"Once you submit your papers and passport, along with the visa fee - which is by the way non-refundable and ridiculously priced - there's normally a 15-working day period after which you are called back to pick up your passport and your visa which you may or may not get, " he said.

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Ms. James had a staffer from the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor federation, in her office all day Friday working to drum up marchers from non-AFGE locals.

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