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Immigration Law

American Wins Ten-Year Battle For Citizenship [UPDATED]

"Nothing, not the threat of deportation, not the ensuing 10-year legal battle, not even six years in the Batavia detention center, made Carlos Garcia waver.  Even while representing himself – he didn’t get a lawyer until a federal appeals court appointed one eight years into his case – he never gave up on his dream of becoming a U.S. citizen.  Three weeks ago, federal immigration officials finally relented and, after a decade-long battle to deport Garcia, reversed themselves and agreed to grant him citizenship." - Buffalo News, May 16, 2013.

2009 court decision here.

2011 court decision here.

2013 status report here.

Hats off to Timothy W. Hoover, who writes: "While we were honored to assist in the final two years of his long journey, we could not have succeeded without the input/thoughts/assistance of many attorneys, including Joanne Macri (now with the NYS Office of Indigent Legal Services), Ron Krauss and Jim Wade and their staff (of the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania), and, Amy Meselson (of NYC Legal Aid)."