"The American Visa" tells the story of Artan Pojani, an Albanian shaped by an isolated past and the fragile hope that followed the fall of communism. While many around him dream only of escape, Artan believes his purpose lies at home—to bring dignity and value to his family and community. Once a math teacher, he carries the weight of a harsh childhood, marked by the loss of his father in a coal mine accident and the burden of obligations imposed by rigid tribal traditions. Yet through perseverance, he rebuilds his life, finding success as a beekeeper and achieving a quiet prosperity without ever leaving Albania.
Despite this, the dream of America never leaves him. He applied to the green card lottery (Diversity Visa Program), but was not selected. Years later, when he finally gathers the means to apply for a visa, his request is denied without explanation. The rejection leaves him suspended between disbelief and quiet despair, as he questions why the country he admired from afar remains closed to him.
A chance encounter with an Albanian-American who emigrated in the 1990s shatters everything he thought he knew. Artan learns that he had, in fact, won the green card lottery—but never appeared to claim it. What seemed like fate now reveals itself as something far more bitter: a lost opportunity buried in silence.
From this moment, the story deepens. Together with his friend Pandi Pllaha, a former construction engineer disillusioned by the times, Artan begins to confront the corruption and moral decay spreading through Albanian society. Their search for truth and justice places them in quiet opposition to a system built on greed and compromise, and the cost of that resistance proves devastating.
At its core, the novel is a powerful meditation on hope, disillusionment, and the true meaning of freedom. It tells a story rarely spoken—that freedom is not granted by chance or geography, but earned through the courage to resist injustice and stand against corruption, no matter the cost.