Frank Wassermann, IVC Cincinnati Volunteer

Catholic Social Services of Cincinnati operates as the local refugee resettlement agency of the Unites States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which sponsors refugees referred by the U.S. State Department. In addition to resettlement assistance — housing, job referral and training, cash, health care, food stamps — the agency provides ongoing 'immigration counseling' services to the refugees. This includes various kinds of services the refugees need to help them adjust to their new life. The agency has been facing cutbacks due to loss of financial support from the diocese which has put a strain on its ability to fully serve the refugees.

As an Ignatian Volunteer, with my background as an attorney, I am assisting the regular staff by providing counseling on immigration issues — primarily helping refugees obtain permanent residency (the 'green card') and bring other family members to the United States. U.S. immigration policy offers several special programs which enable refugees to bring close relatives to join them without the long waits of regular family immigration. Parents, spouses, and minor children can come to the U.S. under these programs.
Most of the people I encounter come from Africa, especially the eastern 'horn' area — Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Eritrea. I have also worked with refugees from Cuba to Nepal. Through my work, I have compiled a manual on immigration issues to help other volunteers, such as the social work students from local universities, to also do this work on behalf of future refugees.

I am awed by the courage and resiliency of these people in undertaking a new life in the United States, after their many hardships living as refugees abroad, as they struggle with language and cultural barriers. It is a privilege to meet them and help them secure legal status in the United States and bring family members to join them in this country.