Barely a couple of months ago a Polish couple from Staten Island thought nothing could save their family from deportation. Today they can't believe they have green cards.
Marzena Pudelkiewicz, 40, and Jarek Pudelkiewicz, 41, lived in the United States illegally since 1991 after they crossed the green border with Mexico and settled in Borough Park, Brooklyn. "We wanted to live in the States no matter what. I knew that even working as a cleaning lady I could achieve something," said Marzena, who worked as a housekeeper and her husband as a contractor.
On Dec. 21, 2000, the 245 (i) directive, an interim rule for adjustment-of-status application under that Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) created by the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act and Life Act Amendments (Life Act) was enacted, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. When the 245 (i) directive, which opens a path to legalization without the need of leaving the country, became effective, the Pudelkiewiczs made an attempt to legalize their stay by going through a number of immigration advisers. "We spent almost $100,000 for legal counseling and all they did was prepare us for deportation," said Marzena. She was told by one of the lawyers that with advanced parole she could leave the United States and go to Poland during the sponsorship process and the green card would be waiting for her when she gets back. She returned to find out that there was no green card waiting for her and that her lawyer had disappeared into thin air. Another legal counselor charged the Pudelkiewiczs $25,000 to start their sponsorship process all over again, but commanded the couple not to mention Marzena's trip to Poland during an interview with immigration authorities.
They didn't understand many things in the whole process. "Now I see how absurd it was. On my way back from Poland they took my fingerprints and scanned my eye, so there was no way the immigration officers wouldn't know that I had left the U.S.," Marzena said. During the first interview they did as they were told. "We paid taxes, our criminal record was clear; we had a good credit history and were active in the community. We didn't take drugs and didn't use social benefits; all answers to the immigration officers' questions were satisfactory. So when they asked me if I had ever left the United States, I denied as I had been instructed," Marzena said.
However, when asked the same question three times during another interview a year later, finally Marzena admitted to leaving the United States. "We love America and wanted to live here and have our kids educated in this country, but all was going wrong. I knew I would get a denial," said Marzena, who since then had to be on calming pills.
Before the final court hearing set up for Dec. 13, 2010, the family received help from John Nicelli, Esq., whose daughter goes to the same school with the Pudelkiewiczs' eldest daughter, 17-year-old Samantha. "I focused on proving it to the immigration authorities that it would be great injustice to Samantha, an American citizen, if her parents were deported to Poland – her education would be interrupted because she would have to leave with them," said Mr. Nicelli, a lawyer with 30-years experience who admitted that the case first looked very complicated and the family had faint chances of winning.
The lawyer collected a total of 500 pages of documents in support of the family, including letters from Samantha's teachers, the Pudelkiewiczs' employers and friends. The documents he submitted changed the immigration court's decision, which eventually determined to grant the family a legal status.
"We went through a nightmare, but we want our story to be first of all a warning for others never to pay all the money up front. On the other hand, though, our story gives hope that there is a way out even from such hopeless situation as ours was," Marzena says.
