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Along Life’s Way
Just Sign on
the Line?
By Lois E. Wilson
Nearly forty years ago, I was hired by the School of Nursing at Wright
State University to design and develop a newsletter to promote that
college. After accomplishing the goal, I became the Assistant to the
Dean of the School of Nursing.
The dean at the time had recruited several PhD and highly qualified
Masters Degree nurses to implement the school’s Masters Program which
was in the process of being accredited. She was always searching for
nursing staff to enrich the learning experience for students.
A professor from another college on campus had a relative who was a
resident of another country. He wished to bring her to the United
States to live. She seemed to have excellent credentials in education
and clinical nursing experience. She had authored a book on midwifery.
She was in the U.S. visiting. She came to WSU to take a tour and meet
the nursing faculty members. All were positive about her joining the
school. Caps on certain methods of entering the country existed. She
was trying to immigrate via a certain type of work permit that was more
likely to have openings for issuing visas.
One day, the dean handed me papers “to take care of” from the
immigration department. I read them carefully and decided for me to
sign them was, so to speak, above my pay level. The person signing them
was attesting to the fact that there was no one else in the country
qualified to do the work requirements outlined in the application.
I explained to the dean, since I was not in the nursing field, I did
not have the expertise to make that affirmation. She agreed. She read
the papers and decided that she could not attest to that fact either as
she knew many qualified nurses in our country who could easily do the
specified duties. The dean and I both were disappointed that we
could not put our signatures on that affidavit line; however, signing
off on something should not be taken lightly. This ended my one
experience with acquiring visas.
A few years ago, Wright State University and some other universities
encountered problems with employee visas. The WSU president at the
time, David Hopkins, said: “This past spring we were presented with
credible evidence that somewhere between 2 and 5 years ago not every
H-1B (visa) employee sponsored by the university was actually working
for the university.”
The lesson is to read before you sign. Your signature means something.
There can be serious consequences if you don’t know what you are
attesting to is true. Sign some documents, and you have a contract.
Therefore, be sure you understand the obligations your signature
creates. Do you want to take the risk? Base your answer on knowledge.
That is always the safest route.
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