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FILIPINA WINS RARE REVERSAL OF EMBASSYÕS LIFETIME BAN FOR FRAUD
First white Christmas in New York
Linda Sumira (second from the left)
with her husband, two children, and Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel,
in Queens, New York shortly after their arrival from the Philippines.
Atty. Gurfinkel helped Mrs. Sumira overturn a lifetime ban opposed
by the U.S. Embassy in Manila on fraud charges, and obtained green
cards for Linda and her family. The Sumira family recently experienced
their first "White Christmas" in New York.
In May, 1995, Linda took a vacation
to the U.S. to visit her sister in New York, leaving behind her
husband and children. A few months after she came to America,
Linda came across a newspaper ad for a "housekeeper"
for a young couple from New York, with three children. She was
interviewed by the couple and was quickly hired.
For two years, Linda cared for the
coupleÕs three children, like they were her very own. The couple
was so impressed with LindaÕs hard work and dedication, as well
as the way she cared for their three children, then ages 3, 5
and 7, that the couple petitioned Linda for a green card. The
petition was approved by INS, and Linda eagerly waited for her
green card to be processed in the U.S.
In 1996, however, new immigration
laws came into effect which mandated that if a person had been
out of status in the U.S. for more than six months and departed
the U.S. after September 1997, the alien could be banned from
coming back to the U.S., for at least three to ten years.
The couple hired a lawyer from Manhattan,
N.Y., to handle LindaÕs case. That lawyer advised Linda to leave
the U.S. at once, to avoid the 3/10 year bar. Linda pleaded with
the attorney to let her stay and be processed for her green card
in the U.S. The couple even got a second opinion from a Washington,
D.C. attorney, who also said that Linda had to return to Manila.
Linda reluctantly followed both attorneysÕ
advice, and returned to the Philippines, in September 1997, to
avoid the 3/10 year bar.
When Linda was called to the U.S.
Embassy in Manila for her interview in February 1999, she was
referred to the anti-fraud unit. After her interview, the Consul
denied her visa, concluding she had committed fraud or misrepresentation
because she had entered the U.S. in May 1995 on a visitorÕs visa
with the intention of working. According to Embassy guidelines,
if a person enters the U.S. on a visitorÕs visa, and starts looking
for work within 60 days of his or her arrival, it could be considered
fraud.
When a person is charged with fraud,
in come cases, he may obtain a waiver (or forgiveness) for the
fraud, if he has a spouse or parent who is a U.S. citizen or green
card holder. Unfortunately, Linda did not have any such "qualifying
relative," such that the EmbassyÕs fraud denial effectively
meant that she and her family were banned for life from going
to America.
Linda walked out of the U.S. Embassy,
onto Roxas Blvd., in a state of shock and grief. She burst into
tears. She couldnÕt understand how she could be found guilty of
fraud or violating immigration laws, when the very reason she
left the U.S. was to comply with the laws, as she was told by
two different attorneys.
Linda immediately called the attorney
in Washington, D.C., crying while she relayed how the Embassy
denied her visa for fraud. But the attorney could offer no relief,
telling her that there was nothing more he could do for her case.
However, the Washington D.C. attorney had heard about Atty. Michael
GurfinkelÕs reputation of successfully handling seemingly impossible
cases, and referred the case to Atty. Gurfinkel (who is based
in California), with the request from the couple "to do everything
possible" to bring Linda back to the U.S. for the coupleÕs
children, who were longing for her.
Atty. Gurfinkel knew that Linda could
not apply for a "fraud waiver" or "forgiveness",
because she did not have any U.S. citizen or immigrant spouse
or parent. The only hope that Linda had was to prove that she
had not committed fraud. When the Embassy maintained its
finding of fraud, Atty. Gurfinkel appealed the case to the U.S.
State Department, which has jurisdiction over Embassy decisions
and denials.
Atty. Gurfinkel presented LindaÕs
case to the State Department, and convinced them that Linda did
not violate the law or commit any fraud. The State Department
agreed, and reopened LindaÕs case.
On September 11, 2000, Linda found
herself back in the U.S. Embassy, waiting for her visa interview.
After the original denial, Linda thought that she would never
be able to come to America. Not only did Linda get her visa, but
her husband and two children also got theirs.
Linda is so grateful to Atty. Gurfinkel,
who thoroughly briefed her before the interview, so that she felt
very comfortable during her Embassy interview and passed with
flying colors. Linda was supposed to go to the U.S. by herself,
again leaving behind her family, but Atty. Gurfinkel "took
the time to convince my employer to allow my husband and two children
to come with me, with the eldest about to turn 21 years old. Atty.
Gurfinkel went the extra mile, and even expedited the case, so
that my son could come in before his 21st birthday."
Less than a year earlier, LindaÕs
case seemed hopeless, and she was banned for life from America.
However, thanks to Atty. GurfinkelÕs handling of her case, she
was cleared of fraud, and she and her family were able to enter
America days before her son turned 21, and in time to celebrate
their first "White Christmas" in New York.
"I am so grateful to Atty. Gurfinkel
for all his help. I heard about him taking on cases which seemed
hopeless or impossible, but I thought that was a gimmick. Now
I know, first hand, all of it is true. My two other attorneys
gave up on the case, saying there was nothing else they could
do."
"Atty. Gurfinkel took the case,
and now IÕm in America", said an excited Linda, after experiencing
a "White Christmas" in New York with her family. "Our
arrival in the U.S. legally, after a lifetime ban, is the
best proof of how reliable his office is."
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