Visa -- It's Everywhere You Want to Be

Unless you're Amarzaya Toodoi, a young Mongolian student trying to return to Denver in a post-9/11 world.

A A A Comments By Jared Jacang Maher Thursday, Jan 15 2004

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"I feel partly responsible for the fact that he's stuck home in Mongolia right now, because I'm the one that suggested to him that he follow all the rules and do what was right," Frierson says. "That's one of the reasons I'm busting my tail to try to get him back."

Toodoi has an interview scheduled with the consulate on January 21, and Frierson knows it may be his friend's last opportunity to return. Visa hopefuls can apply only once a year, and if Toodoi is denied again, it's unlikely that he will get another meeting. Even if he is allowed to return, Frierson worries that he won't have enough money left in his savings to continue school.

Anthony Camera

Map quest: Gale Frierson taught Amarzaya Toodoi English; now he's teaching him to fight the system.

Anthony Camera

Map quest: Gale Frierson taught Amarzaya Toodoi English; now he's teaching him to fight the system.

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Manual Chavez, another friend of Toodoi's and the building manager in Frierson's building, also is eager to have the young man back. He is planning a community fair to raise money for college for his friend, whom he remembers as being a hard worker and very diligent with his studies. "Our government has made it a point to tell us, basically, the kid's not worth their time. And we're telling them, 'You know what? He's worth our time,'" Chavez says. "And no matter what they say, we're going to get him back."

Toodoi is still optimistic about his prospects, even though he has missed three semesters of school so far, spent more then $7,500 in legal and travel fees, and is living back in the ger with his parents. "America is greatest country in the world," he writes from Mongolia. "Of course I'm frustrated with the system and discouraged because I don't have any fault, and I just want an education. If I don't finish school, it's just like throwing away thousands of dollars into a trash can."