Xuexing and Chaoqun came to the United States from China over two decades ago. Xuexing wanted to start a new life with his family, and dreamed of owning his own restaurant. Chaoqun sought asylum in the United States after escaping a dangerous situation in her home country. Shortly after settling in New York, they were placed in removal proceedings. Xuexing and Chaoqun worked with attorneys in New York to fight for an opportunity to remain in the United States and to adjust their immigration status, but the government fought them back at every step of the way. They each endured multiple heartaches each time an application or petition was denied. However, these two community members were undeterred and persevered. Eventually, they moved to the Seattle area in 2011 and found NWIRP. For the past 11 years we have represented them before USCIS and in immigration court. Their decades-long nightmare finally ended when Chaoqun obtained her lawful permanent residency in immigration court earlier this year. Xuexing is now a United States citizen.
When asked to describe how she felt when her previous cases were denied, Chaoqun said, “everytime I had this feeling that there was a shadow or a dark part in my heart when I needed to attend court. I couldn’t escape it.”
Now, Xuexing and Chaoqun can finally live without the fear of deportation that has followed them for years. Today, they run their own restaurant and look forward to spending time together with the rest of their family. Xuexing expressed his gratitude by saying, “from the very beginning, our NWIRP lawyers walked with us every step of the way. They were so kind and helped us out of this over 22 year struggle for security. I want to say thank you to everyone who made this possible – especially our incredible attorney, Mozhdeh.”