Assadullah Hessari said the biggest difference between his native country of Afghanistan and his new home in Longmont is that when he leaves home, he knows for sure he’ll come home to his wife Roya.
Assadullah and Roya Hessari are settling into their Longmont apartment with three of their five children after fleeing war and violence in Kabul, Afghanistan. They landed at the Denver International Airport on July 27 after a whirlwind trip from Kabul to India to New York City and finally Colorado.
Assadullah, 56, was an architect in Afghanistan and worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to design border crossings on the borders of Afghanistan with Iran and Turkmenistan.
That work put him and his family in danger, however. The Hessaris and their children were granted special immigrant visas to resettle in the U.S. They chose Longmont because Roya, 50, has a sister who lives in the city.
The. U.S. government authorized special immigrant visas to Afghans who worked with or on behalf of the United States since 2001 and faced a serious threat because of their work. The visas make the Hessaris eligible for permanent residence. The program covers spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21.
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