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Dear Friends,
Throughout August Just Neighbors has been preparing to move our main office, a process that has been both exciting and stressful. Our month has been filled with packing boxes, purging file cabinets, dealing with utility companies, and letting Immigration know that we have a new address for each of our hundreds of clients. Amidst this chaos and anticipation, we pause to celebrate the success story of a long-time client seeking to go to college.
Client Story
During a Just Neighbors clinic several years ago, four immigration attorneys sat around with open treatises before them; they were trying to determine what could be done to help the client down the hall. Finally they all agreed that they could not figure it out that night, and the main volunteer attorney told the client, through a translator, that we would be back in touch with her.
The client did have a complicated case. The man was a refugee from Ethiopia; he had his green card already. He had tried to bring his son “Mohamed” as a refugee as well, but the process seemed to be dragging. In the meantime, he married a United States citizen. The wife wanted to do all that she could to help, so she petitioned for Mohamed– now her step-son. When Mohamed, a teenager, entered the United States, he was given a “conditional green card” – it was conditioned on the marriage between the parents lasting two years. (This “condition” on marriages is designed to help prevent sham marriages and marriage fraud.) The marriage did not last two years.
Just Neighbors attorney Allison Rutland Soulen finally came up with a plan of action, and we filed an application to remove the conditions on the green card. That was two years ago. In the meantime, Mohamed studied hard. He started his high school career with C’s and B’s, but maintained straight A’s his final two years. He received a scholarship to the The College of William & Mary -- but the university wanted more than a now-expired conditional green card to show his proper immigration status.
The client had an interview with the local Immigration office in June. During the interview, Allison explained the college situation to the interviewing officer. The officer was friendly and said she understood, but she also indicated that she believed that Allison had checked the wrong boxes on the application form. She said she needed to check with her supervisors.
Allison was worried that the process would have to be started all over again, and this summer seemed to slip away with no word from Immigration. When the client’s father called Allison during the second week of August, Allison answered the phone reluctantly: Allison had no news to convey. But the father had good news! He exclaimed that the interviewing officer had just telephoned to say that the green card would be approved! The officer had indeed remembered the college plans and wanted the client to know as soon as possible.
Mohamed left for Williamsburg on Saturday. We wish him all the best, and know that he will have the opportunities to achieve much with the great talents he possesses.
Around the Office
As many of you have heard, Just Neighbors is moving this weekend after eight years at Arlington United Methodist Church. We have appreciated the support of this church, which has enabled us to grow and helped us to take this next step as an organization. We are excited that the larger, newer space will enable us to host more volunteers and serve more clients. We hope you’ll visit!
Please note that the new address is:
5827 Columbia Pike
Suite # 320
Falls Church, VA 22041
Volunteer of the Month
Lee Evans volunteered at Just Neighbors two summers ago then headed off to finish college and work at a nonprofit in the Caribbean. However, over the past year Lee has been a key volunteer for us from the Dominican Republic, translating letters and documents from Spanish into English that we send her on-line. We are grateful that her passion for serving immigrants has only grown through her experiences abroad. Thank you Lee!
Get Involved
Just Neighbors is once again participating in Macy’s Shop For A Cause. For $5, you can purchase a card from Just Neighbors that will get you 10%-20% off Macy’s merchandise on September 20th. Just Neighbors makes $5 for each card sold. If you would like to buy a card or, better yet, take several cards and help us sell them to friends or colleagues, please contact me.
We are looking for a volunteer with some carpentry skills who can help install some cabinets at our new office. Please contact Rob at
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or (703) 979-1240 if you might be able to help.
Donate Now
Sincerely,
Rob Rutland-Brown
Executive Director |
