The Story from American Public Media

Immigrating to the U.S.

Tuesday, February 26 2008 | Send to a friend

Immigrating to the U.S.

Rodolfo Acevedo

Against the backdrop of the ongoing immigration debate, four new U.S. Citizenship & Immigration buildings are being built in Florida. The lead architect for the new structures knows what it's like to pass through one of these centers because he's an immigrant himself.

Rodolfo Acevedo was a trained architect when he immigrated to the U.S. from Argentina. But the only work he could find was at a restaurant. So he would show his portfolio to architects who were eating at the restaurant. He eventually landed a job as a gopher in one firm. Rodolfo worked his way up the ladder and is now a principal at the same firm.

Rendering of a new U.S. Citizenship & Immigration building - more >>

Rodolfo's ideas for the new immigration center come directly from his own experiences. The new center will include play rooms for the children, an internet café, and lots of work space to keep the staff comfortable.

• Find out more about Rodolfo's work
• View computer renderings of the new U.S. Citizenship & Immigration buildings designed by Rodolfo

Music heard in this story: The 28th President by Steve Rapson for the album Patriotic Guitar

Listener Follow Up: Insurance Rescission

Terence Kelley

Dick recently talked to Patsy Bates, a woman who had her health insurance policy rescinded after she had cancer surgery. She sued her insurer and has just been awarded $9 million in compensation and damages. Terence Kelley heard our interview last week with Patsy Bates and decided to contact us.

Terence spent many years working for insurance companies and was responsible for thousands of insurance contract rescissions. Later, he switched careers and helped consumers who thought their insurance had been unfairly rescinded.

He talks to Dick about what being on both sides taught him about the insurance industry.