The people of Issaquah and Sammamish are rallying behind one local family which, despite many years as an integral part of this community, has been asked to leave the country.

The problem – a small change in the interpretation of immigration regulations.

Originally from Canada, the Gibson family of Rod, his wife Leah, and children Tessa and Connor, moved to the United States in 1999, several years after Rod started working in the U.S.

A lighting engineer who specializes in entertainment, such as concerts and events, Rod’s work visa was up for renewal in April.

According to his lawyer, it was denied because the U.S. immigration department is now interpreting the rules in a slightly different way than they had in the past.

Different enough that the Gibson’s have to be out of the country by the stroke of midnight on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Leah has been a long time volunteer at Issaquah Valley Elementary school with the PTA and is a leader for two girl scout troops in the area. She earned the Golden Acorn Award last year, the highest PTA honor given to teachers, parents and community members.

Since the news came through last week that the Gibsons would have to relocate to Canada immediately, friends of the school and those who have witnessed first-hand the generosity of the family have been doing all they can to find a way to keep them in Issaquah.

The office of Congressman Dave Reichert has been flooded with letters and e-mails from families in Issaquah, led by Issaquah Councilmember Maureen McCarry.

McCarry, who has volunteered at IVE with Leah, said it’s really tough to face the possibility that the community may lose the family.

“These people are incredible,” McCarry said. “This has just been a commotion and it’s an incredible thing to do to kids who are 7- and 9-years-old.”

Council candidate Tola Marts, who has worked with Leah in the IVE PTA for the last few years, described here as a “tireless advocate of both kids and education in our community.”

“They’ve shown their commitment to America,” Marts said. “It would be a senseless loss for Issaquah if Leah and Rod and their children are stripped from us now.”

For the Gibson family things really turned upside down this week.

“Many people say ‘oh Canada’s fabulous’ and it is, but it’s about choice,” said Leah. “It’s one of those things you wouldn’t think would be so hard and expensive, but it is.”

One of the silver linings in the situation both Rod and Leah said is that, luckily, Rod still has a job, as the company he works for is international and has offices in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Once upon a time he traveled a lot, on tour with bands through Europe and across the U.S. for various projects, sometimes being gone for a month or two.

But when the opportunity came to settle in Issaquah, where Rod could do work mostly for Microsoft, putting them closer to family in B.C., they took it.

“The irony is that even though he still has a job, the kids and I are going to my parents and we’re going to have to separate again for a while,” said Leah.

Leah and the kids will be headed to Princeton, B.C. while Rod stays to work in Vancouver, at least until they have a better idea of what is going to happen.

“We always knew it was a possibility, and we’ve had to wait and worry before, but it’s always worked out,” said Leah.

Rod said they’ve always tried to follow the rules, and teach their children the importance of doing so, which is what is making the whole situation so difficult.

On the very day that the family must leave the country, Tessa and Conner will go back to school – if only for one day.

Leah said Tessa, who will be starting the fourth grade, wanted to go to school, to see friends, so that is what they decided to do.

“We are trying to look at it as just another bump in the road, but it’s all of the little things,” said Leah.

While Rod is already on the Canadian company’s payroll, the Gibson’s can’t apply for health insurance because Canadian rules require living in the country for six months, and the hope is they won’t be there that long.

“INS moves at the speed they can, working with the small budget they have, but it’s agonizing to be left in limbo,” said Leah. “We are told our life needs to change and we have to accept it.”

She was ramping up to get started on this year’s PTA Reflection contest, for which she is the chair.

Now Leah must decide if she should hand the reigns over to someone else, or if she should try and manage as best she can from afar.

If things weren’t changing she would also be busy helping the Girl Scouts prepare for the Salmon Days parade, but now she’s not sure how things will play out.

Rod said one of the things he finds amazing about this whole process is that when he’s traveled through Europe on tours, because of the European Union, going from Germany to France no one checks passports or papers.

And those countries fought wars against each other.

But Canada and the U.S. which never have, require all this paperwork.

The family had considered having Rod’s mother, who is a U.S. citizen, sponsor them to get on the list for a green card, but for various reasons nothing has worked out.

If Rod’s mother sponsored them Rod wouldn’t be able to keep his job here, and for a while there was a 10 year waiting list with the immigration service to be considered.

“It’s funny how the politics and tone of the day really effects things. Before Sept. 11 it was so much different, and even the switch between Republican to Democrat you can see how things change,” said Leah.

The family contacted the Canadian consulate, but found they are very busy.

“Obviously, we’re not the only ones,” said Rod.

On Wednesday, after school, the family will make the trek to the boarder, with Rod going one way while Leah and the kids continue to head north to her family.

“We thought about trying to stay together, in Vancouver, but this is where home is,” Leah said, of Issaquah.

The Reporter this week got an e-mail from a neighbor of the Gibson family.

“I want to help in anyway that I can to keep the Gibsons here in Issaquah,” she wrote. “They are the most wonderful people and the best neighbors we have ever had.”

The Gibsons said while they don’t expect things to get sorted out in a week, or even a month, they are going to see where they are in three months and reevaluate the situation.

They had hoped to look into buying a house down here, once things became a little more permanent, but now that plan is on hold.

And because of the Olympic Games there in 2010, housing in Canada has gotten more expensive.

“It was a little bit of a shock for the kids,” said Rod. “So far they’ve been pretty good about it.”

While Connor and Tessa are excited to see their grandmother and be closer to cousins, Rod and Leah know it will probably be harder once they are there and can’t come back to school.

“They are excited, but it’s heartbreaking,” said Leah. “Their first question was ‘can we bring the guinea pigs?'”

Leah said a friend looked into it, and the animals are ok, so the guinea pigs get to travel with the family.

Earlier in the week they were busy packing and trying to sort through what they could before Wednesday, knowing it might be a while before anything is final. Both Rod and Leah hope it can be resolved quickly, but realize that even quickly may be a relative term.

“We know Wednesday we will be leaving,” said Rod on Monday morning, adding the earliest he expects to know anything probably won’t be until the end of September.

Until then its touch and go, knowing that normal for a while might be completely abnormal.