SEQUIM — Oliver and Penny Strong, along with their five children, have all but run out of avenues of appeal to avoid being deported to South Africa.
But a recently filed court motion could, if granted, give the Blyn-area family the right to leave the United States on its own within 30 days — and likely prompt the release of Oliver Strong from a federal detention facility so he can return home to get family affairs in order.
“This way, we have the time to do what we need to do, and do it the right way,” Penny Strong said Thursday.
“It won’t be an armed guard forcing us onto a plane.”
Last week, the Strongs’ new attorney, Robert Gibbs of Seattle, asked the U.S. Bureau of Immigration Appeals in Falls Church, Va. to vacate the forced-deportation order that could have removed the family this week.
Instead, he filed a motion for a 30-day “voluntary departure” order.
Shortly after the paperwork was filed, Gibbs said he learned that Immigration Appeals officials responded favorably.
“They told the Bureau of Immigration they don’t oppose the granting of the motion,” Gibbs said. “That means there’s a 99.9 percent chance the board will grant this motion.”
