http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/12041942.htm


Posted on Sat, Jul. 02, 2005

R E L A T E D C O N T E N T

Konstantin Sidorin died of a heart attack on Father's Day. Federal immigration law requires his wife and stepson to leave the country but they hope to find a way to stay.
COURTESY OF KONSTANTIN SIDORIN'S FAMILY
Konstantin Sidorin died of a heart attack on Father's Day. Federal immigration law requires his wife and stepson to leave the country but they hope to find a way to stay.

Help sought for relatives of immigrant who died

By Terry Lee Goodrich

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

KELLER - Konstantin Sidorin and his family had much to be grateful for on Father's Day.

The 48-year-old Latvian man was trying to get his green card to become a permanent resident of the United States. His supervisors had praised his skills as a computer programmer. His wife, Larisa Venovceva, had begun training to be a certified medication aide. And Sidorin's stepson, Anatolijs Venovcevs, a high school junior, was ranked ninth in his class.

Then Sidorin, a Keller resident who loved playing hockey in his spare time, collapsed during a game at a Grapevine ice rink on Father's Day. He died of a heart attack within minutes, relatives said.

Today, they are reeling not only from grief, but from anxiety because immigration law requires them to leave the country.

Amateur players with Metroplex Christian Hockey Association, of which Sidorin was a member, are brainstorming for a solution -- perhaps by writing to members of Congress for help, said Mike Brandt, the group's commissioner.

"Most of us are in our 30s and 40s, and this makes you think, 'What if that happened to me?' " he said.

Venovceva, 41, said losing her husband has been "just horrible."

"We had hoped for citizenship in five years," she said.

"We love this country," she said. "Everything was nice and good."

Sidorin obtained a work visa in 1997 and brought his family to the United States. He worked in Austin and Tulsa, Okla., before taking a job with Sabre Holdings, a travel commerce company in Southlake, his wife said.

"Everyone has said he was a very talented programmer," said Emily Kinney, Sabre's media relations representative. "We really hope everything works out."

Venovceva has a degree in chemistry, but "we depended on my husband," she said. "Everything was filed in his name, with him as primary applicant for a green card."

A green card is proof that an immigrant is a legal permanent resident.

Immigration law does not allow families in such cases -- those who were beneficiaries because of an immediate relative's work visa -- to remain in the United States, officials with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said.

"It's very sad, but our hands are tied," said Marilu Cabrera, a Chicago-based spokeswoman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. "Once a person dies, the tie to immigrate no longer exists for the family. That's the way the law is written."

Rarely, a member of Congress will file a bill seeking an exception, she said. She is not familiar with the Keller family's case and said she could not comment on it.

Venovceva and her son say they have not given up hope.

Venovcevs, 18, who will be a senior at Keller's Central High School in the fall, said his stepfather had been supportive of his dream to attend college and become a history professor.

"He never lectured me," Venovcevs said. "He trusted me. He was always willing to pay for my books, and he gave me an allowance based on my grades."

Venovceva said Sidorin was a wonderful husband.

"He treated my son like his own son," she said. "All my friends said, 'Where do you get a husband like that?' This is hard."

IN THE KNOW

How to help

If you have suggestions on how to help the family, e-mail information @metroplexchristianhockey.com.