News-Home

Belarus teen seeking student visa

Stay could be extended significantly if approved by immigration authorities


By PAUL PAYNE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 3:45 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 12:47 p.m.

The Belarusian teenager who refused to leave her Petaluma host family after a summer trip, causing an international stir, is attempting to lengthen her stay.

Related Links:

Tanya Kazyra, 16, and her hosts Manuel and Debra Zapata, are seeking a student visa and permission to attend high school for a year in Petaluma, said her immigration lawyer, Christopher Kerosky.

That overture Friday was the first sign that Kazyra plans to remain in the United States on a somewhat permanent basis.

It was a change from her announcement last month that she was not going home with other members of the Chernobyl Childrens Project because she wanted a short extension on her visit with her hosts for the past nine summers.

"She's on a tourist visa now," Kerosky said. "She would like to go to a student visa if the U.S. government will allow it."

Kazyra, from the city of Borisov near Minsk, outraged Belarusian officials and members of the respite program for children living in the path of the 1986 nuclear disaster when she failed to board a plane Aug. 5 to go home. She had been in the country for six weeks.

She said she had grown attached to the Zapatas and didn't want to return to a bleak home life marred by an abusive father.

Her government responded that she was being kidnapped and demanded she be returned. Two special envoys were dispatched to Petaluma to assure her she could come home safely and with the possibility of returning to the United States at a later time.

When she didn't change her mind, officials in the former Soviet republic suspended all future children's trips to the United States.

That incensed children's groups nationwide who host about 1,400 kids from Belarus each year. Many called Kazyra selfish and blamed the Zapatas for encouraging her to stay.

"Everybody is up in arms," said Rosey Erickson, president of the Petaluma-based group that organized Kazyra's trip. "Nobody understands. Everybody wants to know how they can be so selfish."

But Kerosky said the teen is in the country legally and has permission from her legal guardian, her grandmother. Her current tourist visa expires Dec. 25 and she has applied for an extension to February, he said.

Since she needs a student visa to attend high school for her senior year, she also will seek a change of status, Kerosky said.

That might involve traveling to a third country such as Canada and applying at a U.S. consulate there, Kerosky said.

The U.S. government frowns on student visa applications within the country in light of the Sept. 11 attacks, he said.

Returning to Belarus to apply for the change is out of the question, Kerosky said.

"She's afraid to go back to Belarus for reasons I think are reasonable," Kerosky said. "What about a compromise?"

A State Department source who did not want to be named because of privacy issues confirmed Kazyra was in the country legally. The source said an extension or change of her visa status is possible.

Another official, Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said there are no specific laws that apply to minors entering the country with student groups.

Like adults, minors from most countries must have a visa to enter and they may remain for as long as that visa is valid and they comply with the terms of their admission, she said.

"Whether they are authorized to attend school depends on the type of visa they are issued," Kice said.

Meanwhile, hoping to help save the children's trips, Kerosky penned a letter to the Belarusian embassy suggesting some steps toward a resolution.

Kazyra could issue a written apology to her government and a statement expressing affection for her home country, Kerosky said.

In addition, Kazyra would not ask to be adopted and would act as a sort of cultural ambassador, he said.

He said blaming Kazyra for the cancellation of the programs is wrong. The Belarus government overreacted, he said.

"Tanya has simply made a decision not to return to a home environment where she has been exposed to abuse, violence, and drug use by others in the household," he said in a written statement. "How can we attack her for that?"

Whether the concessions will have an effect appeared doubtful.

Oleg Kravchenko, charge de affairs at the Belarus embassy in Washington, said Kerosky lacks the official standing to make a proposal to a foreign government.

Programs that bring children to the country each year will remain canceled until the U.S. government guarantees another child will not try to stay, he said.

The U.S. government is now considering a draft agreement, he said.

A U.S. government source said there are no ongoing negotiations with Belarus over any pact.

Kravchenko accused the Zapatas of attempting a "de facto adoption" and said Kazyra is being deprived of her remaining education while the family tries to home-school her.

School in Belarus began Sept. 1.

"We want Tanya to return," Kravchenko said. "It is the only right solution. The Zapata family is doing her a great disservice."

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 762-7297 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com.


Comments

Only moderator-approved comments are shown on this page. To see all comments, please visit the forum.
    Post a comment | View all comments on this topic.
  1. reservations says...
    September 7, 2008 8:53:02 am

    RE: LinkI make a motion to charge Manuel and Debra Zapata for international kidnapping. This couple is the self imposed acting parental authority for this poor girl. Nothing this girl does is of her own conscience.
    __________________________________________"She's afraid to go back to Belarus for reasons I think are reasonable," Kerosky said. "What about a compromise?"Yeah she's afraid, it's human nature to be afraid when you do something wrong like abandon terms of international agreements by not returning home. You want a compromise? How about this, Manuel, Debra Zapata take responsability for the original agreement and send the girl home now and no charges will be filed. That's a compromise.

    Okay, she has a crappy home life. How about fixing her crappy home life (find her healthy foster care within her country) instead of breaking international committments by letting her stay in your home? Manuel and Debra Zapata, think of the example you are setting for the children. We must all follow through with our agreements.
    ______________________________________________Meanwhile, hoping to help save the children's trips, Kerosky penned a letter to the Belarusian embassy suggesting some steps toward a resolution....Kazyra would not ask to be adopted and would act as a sort of cultural ambassador...The girls lawyer said.I say the title of "ambassador" is a great HONOR. This girl, being led astray by Manuel and Debra Zapata, has LOST her chances of attaining the honorable title of "ambassador".
    _______________________________________________He said blaming Kazyra for the cancellation of the programs is wrong. Kasyta can't fully be blamed because she is a child, a minor, and being led down the wrong path by Manuel and Debra Zapata. Manuel and Debra Zapata are to blame 100%.
    _________________________________________________
    There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. Manuel and Debra Zapata are taking the wrong way. They think they are helping the girl. They are not. What they are doing is hurting the girl. They are taking an easy way out. It will not be worth it in the long run. Wait till this girl is an adult and she has a big red flag on her immigration file. She may never be allowed in this country again...

    I hope you are reading this

  2. Zumabtrancas says...
    September 7, 2008 9:38:43 am

    Sorry, this nation has no obligation to provide a Belarussian with a free education. It cost us 130,000 per year to educate children here.
    Thing are tough all over the world, we cant solve her problems nor are we responsible for her.
    She is not an illegal hispanic so she cant assume she is entitled to free education, free medical, free use of our infrstructure, free food stamps, free interpreters, free use of our public transportation, or anything else Americans have fought, died and paid for>

    "Oh we only come here to work", but while we work, you pay every bill we have and give us all the freebies that come with being a citizen".

    When we get the 30 million illegals out, perhaps we can t hen consider this girl!

    Try going to Mexico or Belarus and ask for a free education? She can thank the illegals that have snuck into this country and have a total disregard for our laws!

  3. kvandyck says...
    September 7, 2008 6:50:41 pm

    Good public education is free in Belarus and university education is free for over 30% of students based on income and grades. Tanya should accept her government's offer: go home, honor your promise when you joined the program, let the host family (the Zapata's) honor their host contract to return this girl to her home country!Tanya can finish high school, mature, and with the Zapata's help- return on a legal student visa to go to school in the US. Being in America on a dishonorable basis which is costing thousands of other needy children and anxious American host families untold disappointments, is not the way to behave! Shame on the Zapata's and shame on Tanya!Make amends for your short sighted decision which has resulted in the shutting down of all respite visits! We can't blame the Belarusian gov't as Tanya's lawyer suggests. She is a Belarusian minor child who is being retained longer than her visit with her group. She is not an orphan, she does not live in a terrible institution. Her school year started on September 1 and she should be home studying like any other child! She is not a member of a persecuted minority in Belarus! In her own words, she has 'a tough life there and she likes it better here'! What's not to like! But it is not her home, the Zapata's have no legal right to harbor her and if having a tough life is a basis for asylum in this country, we have plenty of US citizens who would also qualify!! The host family and this young girl are being incredibly selfish by taking down the program that brought her here for the last 9 summers.

    We have hosted a brother and sister who come from a horrific home situation for the last 6 yrs. Yet they love their family, school and country. They miss them and look forward to going home. Their teeth are mended, their immune systems are strong and they have learned many things during their visits. They take home medicines and clothing for their family. They are athletic, bright, delightful children who are a credit to their country. Now they are sobbing on the phone to me, worrying that they may never visit again. That isn't right or fair. Tanya, go home and come back the right way- with no shame or guilt over taking away the hope of thousands of other children from your country!

  4. dwellzbnn says...
    September 8, 2008 5:51:36 pm

    What part of "she is here legally on her own visa" do you not understand? The Zapata's are doing nothing illegal here, or they would be charged with a crime. Tanya is from a country with a dictator and a totalitarian government, so there really is no "going back", so to say that she should "do things the right way" is naive. I, as a freedom loving American, am proud of Tanya and the stance her host family has taken on her behalf. Having watched the Zapata's being attacked in these comments over the past month regarding their "selfish" actions has made me appreciate how unselfish and brave their stance is. Most of us could never tolerate the incredibly mean statements being directed towards them. May God bless the Zapata's, Tanya and their quest to help this child attain freedom in my beloved country!

Next Article in