Death..is it really the end?

This morning there is a message for me from my attorney to research a new case we have. I suppose I should say now that my field of focus is Immigration Law. I find it quite interesting, but frustrating at the same time... I think anytime you are working with a government entity, especially during the Bush administration, it is taxing.

Anyway, the case is quite interesting. A US Citizen father filed a petition for his daughter to come to the US. Under immigration laws, US Citizens can file a petition for their spouses, sons, daughters, siblings, etc. to come to the US and gain permanent residence. However, petitions for family members like sons and daughters are subject to "priority dates." For example, at this moment, Immigration is processing petitions of US citizens on behalf of unmarried sons or daughters that were filed in May 2001. So, if a USC was to file a petition today, the wait time for the person to actually come to the US is anywhere from 6-12 years!!! It is insane.

Obviously, a lot can change in this amount of time. In our case, the woman's father died. Generally when that happens, the petition is revoked and the family member cannot come to the US. The only exception being Immigration finding that the petition be approved for "humanitarian reasons." This includes if the foreign national is in poor health, if there is some hardship to a USC if they do not immigrate, revocation of the petition will disrupt the family unit, etc.

There is a sister here in the US, and she wants to reinstate the petition by the father, despite his death, and try to prove to immigration that the petition should be granted based on humanitarian reasons. So, here we are, I'm researching exactly what we need to show, getting some facts about the family, and starting a draft of the letter to immigration. The daughter abroad is the only family member not here in the US, so I would say there is a strong case for family unity. I'll keep you updated!

On a lighter note...lets talk about LOST last night!! I wasn't too interested at first in the Desmond storyline because I'm not that connected to his character....but then when that creepy grey haired woman knew him, knew his future life, and the red shoes man was killed, it got interesting. Then the ending, Charlie is meant to die!! (Sorry, should I have written spoiler ahead?:) Not that I really care a whole lot because I find his character annoying, but what a good twist. Next week looks good too...3 new secrets revealed! We'll see...they have promised us grand revelations before, and I have been disappointed.

Have a great day!