SEQUIM — A noted sculptor and his family are seeking an immigration extension that could delay the March 3 deadline they’ve been given to leave the United States.
The March 3 order officially covers only Oliver Strong and his wife, Penny, who overstayed a visa in the early 1990s and have been in the country illegally since then.
Because of snags in renewing their 14-year-old daughter’s passport, they’re facing the possibility that they would have to leave the United States without her.
“That would be tortuous,” Penny Strong said, even if it’s temporary.
So the Strongs are seeking the extension so the family can leave the United States together.
Oliver Strong is a British citizen, and Penny is a citizen of South Africa.
Their four youngest children are U.S. citizens.
Their teenage daughter, however, was born in the British Virgin Islands and had an English passport that was turned down for renewal, Oliver Strong said.
They’ve applied for a South African passport for her, but the process is time-consuming, he said.
Pressure points
In the meantime, the Strongs are hoping that community pressure and some help from the state’s congressional delegation will help them get the 120-day extension so that their daughter’s travel papers can be put in order.
“We haven’t given up hope yet,” said Penny.