CBS Sunday Morning Show recently reported a feel good story about a high school rocket science club from Presidio, Texas. The club, from an impoverished part of Texas appeared a bit out of place as it competed in a national rocketry competition with clubs from well-off school districts. Despite their appearance, the club competed just as well as the other clubs.
As the news piece explores, behind the club’s success is a Filipino teacher who is in the United States on a temporary visa because no American teachers were willing to work in the school district. The teacher’s accomplishments were recently acknowledged when she was given the Aerospace Teacher of the Year award.
Unfortunately, the story wasn’t all good news. The reported hinted at the difficulty that the teacher was facing as she was attempting to stay in the United States. Although I don’t know the exact facts behind her case, it sounds like she is seeking permanent residency in the United States through the second preference employment-based immigration category. Possibly, she is seeking a national interest waiver (or a normal EB-2 visa). Nonetheless, despite being named the Aerospace Teacher of the Year, the USCIS seeks further evidence that she has “exceptional abilities” in her field. The teacher says that she doesn’t know what else the USCIS wants.
Best of luck to the teacher – it would be a shame if she is unable to remain in the United States and help train America’s future scientists.