Over 6,000 people have signed a petition to support a San Jose man who needs a bone marrow transplant from at least one of his two brothers in Vietnam who have been denied United States visas.
Tu Le is a father of four in his 60s and has been diagnosed with blood cancer, according to the petition on Care2. After U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denied the visas, doctors wrote a letter on Le's behalf explaining that no local donors are available.
U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris of California, a presidential candidate for 2020, threw her support behind Le in a tweet on Sunday.
"Californian Tu Le needs a bone marrow transplant to survive and both of his brothers are 100% genetic match - yet were denied visas. The @statedept owes us answers," she wrote.
The petition says time is running out for Le to get the transplant he needs.
"It is unacceptable that our government is getting in the way of Tu Le's brothers providing a bone marrow transplant that could save his life," Rebecca Gerber, senior advocacy director at Care2, said in a statement.
"We should be making all accommodations possible and the USCIS should be ashamed for ignoring the gravity of this circumstance when making its decision. They need to grant these visas now, before it's too late," she said.
