Nika officially earns a spot on the Seattle opening day roster

[oldude]

The infamous Youtuber "Back2sports" has already posted a video admitting he was wrong about Nika, which I will not post, for reasons I will not discuss.

I wonder how much input Sue Bird had on the decision to keep Nika. And I am not inferring that she did not make it on her own.

I suspect that Sue never said a word to Noelle Quinn about who should be on the final roster. However, now that Nika’s made the team I would not be surprised if Sue reached out to Nika to let her know that she is available to talk anytime. After all, who knows more about playing pg in the W than Sue Bird?

 

[cgshuskie]

Congratulations to Nika. I didn't think she could make it because I didn't think she shot well enough. But she proved me so wrong.
Demonstrates that hard work overcomes all. Congrats!!!!!

 

[hoopsfan22]

Congrats, Nika! Geno was right about her making the team.

 

[RoadMaster]

 

[MSGRET]

I hope the Indiana game is on TV, can't wait to see a rematch of Nika and Clark. Wonder if they will catch CC stating "will someone get that #1 out of my face!"

 

[Urshurak]

Never any doubt!!!!

Congrats Nika! Go kick some a..!!!!!

 

[huskeynut]

Geno is right again. Every team needs someone like Nika!!!!!!

I had no doubts. When Nika steps on the court, she is in charge. That's the way she played her 4 years at UConn. She'll play that same way for the Storm.

Go Nika. Show the WNBA what a take charge PG looks like and plays like.

 

[psconn]

Owning it...

 

[LAWDAWG]

If you doubted her then you really weren’t paying attentions. Lots of experts on the WWW.

 

[gold2323]

YES

 

[Geew1992]

Paige should not quit her day job

 

[hoopsfan22]

Paige should not quit her day job

It was a joke

 

[Geew1992]

It was a joke

Yes I know. She was making a poem

 

[FormerCTrez]

Slime sisters for life!!

 

[donalddoowop]

With all the players that UConn has placed in the W, I don’t think there’s ever been a Husky that’s created more excitement on making a pro roster than Nika.

That is probably because she seemed the least likely to even get drafted and did not appear to have all the tools needed to be a WNBA player. All who thought that way were obviously wrong.

 

[FormerCTrez]

Each team must have a minimum of 11 players but no more than 12. It all comes down to how you allocate your salaries to fit under the hard salary cap in the W.

Thanks for the clear explanation.

 

[RoadMaster]

 

[oldude]

For what it’s worth, Nika can not play tonight in the season opener because she is still waiting for her work visa to be approved……

 

[Audi1954]

For what it’s worth, Nika can not play tonight in the season opener because she is still waiting for her work visa to be approved……

I‘ve never heard of this happening before. Anyone have any more on this? How long does it take to get a work visa?

 

[oldude]

I‘ve never heard of this happening before. Anyone have any more on this? How long does it take to get a work visa?

So I just looked it up. A green card, allowing an immigrant to work in the US can take up to a year or more. However, it can, and presumably in Nika’s case, is being expedited through the US Citizenship and Immigration Service, which expedites work visas on a case by case basis. So Nika’s ability to play basketball in the WNBA is currently in the hands of a government bureaucracy…..

 

[Audi1954]

So I just looked it up. A green card, allowing an immigrant to work in the US can take up to a year or more. However, it can, and presumably in Nika’s case, is being expedited through the US Citizenship and Immigration Service, which expedites work visas on a case by case basis. So Nika’s ability to play basketball in the WNBA is currently in the hands of a government bureaucracy…..

Yikes! I wonder why this did not happen to Aailayah Edwards and the Mystics? Or Dorka when she graduated?

 

[packwrap]

Yikes! I wonder why this did not happen to Aailayah Edwards and the Mystics? Or Dorka when she graduated?

Canada has an easier deal than other countries. Hungary and Croatia both in European Union now, so that process can't be too bad, and would be the same as for Dorka.

The biggest reason for this issue is really just the fast turnaround between final 4, draft and start of play.

On April 1, Nika probably was only worried about UConn and going home to play in Europe. Now only 6 weeks later, she needs a new visa.

 

[Audi1954]

Canada has an easier deal than other countries. Hungary and Croatia both in European Union now, so that process can't be too bad, and would be the same as for Dorka.

The biggest reason for this issue is really just the fast turnaround between final 4, draft and start of play.

On April 1, Nika probably was only worried about UConn and going home to play in Europe. Now only 6 weeks later, she needs a new visa.

Hopefully it can be expedited. What a shame.

 

[mudblood]

Welcome to the USA... A country built by immigrants (more than 97% of the current population are immigrants or descendants thereof) but which has been making it increasingly difficult for foreigners to live and work in it.

Nika will be able to play regular games in the W once she has a valid visa allowing her to "work" (earn $$), which could be one of several categories: H, E, O, P (with subcategories). AFAIK, the WNBA does not sponsor the most common employment-based work visa (H-1B). On the other hand, she does not need green card status offered by the E visas, which take a long time to process. My guess is that she is waiting for an O-1 (reasonably quick). I am sure the Storm front office is quite versed in this situation (duh!). We just need to wait.

 

[Skeets]

Welcome to the USA... A country built by immigrants (more than 97% of the current population are immigrants or descendants thereof) but which has been making it increasingly difficult for foreigners to live and work in it.

Nika will be able to play regular games in the W once she has a valid visa allowing her to "work" (earn $$), which could be one of several categories: H, E, O, P (with subcategories). AFAIK, the WNBA does not sponsor the most common employment-based work visa (H-1B). On the other hand, she does not need green card status offered by the E visas, which take a long time to process. My guess is that she is waiting for an O-1 (reasonably quick). I am sure the Storm front office is quite versed in this situation (duh!). We just need to wait.

100% of the USA are immigrants or descendants thereof, including native Americans who beat everyone else here by about ~15,000 years.

Someone is going to have to explain to me why someone who breaks the law and crosses over illegally can be permitted to work, but someone (like our beloved Nika) who does everything correctly, obtains a real visa, now has to jump through hoops (no pun intended) to work. Is something off here?

 

[oldude]

So my best guess on Nika’s situation is that the Storm have to provide documentation to the USCIS confirming Nika’s employment status, which was not fully settled until Monday afternoon. The USCIS then had to expedite the approval to get Nika on the court, which apparently didn’t happen in time for the game on Tuesday night.

Considering that there are so many other foreign players in the W where this issue was not a problem, somebody clearly dropped the ball on this one. Hopefully, everyone involved can get their act together by Friday night when the Storm are on the court again vs the Lynx.

 

[CL82]

So I just looked it up. A green card, allowing an immigrant to work in the US can take up to a year or more. However, it can, and presumably in Nika’s case, is being expedited through the US Citizenship and Immigration Service, which expedites work visas on a case by case basis. So Nika’s ability to play basketball in the WNBA is currently in the hands of a government bureaucracy…..

I'm reminded of the nine words that president Reagan thought were the most frightening in the English language:

"I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

 

[BBallF]

For what it’s worth, Nika can not play tonight in the season opener because she is still waiting for her work visa to be approved……

Terrible news but thanks for the heads up. Hopefully this will be rectified immediately.

 

[Urshurak]

The Seattle storm website has her on the injured list. Not sure what that's about?

 

[Ozimoto]

Having been involved with getting work visas for employees who were making the transition from student to worker, there is a process that needs to be worked through. Everything has to be done correctly on the application or it becomes a protracted process of corrections, resubmissions, etc. The epitome of bureaucratic red tape.