PT-LawMom

Starting 120 days after its posting in the Federal Register tomorrow, the fees for immigration applications and services will be increased by 80%. If my husband and I, solidly middle class, put off his citizenship application for two years because we thought $400 was too much, imagine the people who can barely scrape together rent, much less the now $690 for the application and fingerprints! While I can see how this increase might help move things along at the USCIS, I can’t believe they’re actually going to almost double the cost of everything. This really gives preference to the rich while stomping on the poor.

According to the Washington Post, the Virginia House has approved a bill that will strip funding from charities that provide services to undocumented immigrants. Yes, the poor children that receive healthcare from Catholic Charities clinics really need to learn a lesson. Come on, people! This punitive crap is such a Bush move - started his first month in office (Jan. 22, 2001) when he issued a memo reversing the Clinton administration position on unrestricted family-planning aid overseas. This is exactly the reason I want to work on issues impacting immigrants.

The Virginia House of Delegates approved a far-reaching proposal Tuesday to strip charities and other organizations of state and local funding if any of the money is used to provide services to immigrants in the country illegally.
The proposal, one of nearly 50 immigration-related bills under consideration by the General Assembly, could force such groups as the Salvation Army and the Virginia Association of Free Clinics to verify immigration status before offering assistance to those in need
or risk losing funding.
“This is to make sure the monies that are going to charities and organizations go to the people they are intended to go to, which is legal immigrants,” said Del. Jackson H. Miller (R-Manassas), the sponsor of the bill. “The ultimate goal is to make the commonwealth of Virginia an unwelcome place if you are in this country illegally.”

Okay, so I changed my mind. I know, I know, I paid the seat deposit, bought the books, etc. But I’ve been feeling unsettled. I woke up Monday morning after a weekend of dead ends in my search for a backup babysitter and said, “God, please send me a sign that I’m making the right choice.” I got on the elevator at work and ran into an attorney who works on my floor. She said, “I hear you’re going to [T4 School]. Let me tell you why that’s a mistake…” She proceeded to share horror stories about grads from that school and things she has heard while serving on a local firm’s hiring committee. I reviewed the emails I’d received from attorneys and other people from whom I’d solicited advice, as well as the “expert” articles and books and I realized I was making a really foolish decision. In terms of future career opportunities, it would be really dumb to attend [T4 School] regardless of their “stronger” night program. Although I have a strong undergrad GPA, my undergrad school’s reputation is quite poor and would probably hurt my candidacy for future employment– combine that with [T4 School’s] lower ranking and I’m settingmyself up for some challenges. Also, although we intend to stay in this town, one never knows and I probably shouldn’t shoot myself in the foot by choosing a school that has no reputation outside the state (or, one might even say, the city).

I contacted [T4 School] yesterday to rescind my acceptance and also contacted [T2 School] to make sure I can still accept their offer. Good news is that I have until April 1 to send in my acceptance/deposit to [T2 School] and my loan funds will be returned to Sallie Mae with no penalties. Bad news is that I lose the $300 deposit I sent to [T4 School], I have to start paying interest on my Mac in March, and I had already bought all of my books. Best news is that my stomach is no longer in knots and, although I foresee some challenges at [T2 School] in terms of my overall part-time law student experience, I feel much better about my debt load [T2 is cheaper] and the potential for employment once I finish.