Yuliyan Stoyanov, a Bulgarian violinist living in the US, is to leave the States with his family on Wednesday after being refused a petition to stay as a permanent worker.

After living nearly 14 years in the United States on a series of student visas and writing nearly 700 pages to the US Citizen and Immigration Services, Stoyanov, his Bulgarian-born wife and their two US-born children will have to return to Bulgaria, the website Cincinnati.com reports.

Immigration officials turned down twice requests from the musician that he be granted a permanent worker visa on the grounds of being a "foreign national of extraordinary ability" - a category which, however, seeks Nobel Prize laureates, patent holders, and Olympic medalists.

"Stoyanov and his wife, Smiliana Lozanova, 36, have performed since 2006 with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, based in the state capital, Charleston," according to the website.

Stoyanov is described as a "Bulgarian-born violinist and College Conservatory of Music alumnus from the University of Cincinnati, and current faculty member".

Cincinnati.com reports that, according to immigration officials, he had to meet three of ten criteria because of not having won a one-time, major international award. They determined he had only met two, "despite 13 lettters of recommendation in this category alone" as he had not proved that his work "has made original contributions of major significance to the field".

The full text is available here.

 

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!