Dear Friends,

We are proud to announce that nineteen of our clients received their green cards this month!  Eighteen of them were refugees and one was an asylee; each is now on a track towards becoming a United States citizen, and each is very grateful.

Client Story

Over sixty percent of Just Neighbors’ clients are women, and they are usually mothers.  These mothers deal with the usual issues associated with poverty: housing, feeding their families, health care, transportation.  Because they have left their homelands, they often have an added dimension of hardship: separation from their children.  We do our best to help these splintered families get back together.

Just Neighbors has had the pleasant task in recent months to be the bearer of good news to some of our clients who are mothers.  Just Neighbors has been helping victims of domestic abuse secure temporary status in the United States with a “U visa”.  To be eligible for the immigration benefit, these women must have cooperated with law enforcement officials in the arrest or prosecution of their abuser.  For our typical client, the abuser is her husband or the father of her children.  Immigration recently issued “final” rules that apply to these women. The final rules offer these women a more permanent status.  This stability means they can bring the minor children that they left behind to join them in the United States.

Ten years ago, one of our clients, “Maria”, left her nine-year old boy with her mother.  She hoped that her son would join her in a few years, but that was not possible.  Maria has kept in steady contact with her child, has sent him money to support him and pay for his school, and even managed to visit him once.  Meanwhile, Maria was living with someone who abused her.  Maria broke out of the abuse and testified to convict her abuser.  Now, Maria’s son has been fingerprinted by the U.S. Embassy, which is a sign to us that the application is on track and he should join his mother within a few months.

Another client, “Mirna”, left her children in the care of her sister four years ago; the youngest was 18 months old.  Mirna left because she had no way to support her children and believed that it was possible to work in the United States and have them join her here.  After she arrived, she learned that her hopes for a new life were unfounded.   In addition, the man she fell in love with became abusive and trapped her in their “home.”   Mirna, a vivacious woman, was determined to survive.  She escaped from the abusive life and now her children, too, have received appointments for fingerprints at their U.S. Embassy.  Mirna focuses on the good, and can scarcely believe that she will soon see her “babies”.

Many other clients have similarly benefited from the stability this new law gives them.  They no longer face the question:  “What will I do if I am deported:  will I take my U. S. citizen children with me or will I leave them behind?”  Instead, these women will one day join our list of clients receiving green cards!

We are always buoyed when we receive approval notices for any client; we walk on clouds when the approval notice is for a mother, because we know that the family here will stay united and because we know that children abroad can now lawfully join their mothers!

Volunteer of the Month

Just Neighbors would like to honor Karen Arevalo as our Volunteer of the Month.  Karen just finished her internship with us through her undergraduate degree in Paralegal Studies at Marymount University.  She volunteered extra time with Just Neighbors, serving us for nearly 300 hours this semester.  Karen’s Spanish fluency, organization skills, and rapport with clients will truly be missed.  We wish her the best of luck as she begins a job in the real world for the City of Alexandria’s Social Services Department.

Around the Office

On April 12^th Just Neighbors held a community clinic at Grace United Methodist Church in Manassas.  Manassas, located about 35 miles west of DC, has a large immigrant population and is located in Prince William County, which recently adopted a law granting local police the authority to inquire about the immigration status of crime suspects.  Since the passage of this law there has been a growing need among undocumented and documented immigrants alike in the region for clarification of their options under immigration law.

Just Neighbors’ immigration attorneys, with the assistance of twelve volunteers from Grace UMC, assisted six clients with their immigration legal needs.  The clients came from Peru, Afghanistan, El Salvador, and elsewhere.  Just Neighbors seeks to become more accessible to immigrants in Manassas and other suburbs where there are few (if any) nonprofit immigration legal service providers.  We are appreciative of Grace UMC for hosting this clinic and look forward to a second one there in October.

Help make this an unforgettable Mother’s Day for an immigrant family by making a donation to Just Neighbors that will enable an immigrant family to be reunited.  If we receive your gift by May 5^th, we will send a card to your mother or another loved one, sharing with them that you have given a Mother’s Day donation to Just Neighbors in their honor.  Just let us know the name and address of the person who should receive the card and their relationship to you and mail it along with your donation to Just Neighbors at 716 S. Glebe Rd, Arlington, VA 22204.

Thank you,

Rob Rutland-Brown

Executive Director

Just Neighbors