Creg Istre letter: Arrington's office a big help to Ukraine family

Too many times, politicians make the news in a negative way.

I would like to give a big thank-you to our local Congressman Jodey Arrington and his office, especially Regional Manager Jacob Walker.

My youngest son, Steele, and his wife (married December 2019) were living in her native Ukraine while going through the process of getting her a visa to travel to the U.S. Each step took months to complete.

When the threat of a Russian invasion became imminent a local friend, Jane Beard, suggested we contact Mr. Arrington’s office. We did and the paperwork was expedited immediately.

They were able to get the last two plane tickets to fly to Bucharest, Romania just two nights before the Russian tanks moved in. Since Mrs. Istre was 8½ months pregnant, time was of the essence.

While in Bucharest Mr. Arrington’s office worked with the embassy there to move things along very quickly. They were scheduled to fly to Abilene when baby Grace decided to arrive the morning before the flight!

Now there was more paperwork to complete before they could come to Abilene since Grace was a U. S. citizen born abroad in need of a passport.

Mr. Arrington’s office was in daily contact working with us throughout the whole procedure and was an immense help with the U. S. embassies in Romania and Ukraine.

Mr. Walker continually went above and beyond his duties before and after office hours to help my son with all of the documentation that had to be done. They finally arrived safely in Abilene on April 2.

Thank you Jodey Arrington and company for representing your constituents in Texas District 19 so well. We are eternally grateful. May God bless you in your continued work serving West Texas.

— Creg Istre, Abilene

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Creg Istre: Arrington's office a big help to Ukraine family