A New Citizen’s Journey

03/05/2022

Lynn Murphy Mark

Yesterday morning I made my way to the towering Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse in downtown Saint Louis. Ordinarily I have no good reason to make my way into the heart of the city, except for Cardinals baseball games, (that’s a whole different blog), but it was a special day. One of my Immigration clients was scheduled to attend an Oath Ceremony, where she would raise her right hand and pledge to willingly do what is required of her as a new citizen of these United States.

I have been working with her for almost two years. Her story is worth telling. She is from Afghanistan and was admitted to the United States as a refugee. She had spent her last years in her country as a worker in an NGO – a nonprofit organization that operates independently of any government and usually addresses social or political issues. This did not endear her to the local Taliban operatives. 

She applied for, and was granted Special Refugee Status. She left her family and her betrothed behind. Her brother was already in Saint Louis so this is where she landed. She has been here the required five years as a green card holder now eligible to apply for citizenship. In those five years she found steady employment until COVID-19 shut down her office in 2020. She also had returned once to Afghanistan to marry her betrothed.

She had a baby boy after her return from her wedding. The baby was born prematurely, with a number of health problems. Her husband remained in Afghanistan and could not be here with her. She had started the process of applying for him to come as her spouse, but that often takes years to actually happen. She was here on her own, with a sick infant. Sometimes I would need to call her and there were several occasions when she would be talking to me from the Newborn Intensive Care Unit.

She told me her husband was beside himself with sorrow that he could not be with her and their son. This was all happening when there was talk about the United States withdrawing from Afghanistan. Now that the baby was healthy, she desperately wanted to take him there so his father could see him. She managed to get over to Kabul in 2021 and stayed a month with her husband and family. She came back in early August, just before the withdrawal of troops was completed on August 30, 2021.

We all know what happened after that. Imagine what was going through her mind as the news poured out from Kabul. The US Embassy closed, the site where her husband would have had his visa interview. The Taliban rolled into Kabul and the government fell without a whimper. There were days long periods when she did not know where he was, or any other family member for that matter.

Meanwhile we waited patiently to hear from our own Immigration Services about her case. She was summoned to have fingerprints taken, always a good sign. But no date was issued for her citizenship interview. I encouraged her to study the 100 civics question and answer document – at her interview she would have to answer 6 out of 10 randomly chosen questions. She studied.

She worried. I worried with her.

For once a chaotic situation worked in favor of two people wanting to be together. Her husband managed to get out to Qatar where he waited to see if his visa interview might take place there. Somehow it happened and he was “paroled” (allowed to enter) into the USA. He now has his green card and is looking for work. I’ve met him. He is a delightful, handsome man. Together they make a stunning couple. Their baby is a beautiful boy.

Yesterday morning she was sworn in as a citizen. Both the presiding judge and I encouraged her to register to vote at the end of the ceremony. The League of Women Voters is always present to help new citizens sign up to vote. I watched the long line of people ready to register for this hallowed benefit. My client was right there in line. Her wait was much shorter this time.