Westchester County family facing deportation due to confusion over expiration date on paperwork

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Family in Westchester County facing deportation due to passport errors

Their paperwork oversight could force the family-- who has lived in Larchmont for years-- to leave the country next month.

LARCHMONT, Westchester County (WABC) -- The clock is ticking for a Westchester County family facing deportation.

Arjeta Kackini, her husband and their two daughters -- who were born in the United States -- have lived in Larchmont for nearly 7 years.

"We're not asking to become US citizens and to hand us U.S. passports," Kackini said. "We're just asking, 'Allow us to stay here legally just as we have in past years.'"

Arjeta came to the U.S. in 2014 on a student visa to earn her master's degree. Her husband started a remodeling business that allowed them to stay through an investor visa renewed every two years.

The issue arose when the couple returned from a visit to their native Albania. Their passports were set to expire in six months in April 2020 -- they renewed the passports -- but didn't realize the end date on the visa had also been changed to that April date.

The couple has applied for an extension, but the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services determined error, unintentional mistakes and oversight are not considered "extraordinary circumstances." As such, the extension request cannot be approved.

"I literally don't have any more tears to because I've cried so much," Kackini said. "I've tried everything legally."

The family is appealing to local lawmakers and the community, but faces an order to leave the country by April 21.

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