Dear Friends,

We would like to thank all of our supporters, friends, volunteers, and donors for a wonderful year at Just Neighbors.  Together we were able to serve hundreds of clients with all types of immigration legal matters, uniting families and changing lives in the process.  We look forward, with your help, to an even stronger 2008, as we expect to grow our staff, increase our budget, and work even harder to serve the low-income community of Northern Virginia.

Client Story

At a recent community clinic in our Arlington office, a woman from Syria, Betel, arrived late with her young boy.  A woman from a local church had given Betel a ride and also looked after the boy during the appointment. 

It turned out that the son’s father had naturalized and become a United States citizen.  In this particular case, since the son had a green card and his father is a citizen, the boy automatically had citizenship.  However, Betel did not know how to demonstrate this to government agencies so that the boy could access public benefits such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

Dear Friends,
 
Although the focus of Just Neighbors’ work is to provide immigration legal services to low-income immigrants, our clients sometimes have other challenges that are not directly related to immigration law but that intersect and can make life difficult for them.  An example that we have encountered regularly this year is the difficulty many of our clients face in obtaining a driver’s license through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).  Our client story this month illustrates how our role as immigration attorneys for our clients sometimes enables us to serve them in other pressing matters.
Client Story 

Siti, a refugee from Sierra Leone, came to Just Neighbors for help in applying for his green card.  He already had legal status in the U.S., but a green card has many advantages including enabling him to eventually apply for citizenship.  When our staff attorney Linda Johnson met with Siti, she learned that he had been told by various Virginia DMV offices that he could not obtain a driver’s license even though he was eligible.  Driving without a license is a criminal offense so having a license is important for immigrants. 
 

Dear Friends,

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and it is only fitting that we share a success story about a client who experienced domestic violence.  Just Neighbors gets calls from shelters and from victims everyday needing assistance.  The majority of these immigrant women (and men, occasionally) have nowhere to turn for immigration legal help with their situation.  They do not know their options and are scared of what lies ahead.  We seek to inform them, assist them through a difficult process, and provide them with some hope for the future.  As the calls for help among victims of domestic violence continue to escalate, we are hopeful that this is not a sign of an increased prevalence of abuse but rather of a growing awareness among the immigrant community that there may be options and that Just Neighbors can be a source for help.

Client Story

Sue came to Just Neighbors in November 2006 in a desperate state.  She had entered into an arranged marriage in her home country of Indonesia the year before.  She had then come to the United States with her husband, who was from the U.S., on a conditional green card.  This means that as long as the couple could demonstrate to Immigration that the marriage was legitimate, she could eventually receive a permanent green card. Sue was nervously excited about coming to the United States with her husband; she held high hopes for their lives together.  However, three months after her arrival here, Sue’s husband began to abuse her.  The majority of the abuse was psychological and verbal, which made her case harder to prove to Immigration.

Dear Friends,

We hope everyone is well.  Here’s a recap of our September at Just Neighbors.

Client Story

“That’s twenty dollars too much,” I told Jose as he handed me $70 for his appointment with Just Neighbors to renew his Temporary Protected Status.

“I know,” replied Jose.  “But I want to donate $20 to help someone who can’t afford the fee.”  I was touched, considering Jose himself was low-income and he supported his family back in El Salvador.

Just Neighbors has helped Jose renew his TPS for several years, enabling him to continue to have lawful status and authorization to work in the United States.  This work authorization is significant for Jose because it allows him to maintain his job as a Maintenance Supervisor at an elementary school in Fairfax County.