Dear Friends,

As we roll into 2008, we reflect on a year of growth and increased services to the immigrant community.  We also welcome new beginnings… read on!

Client Story

By Allison Rutland Soulen 

“I have your mother’s green card,” I told our client this morning, “when would you like to pick it up?”  “RIGHT NOW!” Betel replied joyously.  This is no ordinary green card.  This is a green card that has been ten years in coming, even though it should have taken no more than one or two years. 
 
Betel, who works as a laundry attendant, came to the United States as a refugee in 1981.  She earned U.S. citizenship, and filed a family petition in 1998 so that her mother could join her here.  Betel believed that her mother was in Eritrea at the time, but in fact, the mother was being held in a camp by the Ethiopian government due to the ongoing conflict in that region.  The conflict obstructed communication between family members, so Betel was never certain of her mother’s whereabouts.  Similarly, the mother never knew of the petition Betel filed on her behalf.  By the time the approved petition reached the U.S. embassy in Ethiopia, the mother had made her way back to Eritrea.  The petition never reached the mother and was closed. 
 

In 2002, Betel’s mother managed to come to the United States using a tourist visa.  Betel filed another application with Immigration in 2002, to try once again to help her mother stay in safety with her family in the United States.  Betel and her mother had an interview with Immigration in 2004.  Unable to understand the delay in having her mother’s green card approved, Betel eventually sought help from Just Neighbors.  For almost three years, Immigration told Just Neighbors that the case was on track, but stalled by the FBI doing background checks on the 73 year old mother.  In June 2007, a sympathetic Immigration officer agreed to submit another request to the FBI; that new request was quickly approved and Immigration resumed processing the application.

Betel has been anxious to obtain documents that show that her mother is in the United States lawfully; since the mother’s tourist visa expired in 2002, she has been an “illegal alien.”   Life in the United States has been tolerable for the mother only because her daughters are here and there is no one at “home” in Eritrea.  Walking is painful for her, and she speaks not a word of English.  She yearns to visit her older sister, who lives in California, but has been afraid to travel without papers.  Today Betel is requesting time off so that she can escort her mother around their neighborhood now that the mother feels safe, and they are looking into flights to California.

Around the Office 

We are thrilled to welcome Dominique Poirier as a new full-time staff attorney.  Dominique served as a volunteer immigration attorney for four years at a nearby nonprofit organization and worked at the Public Defender’s office prior to that.  She is fluent in French and Italian and is proficient in Spanish.  She has already taken over several domestic violence cases and splits her time between our offices in Arlington and Herndon, where she spends her Thursdays.

We also welcome Karen Arevalo, our intern for the spring who will work 32 hours/week at the office.  Karen, fluent in Spanish, is completing her undergraduate degree in Business Law and Paralegal Studies at Marymount University.
 
In 2007, Just Neighbors served 488 clients with 593 different cases!  We are especially proud that we were able to increase the number of domestic violence cases, which are by far the most time-consuming, from 85 in 2006 to 109 in 2007, an increase of 28%.  In addition, our work with family unification cases rose from 198 in 2006 to 232 in 2007, an increase of 17%.
 
Perhaps the most striking increase was the number of refugees we helped this past year.  We served 6 refugee clients in 2004, 7 in 2005, 36 in 2006, and 62 in 2007!   The refugee communities from Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Iran, and elsewhere have appreciated the help and compassion of our attorneys and volunteers and have spread the word about our services.
 
In 2007, our clients came from 55 different countries.  29% were from Africa, 17% from Asia, 38% from Central America, 15% from South America, and 1% from Europe and North America.
 
In addition to these direct services, Just Neighbors’ staff of four conducted 63 educational presentations to over 4,000 community members in 2007, including church groups, government agencies, low-income housing residents, nonprofit organizations, and more.

Get Involved 

Just Neighbors has been working with a woman to apply for her green card.  She married a United States citizen, and after the couple had twins, the husband became abusive.  She is now living in a women’s shelter with her babies.  Although she could apply for a fee waiver for the green card application, we are concerned that Immigration would not process the waiver prior to the March deadline for her application. 
 
The cost for the application is $545.  She hopes to be out of the shelter and working soon, but has no money for the fee.  Just Neighbors has a small amount budgeted during the entire year for such filing fees, but we would appreciate any financial contribution you could make toward this woman’s application. 
 
Please consider sending a check—for any amount—to Just Neighbors at 716 S. Glebe Rd, Arlington, VA 22204 and writing “client fee” in the memo.  We will make sure it is directed toward her application or the application of a future client in a similar situation.  Thank you!

Volunteer of the Month 

We are proud to honor Mariana Hubbard as our Volunteer of the Month.  Mariana is a former veterinarian who recently received her certificate in Paralegal Studies from Marymount University.  She needed to complete just 24 hours of volunteer work for her certificate, but became hooked while at Just Neighbors and volunteered here 10 hours per week for nearly six months.  Mariana’s sense of humor (she entertained us with stories of  raccoons that kept breaking into her house) and willingness to help out with anything—from filing to answering phones to filling out Immigration forms-- made her a joy to have at the office.  Thank you Mariana!

Sincerely,
 
Rob Rutland-Brown
Executive Director