Client Story
Just Neighbors assisted over two hundred women and children last year who were the victims of domestic violence. However, for one client, Elvia, the abuse alone was not sufficient for gaining legal status in the United States. Elvia also became the victim of an armed robbery, which set things in motion for her to gain a U visa from Immigration.
Elvia fled to the United States with her daughter to escape her physically abusive husband. Though she had gone to the police back home, her attorney there informed her that since she had no broken bones, she did not have much of a case. Once in the U.S., she married and had two more children, who were U.S. citizens by virtue of their birth here.
However, this second husband also became abusive, withholding food from her and constantly berating her. She did not call the police about this abuse (so she was not eligible for a U visa) and since her husband had no papers either, she was not eligible to self-petition for legal status through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
One day as Elvia was returning home from work she was robbed at gunpoint by four teenagers. She called the police to report the incident and cooperated with them fully, meeting with authorities on several occasions to give precise descriptions of the four teenage guys who, it turned out, had committed similar crimes on other occasions. She recalled that her JC Penney's credit card was in her purse when it was stolen. The police were able to track the use of the card to a specific JC Penney's store and to get a copy of the security camera which identified all four perpetrators. Elvia then went to several court dates to testify. Assisting the police in this way was trying for Elvia, since in her home country testifying like this often resulted in retaliation by family members of the accused.
Based on Elvia's extensive cooperation with law enforcement, she qualified for a U visa. Just Neighbors staff and volunteers spent many hours compiling her case, hunting down court records, and doing all the translation work from Spanish to English to submit to Immigration. Elvia was also able to include her first daughter, Julia, on her application. After eight months of waiting, their application was approved by Immigration! Now Elvia can leave her abusive husband because she can work legally and provide for herself and her three daughters. Moreover, Julia, 15, will now be eligible to apply for a green card in time to receive financial aid for college.
Client Letter
(Received this month by our Director of Legal Services, Allison Rutland Soulen)
Dear Allison,
Thank you for all the wonderful job you did and Just Neighbors on my case. How can I find the right words to thank you. I am very happy to have my permanent resident it means the whole world to me. Thank you for putting all the effort and work. God bless you always.
2009 Totals
Just Neighbors had our most productive year in 2009, serving more clients than ever before. This past year, we assisted 673 clients with 827 cases, compared to 589 clients and 780 cases in 2008. This includes 330 family unification cases and 241 domestic violence cases. We also led 54 presentations about immigration laws and immigrant rights to over 3,000 community members at churches, shelters, low-income apartment complexes, government agencies, and schools.
These outcomes are due not only to the outstanding work of our staff attorneys, but also to the more than 150 volunteers throughout the community who helped in virtually every capacity imaginable. Our volunteers contributed over 6,400 hours to the organization, including more than 2,000 hours by pro bono attorneys.
In terms of country of origin, 41% of the clients came from North America (led by 136 clients from El Salvador), 23% from Africa, 18% from South America, 16% from Asia, and 2% from Europe. The countries represented for the first time this year included Cambodia, Austria, Georgia, Moldova, The Netherlands, and Poland. This puts our total at 110 countries since we started tracking in 2005.
Haitian Temporary Protected Status
Immigration has announced that Haitians who were in the United States when the earthquake hit the nation- January 12th- may be eligible to apply for Temporary Protected Status. This status will enable foreign nationals from Haiti who are in the United States to live here legally and work here lawfully throughout the duration of the status. Just Neighbors is assisting Haitians in the Northern Virginia area to apply for TPS, so please spread the word for anyone to call us at 703 979-1240 for help.
Volunteer of the Month
We would like to thank Bryce Chadwick for his outstanding volunteer work at Just Neighbors since October. Over the past three months, Bryce has assisted with U visa cases, translated for clients, and helped with a range of office projects. He left this week to join the ranks of the employed, but we are grateful for all he did at Just Neighbors.
