Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Potpourri
Today is Saturday and I will be occupied most of the day attending a writer’s workshop. The schedule includes a brief meeting with a literary agent to get an opinion on a couple of writing samples. I’ve chosen two blogs to take with me. I don’t know what to expect other than to hope she has some pearls of wisdom for me, and to not take personally any negative words that may emerge from our meeting.
Most of the day will be spent on how to get published with the help of a literary agent. Both books that I have written were self-published, meaning that there was no agent involved in the process. The first book I wrote on the Psalms was produced through a small outfit called BookBaby. My writing buddy, Sheila, and I used Kindle Direct Publishing for “Kaleidscope Diaries”. One thing I want to find out today is whether or not I really own the right to send the manuscript to an agent for wider distribution.
On a much different note, this week held immigration victories at my workplace. One client got her replacement green card. Another young man passed his citizenship test and will soon be sworn in. And a client with a complex case that went bad received a different immigration benefit. If at first you don’t succeed…
The client I am referring to is a victim of domestic violence. She came here from Haiti to marry a US Citizen. Not long after her arrival, marital bliss turned into a marital nightmare. Ultimately she left him and has been in a DV shelter for almost three years. I filed a VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) visa case which has been pending for almost three years. Immigration has made us jump through many hoops and despite an initial approval, arbitrarily decided to deny her whole case. We are appealing.
I decided to file for a different immigration benefit for her. It is called TPS, or Temporary Protected Status. What this means is that certain countries are designated as unsafe, perhaps due to civil war, or an environmental disaster. Citizens of those countries can apply for what amounts to a safe haven benefit. What TPS does is protect its holders from deportation, and grant a temporary work card. Generally, TPS lasts for 2 years and can be renewed as long as the country in question remains hazardous.
Currently the Secretary of Homeland Security has designated 16 countries whose citizens are eligible to apply for TPS. These include Afghanistan, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Venezuela and, fortunately for my client, Haiti. When we got the denial letter for her VAWA case I asked her if she wanted to apply for TPS. She is brave and determined to stay here and raise her two boys – one of whom was born here and is a US Citizen. She agreed.
We filed her case in November. Knowing the glacial pace that USCIS moves at, I did not expect to hear anything for 6 months at least. I went online last week to check her case and the notice said that her TPS work card had been approved. Yesterday I got her work card and her social security card, and she is now a TPS recipient.
I met her in the lobby of our building to give her the precious items. Now she can find a job, find an apartment, and continue to get services for her autistic youngest son. She is over the moon happy. But when we saw each other we both teared up. I don’t always hug my clients unless they ask for it, but this occasion merited a big hug. As my boss put it, this is exactly why we do this work.