Skip to main content

Visa strikes sour note for UW piano tuner

It doesn’t take much: A single note can turn a major key into a minor key, or vice versa.

These days, Baoli Liu, the head piano tuner at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is hoping to hear the one note that could turn his sad story into a happy one.

A native of mainland China, Liu first came to the United States sponsored by the Chinese government and received a U.S. visa that required him to return to his homeland for two years if he ever chose to stay and apply for green card. That day has arrived, but with a Catch-22: Going home to keep his job will mean losing his job.