Staff Spotlight: Kewan Asaad - DOJ Accredited Representative
What inspired you to pursue a career in legal immigration assistance?
My father worked with the U.S. organization back in Kurdistan, Iraq. He applied for the refugee program because it was not safe for people who worked with the U.S. organization or U.S. military. During that process, we had to do an interview every year for 7 years. I went through the whole refugee process: applying for a green card, then citizenship and petitioning for my husband.
CLIA helped me to get my citizenship and reunite with my love.
In addition to all of this, I am a law graduate from the University in Kurdistan. The year I got my attorney ID, the same year I got my visa, I chose to come to the United States, and I tried very hard to get a job in something related to my degree and related to immigration.
Can you share a memorable experience you've had while working with immigrants and refugees?
I will never forget: One day, a lady came into our organization crying, “I need help to bring my children here.” She had a pending green card application.
Mary, the executive director, and I took the case. Mary helped her get her green card, and I helped her with her children’s consular processing. I was able to expedite the interviews of her three children at the U.S. embassy in Turkey. The best moment was when I saw all three children and the mom together here in the office to say thanks for our hard work.
I had another case that was approved recently in a very short period of time, and generally, that case takes years to be processed by the USCIS. I-601 is an application for waiver of grounds of inadmissibility. This was for a client who has been separated from his wife and children since 2001. Many times, the wife and son tried to petition him, but they were not successful.
We took the I-130 case, and when it was approved, the U.S. embassy asked them to file a waiver I-601. The family contacted our office and asked for help. I took the case and worked very hard to gather what I needed.
Finally, the case was approved in three months. The family is very happy and they said, “We couldn’t do this without you.” I am beyond grateful for this achievement in my career. I thank God for showing me the correct path and connecting me with the amazing team.
What challenges do immigrants and refugees commonly face when seeking legal assistance, and how do you help them overcome these obstacles?
The most common challenge is the processing time of cases, especially after interviews in U.S. embassies. Their families were separated for a long time. It breaks my heart. Sometimes, there are children who are still waiting to see their dad’s face. They might not even recognize them when they see each other again in person. We have cases where the wife was pregnant when the husband evacuated from Afghanistan, and now the kid is three years old. This stuff always makes me upset.
I help them by contacting and following up with them often. When they email me or call me about the update on their case, I answer their emails right away, or when I am in a meeting, I call them back right away after the meeting. Anything i do about their case, I tell them what I did and sometimes they still don’t understand why the process takes that long, but I try my best to engage with them and make sure they are doing okay or ask if they have any questions.
There were times I had to draw a picture or draw something to make it easier for them to understand the process of the case.
What do you find most rewarding about your work at CLIA?
Having a good boss and having a knowledgeable and hardworking team. Each day, I learn more about the rules in immigration law, so that makes me more knowledgeable about how to advise my clients or how to make their cases strong. Also, when I get the approval for my client’s case, that is my reward.
How do you stay updated with the constantly changing immigration laws and policies?
We are always joining webinars and training constantly, so if any new rules or policies change, we would know through that. Sometimes, we get emails or Mary usually tells us in our weekly meetings.
How do you and your team at CLIA collaborate to ensure the best outcomes for your clients?
In our office, we ask each other questions. Each of us in the office have extra experience in something or have been through a problem that they fixed. Also, when we have a case to send, we each ask another representative to review it.
