Visa?

Securing a visa allowing a non-citizen to visit the United States has historically been a challenge, particularly for those from the developing world.  This process has only become more difficult in the wake of the Paris and San Bernardino terrorist attacks.

The two most important decision-making factors utilized by the State Department are (i) whether the visa applicant presents a threat of danger to the United States, and (ii) whether the applicant presents a risk of overstaying the visa when the visa’s usually narrow time window closes.

We have been longing to bring Henry to the United States and would have flown him out here years ago if we didn’t think his, um, (wrongful) murder conviction, would have raised some teensy little questions about factor (i) above.  So we waited.  And waited.

After my agent and I selected Worthy as the publisher for Divine Collision in March of 2015, we targeted a publication date that we hoped would coincide with the typical three-week break between Henry’s medical school semesters at Kampala International University.  Those who have spent time in the developing world know, however, that forecasting dates into the future can be dicey.  This is no less true in the educational realm in Uganda.  Our best estimate was that Henry would finish the fall semester on or about February 6^th, and then resume the spring semester on or about February 29^th.

There was also the issue of the, um, conviction that still lingered.  Fortunately, our prayers were answered in June of 2015 when Henry was exonerated and his conviction was vacated.  That took care of factor (i).

Our next prayer was that we could persuade the State Department to issue Henry a visa for his three-week semester break.  (A little over three years ago, we got Henry a passport and sent him on a field trip to South Africa with his school so he could have at least a small track record of leaving Uganda and returning – that was his first (and only) plane flight).

After some discussion in the late spring of 2015, Worthy set the official release date for January 26, 2016, so we could ensure the book was out by the time he arrived in the event Henry was granted a visa.  About a month ago, Henry’s fall semester exam schedule was finally posted.  To our surprise, his last exam was scheduled for Saturday, January 23^rd.  We also learned that the spring term would begin on Monday, March 7^th.  Needless to say, this greatly expanded our potential window for his maiden voyage to the United States.

With the help of Pepperdine Law’s Uganda-based Nootbaar Fellow, Nicole Banister, Henry secured a visa interview for December 29^th, just over a week ago.  At 1:00 a.m., Henry set out for Kampala on a crowded bus on bumpy road and made his way to Kampala at 5:00 a.m.  The lawyer who assisted me with Henry’s appeal, Edward Sekabanja, picked Henry up from the bus park and gave him a pep talk and some last-minute advice.

At 9:00 a.m., Henry and nine other visa applicants waited as they were called in, one by one, for their interviews.  When it was Henry’s turn, he straightened his tie, put on his suit coat, and confidently strode into the interview room carrying a folder of important documents – his completed visa application; a receipt showing he paid the interview fee; an invitation from me; a separate letter of support from me that explained the purpose of his visit and promised to ensure Henry would return to Uganda in time for the spring semester; a letter of support from Worthy describing the book and the book tour; a letter of support from Danny DeWalt, who serves as Honorary Consul to the United States on behalf of Uganda; admissions papers, exam schedules, and report cards from medical school; and his passport.  Edward had organized all of the paperwork in the right order.

After ensuring the application had been fully completed, the first question the friendly American asked Henry was, “So, why do you want to go to the United States?”

Henry had practiced his response: “I wrote a book with an American law professor and it is being published soon.”

The interviewer’s suspicions and eyebrows leapt up, even as his fingers dove down to his computer keyboard.  “Really?  What’s the name of the book?”

“Divine Collision.”

Henry’s heartbeat kept time with the interviewer’s rapid typing and clicking.

[Pause]

[Squint at the screen]

[Eye Dart to Henry]

“Hey, that’s you on the cover!  Cool!  Hey everyone, come look at this book this Ugandan student wrote with an American law professor.”  A half dozen other Americans in the Embassy crowded around the screen and congratulated Henry and asked him if they could order copies yet.  (Yes, wherever books are sold & Amazon is actually shipping in advance of the release date).  A few of them recognized Worthy and assured Henry that this was a really good publisher.

The interviewer quickly read through the paperwork, pausing only to call another part of the Embassy to verify that Pepperdine was indeed working closely with the Ugandan Judiciary.

“Congratulations, Henry.  You have been granted a visa!  Just come pick it up on Monday, January 5^th at 3:00 p.m.”

Henry was ecstatic, but had to be careful around the other applicants, seven of whom were denied visas.  Needless to say, I was thrilled when he told me later that day.

“How long did they give you?”  I asked expectantly.

“Come again?”

“How much time are you permitted to be in the United States?”

“He didn’t say.  I told him my school schedule, but he didn’t say how long I could stay.”

So we waited.

On Monday, Henry picked up his visa and took a bus back to school to prepare for his final exams.  But before he left, he took a photo of the visa and texted it to me.

Henry’s Visa!

I was stunned.  The effective dates are December 31, 2015 through December 28, 2017.  We were hoping for 4 weeks – he was given 104 weeks.

Henry will be arriving at LAX on January 26^th, and departing on March 1^st.  He is eager to meet many of you during his stay.  We will be in Virginia, DC, NY, Texas, Tennessee, California, and perhaps other states.  We will go to Disneyland, the beach, Chipotle, In ‘n Out, Chick Fil A, Cinnabon, and Baskin Robbins.  We will be on local, national, and international radio, national television, and at a university or theater near you.  Our tentative schedule is posted here, but it will be updated continuously.  Should be fun.

Speaking of radio, after two false alarms, I will finally be on the Eric Metaxas Show today – Wednesday, January 6^th for a thirty-minute segment of his two-hour show.  It airs on over a hundred radio stations, but it is easiest to find on the show’s website here.  Just click the “Listen now” text bubble.  I haven’t yet been told when during the two-hour show I will be on, but I have been promised that the interview will air on Wednesday.  The Christian Post article I wrote that he asks me about is here.

More soon, and check out the rest of this re-designed website, including the new book trailer under the Divine Collision Book tab.