Written by Staff Attorney, Eva Marie Carney
Last week I accompanied one of our long time clients to her naturalization interview. She passed the interview and then we excitedly discussed with the USCIS officer the possibility of her taking her citizenship oath soon so she could register to vote. The officer left us to check the oath ceremony list and returned with the great news that there was an opening on Tuesday, October 13, 2020. Our client was able to take the oath that day – the last day to register to vote in Virginia – and with the help of the LOWV and the NAACP, whose volunteers were onsite to register new citizens, immediately registered to vote.
When we walked out of USCIS after her naturalization interview, Jordy P. turned to me and said “Just Neighbors changed my life.” Cynthia (working with Dominique), one of our long-time volunteers, was the first Just Neighbors volunteer to assist our client – in 2013 she worked with our client to apply for her green card. Last year I helped her with her naturalization application, when I was a volunteer (working with Dominique) but was able to accompany her to her interview as a full-fledged Just Neighbors staff member.