{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hinson.house.gov/media/press-releases/icymi-dubuque-priests-return-their-parishes-after-months-long-visa-delays", "ICYMI: Dubuque Priests Return to Their Parishes After Months-Long Visa Delays", "2026-08-18", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "IA", "Ashley Hinson", "H001091", "hinson.house.gov", "hinson", "https://hinson.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 After months of uncertainty, three priests serving the Archdiocese of Dubuque have received renewed visas, allowing them to return to serving their parishes and communities across Northeast Iowa.\n\nAmong them is Rev. Stephen Audu, a Nigerian priest who had been unable to serve at Church of the Nativity for seven months while waiting for his religious worker visa to be renewed. His absence was deeply felt by parishioners who had come to know and rely on him.\n\nAfter hearing about the delays, Congresswoman Ashley Hinson\u2019s office worked closely with the priests and the Archdiocese of Dubuque over several months, repeatedly engaging with the federal government and pushing for answers until the cases were resolved. Audu\u2019s visa was approved last month, and two other priests serving the Archdiocese also received renewed visas.\n\n\u201cNow he can get back to doing what he\u2019s really great at, which is being a parish priest. He\u2019s very approachable. He cared for all of us at Nativity.\u201d\n\n\u2014 Perry Mason, head of the Church of the Nativity parish council\n\n\u201cWe are grateful and appreciate the advocacy of Representative Hinson and her staff.\u201d\n\n\u2014 Deacon John Robbins, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Dubuque\n\n\u201cThese priests mean so much to the parishes and people they serve, and months of bureaucratic delays meant communities were left without them. When we heard what was happening, we worked alongside the Archdiocese, kept pushing for answers, and didn\u2019t let up until we got this resolved. I\u2019m thrilled Father Audu and these priests can get back to doing what they do best \u2014 serving Iowans.\u201d\n\n\u2014 Congresswoman Ashley Hinson\n\nRead the full story from the Telegraph Herald here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-19T05:29:02Z", "2026-08-19T05:30:24Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hinson.house.gov/media/press-releases/icymi-dubuque-priests-return-their-parishes-after-months-long-visa-delays"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5481566078960896, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}