A lola’s gift, a lawyer’s resolve

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. Like 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.

"Somebody up there loves me," Stefanie mused, quickly brushing off a tear...

The last 12 years had been an emotional roller coaster for Stefanie Macasieb, her mother Elizabeth, and her two younger siblings.

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 US.

Picture 12 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 these hopes shattered by one bad news after another.

This is their story.

In 1985, Elizabeth Macasieb’s parents and siblings immigrated to the US. At the 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 killed by elements of the New People’s Army in Bataan. 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.

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 an immigration lawyer to handle their seemingly impossible case: 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 Oct. 11, 2002. Gurfinkel said their only chance was for the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) 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, lawyer Gurfinkel worked round the clock. He immediately filed a request for humanitarian revalidation with the BCIS on Sept. 19, 2002, stressing the urgency of the situation because Stefanie was "aging out."

The BCIS granted the Humanitarian Revalidation on Nov. 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 Oct. 11, her 21st birthday, and by the time BCIS reinstated the petition, she had already turned 21.

Known in the Filipino community as the "Miracle Attorney," Gurfinkel 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, again, another hitch.

When Elizabeth Macasieb underwent her medical at St. Luke‘s on Nov. 22, 2002, the doctors detected a medical problem. She had to undergo several weeks of treatment.

Mother and daughter were shocked, and devastated 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. Lawyer 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 Aug. 6, 2002), Gurfinkel appealed Stefanie’s case to the Embassy on Feb. 11, 2003, establishing that her situation was covered by the "age out" protections of CSPA.

It was touch-and-go for a while. It was at this time that Stefanie missed her lola the most.

"Lola always told 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.

Then on March 31, 2003, the biggest miracle in Stefanie Macasieb’s life took place. All four of them got their US visas.

No words could 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 granddaughter’s dreams come true.

On April 16, 2003, Stefanie, her mother and her two younger brothers landed at the Los Angeles airport. A full-fledged nurse, Stefanie 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.

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