The frustrating case of the Chinese writer who can't get a break:

The accomplishments of Yiyun Li, a Chinese national now living in California, are extraordinary. Enough to support her bid for permanent residency in the United States and then some. So far, however, Ms. Li's greatest challenge seems to lie in persuading the federal bureaucracy.

A native of Beijing, Ms. Li, 33, came to this country in pursuit of a graduate degree in immunology. She enrolled at the University of Iowa, where she signed up for an adult-education class in writing.

Something happened. In English, Ms. Li discovered a medium for expressing ideas and emotions inaccessible to her native tongue. Chinese, she said, has become too riddled by habits of repression and secrecy to provide a clear voice.

Ms. Li set aside her goal of a doctorate in immunology. Instead, she enrolled in the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she earned master's degrees in fiction and creative nonfiction.

Today she teaches at Mills College in Oakland, Calif., where she has accepted a tenure-track position. She has had stories published in The New Yorker and Paris Review. Her first book, "A Thousand Years of Good Prayers," a collection of short stories, attracted strong critical acclaim. In September, "A Thousand Years of Good Prayers" won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award.

Ms. Li holds a temporary visa to live in the United States. She wants to become a permanent resident. Her application to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in August 2004 had to convince authorities that she was an artist of "extraordinary ability." She submitted testimonials from some of the world's most prominent literati, including novelist Salman Rushdie, New Yorker magazine editor David Remnick and novelist Elinor Lipman.

Somehow, immigration authorities weren't impressed; they rejected Ms. Li's application, dismissing it as "not persuasive." She is appealing.

Clearly, she's an extraordinary candidate.