A key employee for one of Alaska’s major arts organizations has received a federal immigration visa, ending a lawsuit over the case.<\/p>\n
Sitka Fine Arts Camp is withdrawing its federal immigration lawsuit after immigration officials approved the visa needed for its technical theater director.<\/p>\n
Attorney Nicholas Olano filed a request for voluntary dismissal Wednesday, less than a month after he filed suit on behalf of the camp, a 50-year-old institution that conducts courses on the grounds of the former Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka.<\/p>\n
“Things are back again to where they should be,” he said by phone on Friday.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit involved Denush Vidanapathirana, who runs programs for the camp and is in charge of the Sitka School District’s multimillion-dollar performing arts center.<\/p>\n
Vidanapathirana, who holds a Sri Lankan passport, needed a visa to continue working in Sitka, but the federal government initially determined that the theater manager’s skills didn’t meet the standard for an H-1B visa, given to people who have special technical skills.<\/p>\n
Sitka Fine Arts Camp sued, appealing that decision, and it was reversed quickly. H-1B lawsuits are relatively uncommon in Alaska; they’re more common in the Lower 48, where high-tech companies frequently seek international employees.<\/p>\n
“I think the (assistant U.S. attorney) did something magical because they didn’t even answer or respond (to the lawsuit),” Olano said, “but the case got reopened.”<\/p>\n
Olano said Vidanapathirana is already back on the job.<\/p>\n