|  A
LOLA’S GIFT FROM HEAVEN
By Anne Stephanie D. Cruz
MID-FLIGHT. The view from her window seat did not interest 21-year-old
Stefanie Macasieb as much as it did her two younger brothers.
The flight attendants brushed past her several times but she also
failed to notice. Along with their mother Elizabeth, this was
the Macasieb children’s first time to travel outside the
Philippines.
Stefanie was excited about the flight, but the
events of the last six months kept playing in her mind. She still
found it hard to believe that their family would be stepping on
US soil in a few hours. It was too good to be true. But three
miracles had to happen, one after the other, for her to realize
her “American Dream.”
“Somebody up there loves me,” Stefanie
mused, quickly brushing off a tear…
It has been written, and often said, that victory
is sweeter for those who have tasted the bitter tears of defeat.
This saying holds true for 21-year-old Stefanie Macasieb, her
mother Elizabeth, and her two younger siblings.
To say that the last 12 years of their lives was
an emotional “rollercoaster” would be an understatement.
Not only did this family endure the crippling loss of two loved
ones, they also suffered from escalating emotional turmoil caused
by continued separation from the rest of their relatives who migrated
to the U.S.
Picture twelve years of pain, heartaches, and disappointments;
the frustration and the hopelessness, of being the only ones unable
to immigrate to America due to several strokes of hard luck. Imagine
having made to hope countless times, only to have them shattered
by one bad news after another.
But all these disappeared the day Atty. Michael
Gurfinkel, “the Miracle Attorney” turned their lives
around and made their American Dreams come true.
This is their story.
In 1985, Elizabeth Macasieb’s parents and
siblings immigrated to the US. At that time, she was content to
remain in the Philippines, being happily married with three young
children.
Then tragedy struck a few years later when Elizabeth’s
husband was mercilessly killed by lawless elements of the New
People’s Army in Bataan. She alone now had the responsibility
of raising their three young children. Her US Citizen mother,
Anicia, was deeply concerned for the welfare of her grandchildren.
And in 1989, she petitioned not only for Elizabeth, but also for
Stefanie, Paul Michael and Aldus Tracy.
With that, the children started dreaming of America.
Soon, they would be studying in the US and entering the American
workforce. Soon, they would see their aunt, uncles and cousins;
experience “white” Christmases, and yes, fulfill that
childhood fantasy of seeing Mickey Mouse and a host of other characters
at Disneyland.
But sometimes fate plays cruel tricks, and in a
single unfortunate turn, Elizabeth saw her children’s “American
Dream” crumble.
On May 17, 2002, before Elizabeth’s and her
children’s visa papers could be processed, Anicia, the petitioner,
died. By law, the visa petition passed away too with Anicia’s
death. This left the Macasiebs completely without hope.
But all was not lost. In true Filipino tradition,
Elizabeth’s US-based siblings pooled together their resources
to get the best immigration lawyer around to handle their seemingly
impossible case: Atty. Michael Gurfinkel.
As it was, the Macasieb case was difficult and complicated:
The petitioner had died, and, by this time, Stefanie was turning
21 on October 11, 2002. Atty. Gurfinkel said their only chance
was for the INS to revalidate the petition filed by the deceased
Anicia.
It was extremely uphill. Applications for Humanitarian
Revalidation of revoked petitions occupy the lowest priority in
the BCIS (formerly INS) adjudication process. Active cases are
given preference, and it normally takes several years before a
revalidation request is acted upon, and the outcome is not always
favorable.
In fact, many applications for Humanitarian Revalidation
are eventually denied for lack of humanitarian grounds. But it
was, however, the Macasiebs’ only chance.
In the days that followed, Atty. Gurfinkel worked
round the clock. He immediately filed a request for humanitarian
revalidation with the BCIS on September 19, 2002, stressing the
urgency of the situation because Stefanie was “aging out”.
Atty. Gurfinkel’s hard work and clear presentation
of documentary evidence paid off. The BCIS granted the Humanitarian
Revalidation on November 20, 2002, after only two months, when
it would normally have taken several years. After the BCIS granted
the Human Revalidation, normally, their visa processing would
be resumed without a hitch.
But the complications of their case did not end
with the approval of the Humanitarian Revalidation. There was
still the issue of Stefanie Macasieb getting into America by October
11, her 21st birthday, and by the time BCIS reinstated the petition,
she had already turned 21.
Again, Atty. Gurfinkel worked his “magic”.
Known in the Filipino community as “the miracle attorney”,
the top immigration lawyer invoked the newly enacted USA PATRIOT
ACT to buy Stefanie an additional 45-day “grace period”
on her aging out.
Gurfinkel worked on convincing the Embassy to process
the case on expedited basis, which they did.
This proved to be the family’s second miracle.
Stefanie, Paul Michael and Aldus Tracy counted off the days to
their departure. But Lady Liberty appeared not to bid them good
tidings.
When Elizabeth Macasieb underwent her medicals at
St. Luke’s on November 22, 2002, the doctors detected a
medical problem. She had to undergo several weeks of treatment.
Mother and daughter were shocked, and devasted by
this unexpected turn of events. They knew that this was their
last chance of ever getting into America. How then would the family
be able to leave within the 45-day grace period of the USA PATRIOT
ACT?
“I could not believe what was happening. I
was very frustrated. We were but a step away from realizing our
dreams, especially my daughter’s. I felt so helpless. Atty.
Gurfinkel already helped us a lot, I really prayed that he could
help us again,” said Elizabeth.
And he did. Then invoking the new Child Status Protection
Act (CSPA, an immigration law passed on August 6, 2002), Atty.
Gurfinkel appealed Stefanie’s case to the Embassy on February
11, 2003, establishing that her situation was covered by the “age
out” protections of CSPA.
It was touch and go for a while. But Stefanie’s
dreams bid her to continue hoping against all odds. She remembered
her deceased grandmother Anicia and recalled how they used to
talk about how bright their futures would be in America.
It was at this time that Stefanie missed her lola
the most.
“Lola always told me America was
the land of promise. She would tell me ‘apo, when
you get to the US and work as an RN, you’d be able to provide
for your mother and two brothers. You’d be able to buy everything
you want, and who knows, you may even meet your prince charming
there.’ She would even kid me about having a blue-eyed great-grandson
or daughter,” Stefanie recounted smiling, but her eyes beginning
to mist.
Then on March 31, 2003, the biggest miracle in Stefanie
Macasieb’s life took place. The family’s prayers,
coupled with Attorney Gurfinkel’s exceptional work, paved
the way for all four of them to secure US Visas.
There are no words to describe the family’s
jubilation. Imagine an immigration lawyer being able to secure
Humanitarian Revalidation for Elizabeth’s F-1 petition in
a record-breaking two months; then invoking the USA PATRIOT ACT
and CSPA laws when they were only recently passed—at a time
when many other lawyers were still familiarizing themselves with
their complicated provisions.
It was as though Lola Anicia pulled some
strings up in heaven to make her grand daughter’s dreams
come true. Stefanie believes that it was her lola who
led the family to Atty. Michael Gurfinkel.
On April 16, 2003 Stefanie, her mother and her two
younger brothers landed at the Los Angeles airport. A full-fledged
nurse, Stefanie believes that the bright sunny day heralds of
better things coming to her and her whole family.
As she shook the hands and hugged the “Miracle
Attorney” who made her American Dream come true, Stefanie
could no longer hold back her emotions. She longed for this day
to happen for more than 12 years. And with a sideways glance at
the faces of her two brothers and her equally teary-eyed mother,
Stefanie said a silent prayer of thanks to God for this truly
wonderful gift.
In her mind’s eye, she saw her Lola
Anicia smiling. “Yes Lola, we did it,” was all
Stefanie could say. (AS CRUZ)
back
|
