Fiancé of Dartmouth College coach is released from jail

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(Host) The fiance of a Dartmouth College coach who was jailed a month ago over a problem with her visa has been released.

The problem for Valeria Vinnicova arose over confusion about the handwritten expiration date on her waiver.

VPR’s John Dillon explains.

(Dillon) Vinnicova’s troubles began with sloppy handwriting on a visa form. She was in the U-S to be with her fiancé, the assistant squash coach at Dartmouth College.

It appeared on handwritten her visa form that her waiver expired on the 13th of October. But that was a mistake. In fact, her permission to be in this country actually expired on October Third.

So when she and her fiancé traveled to Canada last month, U-S border guards arrested her, handcuffed her and said she would be deported. Officials at U-S Customs and Border Protection also said she could not re-enter the country again for 10 years.

But after a month in jail, Vinnicova has now been released. New Hampshire Senator John Sununu – whose office worked on the case – says the deportation order has been rescinded and that she no longer faces a ten year ban on coming back to this country.

Vinnicova’s supporters in Hanover say Sununu’s office and public pressure played a big role in getting the government to change its mind.

For VPR News, I’m John Dillon in Montpelier.

 

 

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