Employee shares emotional celebration with boss after asylum request approved
The joyous moment was a culmination of seven years of uncertainty.
When Bobo received a letter from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services with the results of his asylum application, he asked his boss Frank Fumich to open and read the letter.
After all, Fumich, the CEO of Express Catering, Inc., an airline catering company, had played a big role in his application, hiring an immigration lawyer to help Bobo seek asylum in the U.S.
Video from last April of Bobo and Fumich celebrating after learning Bobo's asylum request had been granted recently went viral after Fumich shared it on TikTok on Monday.
In the video, Fumich can be seen tearing up as he opens the letter, before both he and Bobo break into big grins.
"The first thing I see is it says 'Asylum Approval,'" Fumich says, before the two share a bear hug.
Bobo, who did not wish to share his last name, has been working for Fumich's company as a catering agent for the last three years, delivering catering supplies to aircraft at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Fumich told "Good Morning America" in an email that he felt compelled to help his employee three years ago after he asked him about his story and learned Bobo had left Cameroon and had been separated from his family for five years at the time.
"As a husband and father, I couldn't imagine being separated from my family for five years. And he was such a great worker and I appreciated him. I wanted to help him and knew he couldn't afford a lawyer on his own … so I offered to find one," Fumich wrote.
Seven months after he received his asylum approval, Bobo was able to reunite with his wife and daughter, who traveled to the U.S. from Cameroon. Fumich was there to witness their reunion at Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
"We were all nervous and excited," Fumich recalled. "It took his wife and daughter three hours to pass through U.S. Customs, so we were about to pull our hair out by the time they finally walked out! But their reunion went just like we imagined it would in a movie!"
Fumich said he hopes Bobo's story inspires people to help others where they can.
"I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to help. I hope people see this and try and pay it forward," Fumich wrote. "It certainly doesn't have to be as big as hiring lawyers and spending money … small acts of kindness can start as ripples and turn into tidal waves."
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