Family of Sick NJ Girl Fights Visa Denial

An immigration attorney is trying a new tack in a bid to help a New Jersey girl receive a life-saving bone marrow transplant from her sister in El Salvador.

Attorney Mariam Habib says 5-year-old Yarelis Bonilla needs a bone marrow transplant and her sister is the only match. But so far the U.S. government has denied a visitor visa that would let the sister stay up to three months.

Habib says the family is now applying for a humanitarian visa that would allow the sister to travel to New Jersey strictly for the transplant.

Bonilla was born in the U.S. and both her parents live here. Her sister lives with the girls' grandmother in El Salvador.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately return a message seeking comment.