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DYING MOTHER’S LAST WISH: VISAS FOR HER CHILDREN
DYING MOTHER GETS HER LAST WISH: The Locsin brothers, Juan Miguel
(R) and Lorenzo (Middle), with their attorney, Michael J. Gurfinkel,
(L), who assisted in having their visas issued on an expedited
basis. Their mother, Lucia, was diagnosed with terminal cancer,
and prayed that her sons would be with her in the U.S. before
she dies. Her wish was granted. "I am so relieved, and thanks
to Atty. Gurfinkel, I will spend the last moments of my life with
my children in the US. Now, I can meet with my Creator in peace".
Lucia has cervical cancer, which has spread to
her other organs. The doctors prescribed chemotherapy to combat
the cancer and gave her six months to a year to live. But she
knew she couldn’t die yet, not until her children in the
Philippines had a chance at living the American Dream.
Lucia was well on her way to achieving that Dream
after coming to the United States in 1993. She started work in
2002 with a medical device company in California, and later became
the Executive Assistant to its Chief Executive Officer. She earned
good money, but her main goal was to bring her children, Lorenzo
and Juan Miguel, to the United States so they could live a life
most Filipinos can only dream of. Then came the devastating news
after Christmas in 2002 that turned her dream into a nightmare:
Cancer.
Although Lucia became a U.S. citizen in 2003, her
petition to bring her children to the U.S. were still pending,
and stuck in a backlog of petitions at the CIS (Formerly INS).
Under immigration laws, if she died before her children were given
visas, the petitions would automatically be cancelled or revoked,
and her children could no longer immigrate to the U.S. Her children’s
future depended on Lucia living long enough for her petitions
to be processed without delay. The first immigration attorney
she hired could do nothing, and could not convince the CIS to
expedite her petitions for her children. The CIS kept insisting
that the backlog made that impossible. There seemed to be no hope
for Lucia’s children.
Lucia’s cancer grew worse, and time was running
out. “Then a friend told me about Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel,”
recalled Lucia, “that he was called ‘the Attorney
of Last Hope’ because of his reputation of winning seemingly
hopeless immigration cases for his clients.”
Gurfinkel was able to expedite the processing of
her children’s cases through the different government agencies,
and the U.S. Embassy in Manila issued their visas in record time.
“My other attorney couldn’t get anyone at CIS to listen,”
said Lucia, “but Atty. Gurfinkel was able to convince them
to expedite the processing of my children’s visas, despite
the huge backlog at the CIS.”
Though her children’s immigration problems
were resolved, Lucia’s doctors have put her on round-the-clock
morphine to ease her pain. They believe that her body may no longer
be responding to chemotherapy, and it’s possible that they
will stop the treatment altogether. But despite his busy schedule,
Gurfinkel continually telephoned Lucia about status of her children’s
case and to encourage her to not lose hope, and to use her “Mother’s
will” to continue the fight against cancer for the sake
of Lorenzo and Juan Miguel. They have now joined her in America
as greencard holders, and her Dream has finally come true.
“This may be the time for me to pass to the
Lord,” said Lucia. “Atty. Gurfinkel has been a source
of hope for me. He has given my children and me the chance to
be a family one last time, and for my children to now live the
“American Dream”. I know that I will now be able to
rest in peace.”
The Law Offices of Michael J. Gurfinkel, based in
Glendale, CA, has offices in San Francisco, New York, and Makati,
Philippines. Gurfinkel has successfully helped thousands of people
like Lucia to achieve their “American Dream”.
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