Help my friend legally immigrate to the US

UPDATE: Thanks to all of you who took the leap of faith and heart to donate.

On Sunday, August 1, 2021, Jerry landed on US soil for the first time ever, with his US visa. YOU all helped make that happen. It was both an emotional reunion, and a meeting as if no time had passed at all. We met at an airport hotel I'd booked. We got caught up, ate late-night room service burgers and fries, then returned to the airport the next morning. I flew home to Boston, and he went on to Dallas, where he'll live & work with a good Congolese friend until he gets on his feet and can choose his own home destination.

I want to reiterate my deep thanks to all of you for your generosity. Jerry now has the opportunity to live a full, healthy life here in the US, something he didn't have back home. And he - and I - are so grateful to you for helping make that happen. <3

Jamie

In 2018, while on tour with the Boston Gay Men's Chorus in South Africa, I met Jerry, a gay Congolese man being helped by a nonprofit beneficiary of one of our concerts. Jerry and several other LGBTQ expats had fled other African countries where it was dangerous and often illegal to be queer. They shared stories of discrimination, rejection, and violence in their home countries, simply for being who they were.

 

Jerry had been beaten several times, including once by his uncle, and lost an eye - just for being gay. He'd found legal work as a chef in South Africa, but still faced many challenges: although South Africa's constitution officially guarantees equal treatment for all, reality for a queer immigrant can be different. And a few months later, he had to leave South Africa and return to Congo.

 

Back home, Jerry again faced the constant threat of violence and death for being gay (and was beaten more than once by the police); illness and pollution, unemployment and homelessness. He's used his cooking skills to survive, but life there is so unpredictable, it's a daily struggle. The pandemic of course made things worse.

 

Last year, Jerry won a coveted spot in the US State Dept diversity visa lottery. It's a complicated, expensive process with no guarantee, but Jerry has persevered, and now his dream of citizenship is in sight.

 

I've helped my friend financially as best I could, but now my resources are exhausted. I'm hoping you can me help Jerry with small donation, within your means, to cover remaining expenses - visa costs (including food, travel, and lodging when he has to travel to Kinshasa, where the nearest US embassy is), and living expenses until - fingers crossed - he becomes a US citizen.

 

In return, I promise to keep you all updated, and in the hope that it works out, that Jerry will make you, his donors, a homemade meal once he gets here. :-)

 

Thank you for reading. <3