Agency helps immigrants open doors to services, citizenship

by Debra Rubin
NJJN Staff Writer

Sidebar: A refugee from Russia gives back

Immigrants from a variety of ethnicities and cultures are increasingly turning to the Jewish Family and Vocational Service of Middlesex County in Edison for help in asserting their legal rights and navigating the bureaucratic maze of county and federal agencies.

The JFVS is one of only a handful of agencies in the state that have federal government accreditation to represent immigrants before appeals hearings at the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Newark, according to JFVS officials.

“In the more than two years since we received the accreditation, our caseload has quadrupled. We have 250 clients, maybe even 300 by now,” said Debby Alter, its director of immigration and refugee services.

The agency has the authority to advocate not only at hearings but to represent immigrants in a variety of matters.

For example, Alter said, she recently assisted a disabled Russian man who immigrated three years ago but was caught in a bureaucratic snafu. He could not work, yet had been denied assistance by the county board of social services because the INS sent a letter saying he was not eligible for citizenship. The letter failed to clarify that he had not been in the United States long enough to have become a citizen.

“He had no money,” Alter said. “I called INS every day for him, which is really what you have to do — torture the INS.”

The end result was a just-received letter from the INS with the necessary information needed for the man to receive general assistance.

In the case of a homebound Russian immigrant, the agency succeeded in persuading the INS to conduct a rare hearing outside its offices.

“They are coming from Newark tomorrow [July 21] to conduct a naturalization hearing at her home in New Brunswick,” explained Alter. “This is only the second time we’ve been able to arrange a home hearing.”

But it is not just Russian Jews who are the beneficiaries of JFVS services.

“We go throughout the community conducting citizenship and immigration workshops” said Alter (see related story). “We began working with [Jewish] refugees from the former Soviet Union, but in the last five or six years that has really slowed down. Now we have a large number from West Africa. We have a lot from Sierra Leone and Liberia. Some are refugees from China. ”

The influx of African immigrants has been precipitated by civil war and ethnic violence throughout the continent, which has caused large numbers to flee their homelands.

“Their lives were in extreme danger,” said Alter. “There are a lot of people in this world who can unfortunately say that.”

A refugee is defined by the U.S. government as someone who is unable to return to his or her country because of persecution or well-founded fear of persecution because of his or her political opinion, race, religion, nationality, or membership in a social group. Before Glasnost, Soviet Jews were classified as refugees.

Those seeking political asylum must meet the definition of refugee, but such status is requested after entering the United States rather than before leaving a host country.

“We are still assisting people from the former Soviet Union and Ukraine who are in danger,” added Alter. “They come to us often through word of mouth.”

The agency assists them in gaining permanent residency status, the first step toward citizenship, and filling out citizenship papers, as well as helping them access social services, an often problematic process because of language difficulties.

“They use us as a referral base,” explained Alter. “If they need a doctor or anything else, we act as referral.”

Once a person signs the proper form to allow the JFVS to represent them, agency representatives will accompany the immigrants to social service agencies, assisting them in applying for Social Security or food stamps.

“This is part of our mission,” said Alter. “Our door is open to help people of all nationalities who cannot afford immigration attorneys because they are low income. We provide low-cost quality immigration services and offer them vocational services as well. But our main goal is to help these people attain citizenship and maintain eligibility of government benefits.”

Heartache and expense

JFVS is a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County and receives funding from municipal, county, state, and federal government sources, as well as the United Way of Central New Jersey and direct charitable contributions.

For its immigration services, the agency receives funding through a grant from the NJ Bar Association Foundation and the NJ Department of Human Services’ office of refugee and immigration services.

As a funding stipulation, JFVS advertises in immigrant publications and leaves written material in public libraries, senior centers, and other public forums. It conducts seminars and workshops throughout the Middlesex County area on such topics as Medicare or Medicaid, changing immigration law, and such legal issues as medical malpractice and workers’ compensation.

The agency is also putting together a citizenship preparation video with additional bar foundation funding and creating a pamphlet in English, Russian, and Gujarati, an Indian dialect, providing an overview on how to become a citizen.

“We get a lot of people who unfortunately call us after a court case who could have avoided a lot of heartache and expense,” said Alter. “But unfortunately, a lot of people, especially from the former Soviet Union, don’t understand the legal system and are afraid of attorneys and the government.”

One of the most frustrating issues facing these immigrants is the “timing out” problem, part of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, that requires immigrants arriving after Aug. 22, 1996, to naturalize within seven years or lose Social Security and other government benefits.

“It’s a tremendous problem because in order to naturalize, you have to learn history and English to pass the citizenship exam,” said Alter. “How is someone who comes here at 75 going to become fluent in English? I know I couldn’t move to France tomorrow and suddenly speak French.”

However, if an immigrant has a disability that prevents him or her from learning English, an exemption can be granted. Alter said she had one such immigrant from Morocco who had serious memory problems resulting from head injuries suffered in a motor vehicle accident.

“This gentleman paid his attorney, but he should have presented a medical waiver at his interview,” recalled Alter. “But he had no idea he had this option open to him.”

JFVS made appointments for him with several doctors and the man has since had his application approved. He is now awaiting the required security clearance.

“As soon as he gets it, he will be sworn in,” said Alter.

The agency offers evening appointments and can provide a Russian translator if needed. Call 732-777-1940 for information or to make an appointment.

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A refugee from Russia gives back

WHEN BORIS SHMARUK, then five, and his family came to the United States as refugees from the former Soviet Union, it was a Jewish agency that helped them successfully adjust to life in their new country.

So when the Metuchen attorney saw, in a magazine for Russian professionals, a Jewish Family and Vocational Service of Middlesex County advertisement offering assistance to immigrants, he saw an opportunity to pay back.

“I speak Russian and do a lot of work in the Russian community,” said Shmaruk. “I want to help other immigrants be successful. That’s what America’s built on, although I think we’re forgetting that these days.”

On Wednesday, Aug. 2, at 7 p.m. at the JFVS office at 515 Plainfield Ave. in Edison, Shmaruk will offer a free seminar covering such legal topics as wills and estates, workers’ compensation, personal injury, medical malpractice, and other issues that those new to the United States might find bewildering.

Shmaruk’s family emigrated from Kiev in 1979 and was settled in the Bergen County community of Fair Lawn by the Jewish Family and Children’s Service in Wayne.

“I remember I was flipping through the Sputnik Advertising Review for Russian businesses and professionals, and the ad harkened me back to those days,” recalled Shmaruk, a resident of Livingston. “I don’t remember much but my parents always used to tell me about the family service. They helped to place me into the Yavneh Academy in Paramus — although later I switched to public school. They got in touch with the rabbi there. They helped my family with expenses.

“I thought to myself that I was in the same position 25 years ago, and now that I’m in a position to give back, I wanted to.”

Although Shmaruk’s family “struggled like any immigrant” family, his father got a job and his mother, who was pregnant with his brother when they arrived, settled in fairly well.

Shmaruk went on to Rutgers University and New York Law School, where he met his wife, Ilona, also a native of Kiev. She now practices in Newark.

“Her family literally came out on Oct. 16, the same day as mine,” noted Shmaruk. “Now, there were only one or two flights that came out of Kiev that day. This is supposedly true, although we can’t prove it, that our families were on the same plane.”

He worked at a Woodbridge firm before starting his own firm, Vlasac & Shmaruk in Metuchen, about six months ago, where he specializes in civil litigation, workers’ compensation, and negligence.

At the seminar, he plans to present an overview of some of the confounding legal problems that might confront an immigrant.

“It will just be things a young family might encounter: making sure they have the right insurance if they’re driving, what they need to do and what their rights are if leasing an apartment or purchasing a house,” explained Shmaruk. “Likewise, workers’ comp is my specialty, and I see a lot of people who work in factories who need their rights protected. I’m comfortable with blue-collar workers or immigrants who are intimidated by the legal system and need help navigating the waters and often get taken advantage of.”

Shmaruk said if there is a good response to the seminar, he would like to volunteer to do other programs for JFVS.

“I maybe could be a consultant or serve on some board,” he added.

— DEBRA RUBIN