Joabe Barbosa feared he might be forced to return to Brazil after a visa scare threatened to cut short his run across Chicago streets. After Roosevelt University arranged for him to teach and continue his coursework, he says he can stay in the U.S. through 202
For more than 400 days, Joabe Barbosa has been out on the streets of Chicago, mapping the city one run at a time. The last leg—what he calls his final lap—is now set.
Barbosa. a Roosevelt University graduate student who moved to Chicago in 2022 on an F-1 visa. is preparing to complete his journey next month with a run down Michigan Avenue from Oak Street to Ida B. Wells Drive on June 14. He said he didn’t know how long he’d be allowed to stay in the United States when he began. Now, he’ll finish with Chicago still under his feet.
Two weeks ago, Barbosa learned he would be able to remain in the U.S. through 2028 after Roosevelt University arranged for him to teach undergraduate classes while continuing his coursework. The change came after a period of uncertainty that began when he faced the possibility of being forced to return to Brazil following an internship problem during his final year.
Barbosa is pursuing a doctorate degree in clinical psychology at Roosevelt University. He said that after going unmatched for an internship during his final year. he was suddenly at risk of losing the path that kept him in the country. Since then. he has kept running through Chicago’s neighborhoods for more than 400 days. building an audience as he went—gaining more than 50. 000 followers across TikTok and Instagram.
The visa scare also drew in the people who helped him keep going. Barbosa said the thousands who tracked his progress offered proposals and even attempts to reshape his future life in Chicago. He said his inboxes were flooded with close to 500 marriage proposals and several offers for his adoption.
His mom, he said with a laugh, refused.
“The people of Chicago were definitely very helpful in providing me so many opportunities. And just knowing that, if it didn’t work out, I had so many people to depend on,” Barbosa said.
That support, he said, came at the same time as the financial strain of being an international student. Barbosa said his family has taken on debt to help cover the cost of his education. He also said Roosevelt University gave him financial support that helped offset the burden on his family so he could continue his studies.
Barbosa described the city as a network of backup homes—one that he said he hadn’t expected to need when he set out. He said he probably has someone from every one of the Chicago neighborhoods he could stay with for a year for free.
Now, with the new authorization set through 2028, his final run is no longer shadowed by the same question of whether he would be allowed to remain. After the Michigan Avenue stretch on June 14, Barbosa said the point won’t just be distance, but what he believes he found along the way.
“Truly, after this last lap, it’ll show how much community and how much love there is for people here and how much love there is for people that truly embrace Chicago,” Barbosa said.
There is a sequence to how this story ended up in motion: a visa decision tied to an internship outcome. a continued commitment to running across the city. and then a late pivot through Roosevelt University that kept the plan alive through 2028. What began as a personal attempt to cover every street in Chicago now ends with a clear finish line—and a life that. at least for now. remains rooted in the same neighborhoods where he started.
Chicago Roosevelt University visa F-1 clinical psychology international student TikTok Instagram Michigan Avenue Joabe Barbosa