Philadelphia Union head coach Piotr Nowak attacked reports of midfielder Keon Daniel having immigration problems yesterday at his press conference, saying that "they need to get the facts straight."
Nowak went on to say, "the front office cannot redo a visa. I heard about this ‘source close to the player' thing and it's completely false and I think it would be best if someone checked with our staff and not to speculate on something that's not true."
Chris Vito, of the Delaware County Times (Delco Times), writes Nowak said, "to call the MLS Players Union representative and ask them about it," in regard to when Daniel will play again.
Contrary to what Nowak's abrasive response to reports about Daniel's status stated, an article from the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation's Media Official shows that the team is not only fully aware of the situation, but also that Daniel is having visa issues.
"Daniel's agent Andre Fortune said [the] Union's immigration attorney was assisting in the player's visa problem (which prevented him from playing for the club last weekend) and the TTFF may be asked for assistance."
The Brotherly Game talked to a worker with a private company that works extensively with US Citizenship and Immigration Services, who explained what is possibly happening in Daniel's visa situation:
"Assuming no violations, 15-30 days, though MLS probably has enough pull to cut that down. If a correction, USCIS has 30 days to rule. [However], if he's back in the US it indicates they requested a correction, [which is a] minimum of 21 days."
Based on the September 9 reports by both Philly Soccer Page and Kerith Gabriel, of the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com, the earliest return date for Daniel would be either September 24 or 30.