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JUST IN
TIME
  Eufrocina
Antolin (second from left) left behind her daughter Marybeth (third
from left) and her eight other children for the U.S. in 1984.
As soon as she became a U.S. citizen in 1989, she petitioned all
her nine children. But as the eldest, Venus, was preparing for
visa processing before her 21st birthday, Mrs. Antolin received
a phone call from an immigration officer at the L.A. International
Airport, telling her that a girl had arrived using the name of
Venus, and that they suspected the girl to be an impostor. The
incident resulted in Mrs. Antolin being accused of attempting
to fraudulently bring in another person on her child's petition.
So, when it came time for the visa processing of her other children,
the U.S. Embassy demanded genetic blood testing. One child, Naomi,
did not match Mrs. Antolin genetically, arousing further suspicion
of fraud. As a result, the Embassy shelved the children's petition.
In 1995, with only two other daughters, Marybeth and Novem, still
under 21, Mrs. Antolin approached Atty. Gurfinkel, who told her
that despite being "caught" twice by the Embassy, he
would immediately help her with the cases of Marybeth and Novem.
Marybeth got her green card, and arrived in the U.S. two days
before her 21st birthday, ending 12 years of separation, and Novem
arrived shortly thereafter. In fact, Atty. Gurfinkel was able
to prove that Naomi was Mrs. Antolin's daughter, despite the negative
blood test results, so even Naomi got a visa.
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