|  ATTY’S
PERSISTENCE REVERSES FILIPINA’S VISA REFUSAL
By Anne Stephanie D. Cruz
ATTORNEY'S PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF FOR 23-YR OLD “CHILD”.
Lexie Puguon (shown above with Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel in her
new home in Las Vegas) had given up on her dream of coming to
America. She had aged out, failed Embassy medical tests due to
suspected tuberculosis, and found not qualified under CSPA (Child
Status Protection Act). But Atty. Gurfinkel's extensive research,
new strategy, persuasive skills and persistence enabled Lexie
to get her immigrant visa, even after she aged out, and finally
achieve her American dream.
LAS VEGAS, Nevada---Ask Lexie Puguon who was the
one person who turned her life around, and she’ll tell you
in a heartbeat it’s an attorney by the name of Michael J.
Gurfinkel.
At first glance, Lexie appears to be the perfect
picture of a Filipina living the American Dream. She is now in
America, and her family recently bought a house. She is a new
mom, and already pregnant with her second child.
But, if only those around her knew how much tears
and heartbreak Lexie went through after America virtually shut
its doors to her in May 2001, when her immigrant visa application
was refused by the Embassy on the eve of her 21st birthday.
Lexie’s problems started years ago, when her
family tried to do things on their own. Her father thought it
would be "faster" to petition her once he became a citizen,
although he could have done so years earlier as a green card holder.
But, by the time he became a citizen, Lexie’s 21st birthday
was fast approaching. The family finally realized that they could
not do this on their own.
Lexie’s mother, Betsy, retained the Law Offices
of Michael Gurfinkel, to help them with their immigration problem.
Attorney Gurfinkel was quickly able to get Lexie an expedited
interview at the embassy, and medical exam at St. Luke's (as a
prerequisite to her departure), all before her 21st birthday.
It appeared to be a smooth processing until everything
fell apart when she was found to have a scar in one of her lungs,
and was suspected of having TB. So, she was not issued a visa,
because of health problems discovered at the last minute by doctors
at St. Luke’s hospital.
Although, Atty. Gurfinkel had already done his part,
he persisted up to the last minute to overcome this medical problem.
He even tracked Lexie’s old medical records and spoke with
her family doctor who confirmed that she had always tested negative
for tuberculosis. Nonetheless, the Center for Disease Control
(CDC) would not let anyone suspected of TB to “board a plane”,
for the safety of fellow passengers.
While the Embassy allowed her to undergo another
type of test, time wasn’t on Lexie’s side. By the
time her lab results were released (which proved to be “negative”),
she had already turned 21, making her an “adult”.
This meant she might have to wait at least 10 more years for her
visa.
“It was so frustrating, one problem was solved,
and here comes another. I almost gave up on coming to the U.S.”
Lexie said. Other Attorneys would have given up and closed their
file but Atty. Gurfinkel kept her case “active” and
continued to fight for her.
Atty. Gurfinkel monitored changes in immigration
laws, and kept updating Lexie on the latest developments. Atty.
Gurfinkel hoped for a change in law which could give aged out
children like Lexie another lease on their American Dreams.
True enough, Lexie’s window of opportunity
opened. On August 6, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into
law the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), which benefited kids
who turned 21.
However, another obstacle now blocked Lexie’s
path to America: the State Department decided that this new age-out
law was not retroactive. Still,
Atty. Gurfinkel did not give up. He combed through the law and
the various State Department and DHS cables and memos, and was
able to find a legal loophole that would allow Lexie to be covered
by the law. He convinced the Embassy that even though CSPA was
not ordinarily retroactive, in Lexie’s case, it was.
Finally, two pieces of good news came to Lexie:
She received a notice from the Embassy for another interview,
and she learned that she was two months pregnant, from her boyfriend.
The rest, as they say, is now history. Lexie was
issued her immigrant visa, and was able to enter America as a
23-year old “child”, and was reunited with her father,
after so many years of separation.
But one thing’s for sure, many years from
now, Lexie will be telling and retelling her child and her future
children how Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel had shown her not to give
up on her dreams. “He never gave up on me or my case, and
because of him, I am now in the U.S.” said Lexie.
Perhaps as mother and child stroll down the famous
Las Vegas’ strip, they would stop and remember their immigration
lawyer, who gave so much of himself, refused to give up, kept
following developments in new laws, strategized her case to victory,
thus reviving what could be described as a “dead case”,
to enable one long-separated daughter to finally be in the loving
embrace of her father.
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