August 2009 Update

Client Story

In the spring of 2007, we met with a client from Malaysia named Tessa.  Her case, which is ongoing, has become one of the most intriguing and emotionally-wrenching we have seen.

As she began the initial intake interview with Tessa, our attorney Dominique learned that the client  had entered the country lawfully, but her visa had expired.  Her U.S. citizen husband had petitioned for Tessa's lawful permanent residency.

However, Dominique soon learned that the husband was in hospice.  In fact, Tessa revealed that he would likely die that very afternoon.  Dominique discontinued the interview and urged Tessa to go be with her husband.  Meanwhile, Dominique called Immigration to see whether the case could be expedited because of the husband's condition.  The approval from Immigration was urgent, because at the time a "widow penalty" existed whereby widows (or widowers) whose applications had not been approved could not continue to qualify for immigration benefits after the death of the U.S. citizen spouse. 

One of our volunteers visited the hospice that afternoon, but the husband had already passed away and Tessa had already left.  We phoned Immigration to tell them that they no longer needed to expedite the application.  The case was denied because the U.S. citizen, the petitioner, had died.  

However, the story took on an interesting twist.  A month later Tessa returned to complete her initial interview with Dominique.  Tessa was depressed and we were not optimistic that there was anything we could do to help.  Through this extended conversation, though, Dominique learned that Tessa had been abused by her late husband.  Tessa, understandably, was very reluctant to reveal any details about the abuse, but her experiences were corroborated by hospital nurses and social workers who had seen the bruises on her body and observed menacing and controlling behavior by the husband towards Tessa.  (One of the witnesses was a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit where their infant daughter had received care for several months.)  Learning about this experience was terrible, yet it also meant that Tessa would be eligible for immigration benefits through the Violence Against Women Act since the marriage had ended less than two years ago.  In order for us to submit the application, Tessa recounted the story of the abuse from her husband, whose death she was still mourning.

Dominique has been working extensively on Tessa's VAWA application, which has received a prima facia determination by Immigration, meaning that on its face it meets all the requirements for a VAWA case.  Last month, Dominique submitted an application for Tessa's work permit, which should be approved before November.  In the coming year we will find out whether her VAWA application is approved.   

Since we first met with Tessa over a year ago, the new administration has recognized the injustice in the "widow penalty."  The Attorney General has released a memo that extends benefits to widows and widowers of U.S. citizens.  Thus, even if Tessa's VAWA application is denied, this new policy could provide her protection here.

Client Email

Last week, our staff attorney Dominique received the following email from a client:

"Dominique, how are you doing? Hope you are busy as usual.  Well, I cannot express how Thankful I am for you and to Just Neighbors for helping me in the immigration applications.  I know that, many other women are in similar situations, and they are lucky to find yu.

If you need any assistantship work, or any work related to computers, please let me know.  I want to volunteer and be a part of such good work which you are extending to others.  Thank you."

Around the Office

Just Neighbors is moving into the 21st century by beginning the process of scanning all our files that have been closed for more than five years.  This has truly been an office-wide project.  Floris United Methodist Church donated the funds for the scanner.  Volunteer attorneys and interns are conducting the document review to determine which pages will actually be scanned and which will be shredded.  (Even if we had the capacity to store every page, most pages are so outdated that they would not be useful to the client at this point).  Other volunteers do the actual scanning and enter relevant client information into a database that was designed by our volunteer Bill Stuart.  This enables us to find any former client by name, date of birth, or country of origin.  Next, other volunteers conduct the audit of each scanned folder to ensure that every page that should have been scanned was done so properly.  Finally, the last set of volunteers shreds the file.

Why do we keep files after five years?  We sometimes receive calls from former clients who have lost their papers or who now have a way to apply for an immigration benefit; our copies of, say, a client's green card or a client's passport with a stamp showing a lawful entry can vastly decrease the waiting time for Immigration to issue a replacement document.  (It takes a year to obtain a copy of the client's file using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, our only access to a client's immigration file.  We have a new client who is an asylee wanting to apply for his green card.  Our application for the green card has been rejected twice by Immigration because we do not have the Approval Notice that shows that asylum was granted.  We have had to file a FOIA request to obtain the document from Immigration's own file before Immigration will accept our application!)   Also, if immigration laws change and require that undocumented immigrants must demonstrate continuous presence in the U.S. in order to gain a pathway toward citizenship, our records will help many former clients to demonstrate that presence to Immigration.  We expect this process to take about a year, as the scanning includes thousands of cases from 1996-2004, often several inches thick.

Keeping in Touch

Congratulations to former staff attorney and current Just Neighbors Board member Pallavi Rai Gullo and her husband Tom for the birth of their baby girl!  Also, congratulations to former staff attorney Debra Steigerwalt and her husband Oscar for their baby boy, born in July.  We also received word from former staff attorney Linda Johnson, who left Just Neighbors in February to join the Foreign Service, that she is in language school in Guatemala.  

Volunteer of the Month

Erin Segin, a college student, planned to spend her summer waiting tables and working at a small company located in our building.  Then she ran into our Legal Assistant, Nancy, in the elevator and learned about our work with the immigrant community.  Soon thereafter, Erin reduced her work hours at the company so she could volunteer 15-20 hours per week with us!  Erin, bilingual, has been a huge help on the phones and with the scanning project described above.  Thanks Erin!

Other

We received a check for $5 in the mail this month enclosed with the following handwritten letter:  "I firmly believe in your cause.  Though I don't have much to donate I do want to send what I can when I can.  At 77 years old, I can work only a few days a week.... Keep up your good work.  There are so many people out there who need you."