Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
It’s December what???
Since it was January 2023 just a few days ago, I am wondering what happened to February through November? Am I the only person who is astonished that December is here and only 31 days separate us from 2024?
2023 has been an interesting year. I have no complaints about my health except for a nasty and prolonged cough in April. Jan, however, has faced both cancer and diabetes, about as serious as it can get. Her lung surgery was very successful and her experience with diabetes has been life-affirming. She is still in Florida enjoying her new found independence and will be gone at least another week. I can’t find enough words to express my gratitude for this turn of events.
Yesterday I got some good news at work. My boss sent a request to promote me to “Senior Paralegal”, and the promotion has gone through. This changes nothing about my job responsibilities, but it is acknowledgement of the last eight years of learning and practicing immigration law. If it had not been for the two attorneys who mentored, educated and encouraged me, I would not have been able to do this work. And the beauty is, there is still a lot left to learn. There are people out there who will continue to benefit from the work done in the Immigration Law Program.
This last Wednesday there was a positive outcome to a citizenship interview for one of my clients. Even though he waited to the last minute to admit that he has gotten three traffic tickets in the last three years, we gathered enough evidence of his having taken care of the tickets to satisfy the USCIS officer. When I go to these interviews I sit quietly behind my client while the interview takes place and do not speak unless spoken to. As each question is asked I silently think the answer really hard and send it a few feet to my client. If there is a long pause in the interview while the officer enters things into their computer, I think positive thoughts and send them to the officer. Anyway, this victory comes on the heels of three citizenship refusals and the need to schedule second interviews. The clients in question each have a medical reason to be granted a waiver from taking the exam, and in each case the officer was not happy with what their doctor had documented. It’s impossible to predict the outcome in these cases.
Yesterday I opened the second case of a young teenager who had an unexpected and unwanted sexual encounter, resulting in a crime being filed with the police. The girls and their family members are entitled to apply for a special visa for victims of a crime who cooperate with the police in catching the perpetrator. The benefit holds a very mixed blessing: the approval process for the visa takes 5 to 6 years. The only immediate benefit is some protection from deportation for the victims. After a number of years, though, the victims can apply for a green card. The chances of me being in my position for at least 8 more years are slim. I will do my best to submit the best case possible for whoever will be their next legal practitioner.
Proving again that good customer relationships are crucial in any job, I was able to get a very helpful referral from a representative in the County Juvenile Court. We have worked hard together on one of my teenagers’ cases. The second case took place in the city of St. Louis, notoriously poor at completing required documentation. My contact in the county reached out to her counterpart in the city and, bingo!, the documentation will be submitted and signed by the prosecutor in this case. That is practically unheard of in this city.
Today I say welcome December, 2023. Would you mind slowing your days’ passage so life can be enjoyed at a relatively leisurely pace? The grandsons are coming for Christmas and I would like to make the best of the time they are here…