt based on
their religious beliefs, they filed for asylum in the United States in
May 1999. However, Joseph, who has a speech impediment, had difficulty
communicating why he was afraid to return to Egypt, and 1 year later
their asylum application was denied. Considering that Sharon's brother,
who also applied for asylum for similar reasons, was granted asylum in
the United States, Joseph and Sharon appealed the denial of their
asylum applications, to no avail. While Sharon's brother, who is now a U.S. citizen, has filed a
family-based immigrant petition on Sharon's behalf, it will be at least
4 years until she will even be eligible for a visa number due to visa
backlogs. If Sharon and Joseph are deported before then, they will not only be
separated from their family but will be forced to return to a country
where persecution of Coptic Christians continues. Due to their fear of returning to Egypt, Joseph and Sharon have
therefore tried to build a life for themselves here in the United
States, working hard while building their beautiful family. With the
protection of past private bills I filed on their behalf, Joseph was
able to get his certified public accountant license and opened his own
accounting firm, where Sharon works by his side.
Keywords matched
visa asylum application asylum applications deported visas immigrant