Guyanese family in U.S. immigration limbo after death of husband

The long wait for a green card has left the family of one immigrant teacher in a precarious position, because he died before his green card was approved.

Vernon Innis was a college professor in Guyana when the U.S. Department of Education came calling, and he left his homeland, in 2003, to teach Math in an American city school. He knew getting a green card would mean permanent residency for his whole family – but that hope evaporated when Innis died of an aneurysm in 2008, still waiting for his papers.

Now his widow and kids are locked in immigration limbo, with no help from the city. “He came here for the future of his children,” said Vernon’s wife, Sherin Innis, 51. “He saw it as an open door. He came to live the American dream, but it has become the American nightmare.”

After her husband’s death, their lawyer – who was designated by the Department of Education – told her the family’s status had “died with him.” Innis would have been able to include his family on his application, but they do not qualify for employer-sponsored green cards on their own.

Sherin Innis would consider returning to Guyana, but her boys are thriving here. Samuel, 16, tested into Bard Early College High School. Immanuel, 14, played trombone at Carnegie Hall with his Forest Hills High School classmates. “These kids came when they were six and eight. How can you just uproot us?” she asked.

The three have managed to stay in the U.S. this long because Touro College, where Innis was a tutor, sponsored her for a temporary work visa. But she cannot legally get a second job to pay her mounting bills. The family had to leave their $1,200-a-month apartment and are staying in a friend’s living room. The widow worries that time is running out for a permanent solution, because her eldest son will apply for college next year. Without green cards, the boys will not qualify for federal or state financial aid – and cannot work legally.

Innis shook her head when asked what her late husband would say about his family’s situation. “I know he would be very disappointed; because a promise was made, and that was broken,” she said. “His main hope was college for his sons. This would have literally killed him, believe me, because he lived for his sons.”