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epm525
12-02-2007, 02:50 AM
Here's what's going on in my neck of the woods...
http://pennlive.com/midstate/patriotnews/article309691.ece

SELINSGROVE l Dr. Pedro Servano and his wife, Salvacion, have been given a brief reprieve on meeting with immigration officials to begin the processing that will lead to their deportation.

The Selinsgrove couple was to have reported Friday to the immigration field office in the Allenwood Federal Prison Complex, but they were told Tuesday they do not have to appear until 1 p.m. Monday, because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

They will not be detained or deported that day, Michael Gilhooly, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has said. The purpose of the meeting is to begin making travel arrangements for their deportation to their native Philippines, he said.

The couple faces deportation because during the late 1970s, when they were single, their mothers wrote on visa applications for them that they were not married. Servano and his wife married before coming to the United States in the early 1980s.

Their immigration problems began in 1990 when they applied to become naturalized citizens and the discrepancy on the visa applications was noted.

They have fought deportation since but were instructed Oct. 25 to report to the immigration office. Their four children, two of whom are college graduates, are American citizens because they were born in the U.S.

Servano is a family practice doctor with the Geisinger Medical Group near Selinsgrove. His wife operates Sermart, a small bakery and oriental store in Sunbury.

Support to keep the couple in the U.S. is coming from across the country, according to their niece, Christina S. DeHaven, who has been acting as family spokesperson.

It is hoped this support will lead to action by federal lawmakers or immigration officials to keep the Servanos in the U.S. she said.

Several hundred people attended a candlelight vigil in downtown Sunbury Saturday night, and there is a petition supporting the Servanos on the Internet.

NYCwife
12-02-2007, 03:49 PM
That is ridiculous....they both had visas separately approved for them...does it matter that they were married before two approved visas were used? I suppose they were 'unmarried and under 21'. There should be some sort of statute of limitations, after all, this discrepancy was found after 20-something years.

What a waste of federal time and money.

nycgrrl

LilB
12-02-2007, 04:50 PM
What a waste of federal time and money.

nycgrrl

My thoughts exactly!

ratito921
12-02-2007, 10:22 PM
It is a waste....what a mess.

egonzalez1975
12-02-2007, 11:36 PM
I truly feel that most of the people who are making these immigration decisions somehow were never, whether genetically or during their youth, given common sense. Sounds like this family has proven to be a hard working "American" family. I'm glad that everyone in immigration has never had any confussion or misunderstanding in their lives. Aren't we supposed to be a forgiving nation? It's not like they are felons!!!!!!!

Give me a break. When will the insanity end????? And, when will they quit wasting all of MY tax dollars on piddly crap????

Task
12-08-2007, 06:41 AM
BS!!!!

tasksgirl
12-08-2007, 06:45 AM
I don't get it??

epm525
12-10-2007, 02:51 AM
Here's an update on the story:

http://www.dailyitem.com/0100_news/local_story_342000020.html

'We're still hanging,' Mrs. Servano says


By Damian Gessel
The Daily Item


SUNBURY — Salvacion Servano is relieved the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday granted her and her husband, Pedro, a temporary stay of deportation. But her family’s struggle isn’t over yet, she said.

“We feel we have more breathing room now, and we’re very happy about that,” she said Friday. “But we’re still hanging. We don’t yet know for sure what will happen.”

Christina DeHaven, Pedro and Salvacion Servano’s niece and the family’s unofficial spokeswoman, felt similarly.

“We’re grateful for any type of good news,” she said. “We know being given deferred action is very rare. But this is a small battle we’ve won. The war goes on.”

While Ms. DeHaven said the entire family counts the deferred action as a blessing, the Servanos must not lose sight of their ultimate goal.

“To go from getting a letter giving them 30 days and counting (to being deported to the Philippines), to being given an extra 60 days, to within a week of that being given deferred action speaks volumes,” Ms. DeHaven said. “It justifies all the support. We just hope the support will continue and people will still continue to take the same interest in this case they always have.”

Ms. DeHaven said the family’s lawyers plan to continue working with politicians to garner a private legislative bill granting the Servanos permanent U.S. citizenship. And the family itself will continue to reach out to the community to express gratitude for its support.

“We’re going to concentrate more on that than anything else,” she said. “That’s what really pushes the family forward.”

According to family attorney Gregg Cotler, the Servanos’ stay of deportation grants them an unspecified amount of time in which to continue living and working in the United States.

“At this time, we’ll not enforce the removal options while they pursue other options,” Immigrations and Customs Enforcement spokesman Michael Gilhooly said on Thursday.