Iraqi toddler in limbo as she awaits US visa for surgery

AMMAN, Jordan -- Noor Sabah, an Iraqi toddler, was born without a jawbone on the right side of her face, causing a horrible deformity that affects her hearing, eating, and language development.

A specialist surgeon awaits her in New York, ready to help, and American soldiers have raised money to help bring her and her mother to the United States for treatment. But for the past three months, the girl and her mother have waited anxiously in the Jordanian capital, using up the little money they have left as they pass the days waiting for the US government to issue them visas so they can make the journey.

No one seems able to explain the delay -- not even the US Embassy.

Noor's mother, Eman Sabah, says her 2-year-old daughter has been in constant pain, and her appearance is so abnormal that children mock her, making it impossible to lead a normal life.

Jesse Damsky, a second lieutenant in the 10th Mountain Division, befriended Noor's father while serving in Baghdad two years ago.

Damsky, a Sunni Muslim who speaks Arabic, raised money from his unit to help the family pay their medical bills in Baghdad. He has been trying for two years to get Noor and her mother to the United States, where he will host them at his home.

Dr. Peter Taub, assistant professor of surgery and pediatrics and a specialist in craniofacial surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital, has agreed to perform the corrective surgery on a charity basis.

Taub said Noor's condition was not life-threatening, but if it remained untreated she was likely to be ostracized because of her appearance. He said her jaw could be destroyed later in life because of pressure caused by the abnormal development of the bones.

"It's not fatal, but we don't consider the procedure purely cosmetic," Taub said in a phone interview from New York. "She needs surgery in a first-world country. . . . I hope she comes soon."

But Noor and her mother have been waiting in Jordan for three months for a visa , and Damsky, who has been in touch with Sabah in Amman and her husband in Baghdad, said the impoverished and divided family is reaching a breaking point.

"Eman's husband has been threatened several times to leave his neighborhood or be killed, and his uncle was tortured and killed a few days ago," Damsky said in a telephone interview from New York. "Eman is considering returning to Baghdad and giving up on getting a visa for the surgery. I am increasingly seeing that this is going to end badly. To be honest, it really is only a matter of time."

In a tiny apartment in the Jordanian capital rented by the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, a charity that has arranged the surgery and is funding her travel expenses, Noor clung to her mother as she has every hour since they left Baghdad last November. She is a bright-eyed little girl with tangles of curly dark hair, but her condition makes her wary of strangers and impedes her speech.

"She cries all the time. She wants to go home. Unless she receives the surgery in America, she will remain as she is now," her mother said. "It is very important to put an end to my daughter's suffering.

"My husband said we should not wait here longer than one month, but I have no idea how long this will take. It is very difficult for us here, so far from home. We have no more patience and no money," she said.

Damsky has been trying to arrange Noor's treatment and travel to the United States since he returned from active duty in Iraq in 2005.

But the family first had to reach Amman to apply for a visa. In June, they made the perilous journey overland from Baghdad only to be turned back at the Jordanian border. At the start of November, Noor and her mother flew to Amman, dividing the family and straining their meager resources.

Despite Damsky's recommendation and his military security clearance, Noor and her mother have been stuck in Amman, surviving on charity from neighbors and assistance from the Palestine Children's Relief Fund and the International Organization for Migration, while the visa application procedure grinds on.

Under legislation passed after Sept. 11, 2001, visa applications from Iraqis must be approved by a number of government agencies, including the FBI and other federal security agencies. The process takes a very long time.

Damsky said he phoned the State Department several times a week since Noor and her mother were interviewed by a US consular official in Amman on Nov. 21, but there appeared to be no movement.

"They are still saying that her visa is awaiting processing, and they are not in a hurry to do anything about it. This seems to be a case of death by paperwork," said Damsky, who has a son Noor's age.

Damsky said that at his request, aides to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton took up the case. Damsky said they learned that the FBI had approved Sabah's application. Another government security agency appears to be responsible for the delay.

A spokesman for the US Embassy in Amman confirmed that Noor's case was being processed but was unable to say when it would be approved.

Last month, the United States stopped recognizing S series Iraqi passports, saying they were not secure enough. The S series passport does not meet international security standards for issuance or design. Noor and her mother have an S series passport, but the embassy spokesman said they would not be affected since their application was submitted well before the change in US policy.