". . .THIS ENTRANCE WAS INTENDED FOR YOU ALONE. I WILL NOW GO AND CLOSE THE DOOR."

The quote is from Kafka's allegory "Before the Law," which will be ringing in your ears once you read this case from the 11th circuit. The case of Nyaga v. Ashcroft (pdf file here) is a painful illustration of the helplessness of individuals in the face of government indifference and inaction -- and of the judicial system's subtle complicity in the situation. The short version of the story: Nyaga did everything that he was asked to do and still is only a few steps from deportation, because (a) the INS never acted on his visa application, and (b) one judge on the appeals court refused to read the relevant statute to require INS action (Nyaga lost on appeal, 2-1). From this story by Jonathan Ringel on law.com:

Last month, Nyaga, 45, ran out of legal options when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal of a ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

By a 2-1 vote, the 11th Circuit said Nyaga's application expired on Sept. 30, 1998, regardless of whether immigration authorities had tried to process it.

The 11th Circuit reversed a decision by Chief Judge Orinda D. Evans of the U.S. District Court in Atlanta. Evans, saying she would not reward "gross inaction" by the government, had ordered immigration authorities to process Nyaga's application.

Now a deportation hearing -- the only outcome of which would be Nyaga's removal from the country -- is expected to occur within months, according to Wirt and immigration lawyer Charles H. Kuck.

. . .

Nyaga's saga started in 1996, when he and his wife, Doin Kainyu Kibaara, immigrated here from Kenya with their son and daughter.

After graduating from technical college, Nyaga began working in guest services at a Marietta hotel and for a commercial cleaning service. Kibaara is a cashier at a Wal-Mart. In 1997, Nyaga won a State Department lottery that awards 100,000 applications for "diversity visas," which are granted to citizens of countries that are underrepresented on America's immigration rolls.

Nyaga, whose immigration status directly affects his wife's, filed his diversity visa application in February 1998. But according to court decisions, the Immigration and Naturalization Service did nothing to process the application beyond sending Nyaga's fingerprints to be checked by the FBI.

The INS responded in court briefs that it was "simply overburdened" and that Nyaga was not entitled to have his application processed within a specific period of time -- in this case by the Sept. 30, 1998, end of the federal fiscal year.

Ringel notes that Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) has put out some feelers on the possibility of providing relief for Nyaga and others who are in a similar situation. Good for him. Perhaps Senator Chambliss might like to hear from you on this one, especially if you're from Georgia. 202-224-3521.