Flight Perspectives Archives - Page 3 of 23 - The Ugly Birdhouse: Sam Conlon & Gary Wanderlingh

“So…how is it?” (Been getting asked that a lot lately!)….Well, we can’t believe it’s been a month since we received Sam’s Green Card! We thought we had no concept of time waiting?!; it’s even worse after the fact! (but in a good way!) Downside is, we have missed celebrating and sharing some news. So here’s a “Multi-Post Green-Card Update” to fill you in….

gcrn1 gcrn3 1. Gary’s sister Suzanne and Mom, and our “best man” Rick Clark, came by the day after we physically received the card, to celebrate (impromptu, almost like our wedding). We were treated to a nice surprise, by an old family friend (Thank you Mrs. Gregus!), who sent a cake up for us with Gary’s mom to send her love and congratulations!

gcrn2 We waited a long time…
and finally used champagne glasses that were part of a wedding gift to us!

More so, we opened up the actual Champagne we have been saving since we got married!

2. We celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary on November 11th! What did we do? Nothing! Had a weekend of no internet and emails and just enjoyed being in OUR HOME (no longer just a house!) We had intended ot post about it on our actual anniversary, but out of respect for it being Veteran’s Day, we did not (and that is truly why we were married on November 11th: Gary was off from work for Veteran’s Day. It was coincidence, not intended or planned, that we were married on 11.11.11)

Sam found the perfect card!

3. WE MADE THE NEWS AGAIN!

We were front page story of the Northern Westchester Examiner! Some people saw it (was limited in physical distribution) but it is now online for all to see! We want to thank reporter Janine Bowen, who, in an ironic twist, contacted us just as we heard there was progress on our application! She was more that patient, and did a nice job of changing a story that was asking for help (the ONLY media outlet to extend help with our situation while we were still in limbo) and changing/sharing it to a “happy ending” story (seems the Somers Daily Voice picked up on it as well now that is it online). Link to fully story is in the US in The Media page above.

4. We are flattered that we have been asked to speak at the New Haven Pride Center next month to “share our story”, along with our attorney, Kevin Dehghani. More details to come once we know the exact date and details! If you are local, and able to, please come support the center through US by letting people know who will be in attendance that there is help out there and people DO care!

What’s ahead? Well, as we were warned, we “knocked down the 100 ft. wall but there will lot of “10-20 ft. walls popping up”…and they have….Sam’s belongings have FINALLY made it across the Atlantic! They are being held by US Customs right now for inspection and we hope to have them here within a couple weeks (although, a tad scared what condition after 3 years of storage!). There’s bank accounts to be set-up; bank transfers and business aspects to sort out. Sam is finally covered by Gary’s health insurance. Sam has to go an obtain his Connecticut driver’s license. As far as the Connecticut DMV is concerned, he is the equivalent of a “16 year old” and has to first obtain his permit, then take driver’s education courses, and after 90 days, can take his road test.

WHEN’S THE PARTY GOING TO BE!??!! Well…there will be none. It’s not that we would not like to celebrate with everyone! (we did, two years ago when we were married). There is a bitter-sweetness to our victory…it is not one that changed laws or broke new ground. What we fought for, we had been legally denied by the U.S. Government for over a year (two plus years of fraud attorney prior to that). While we would like to celebrate and throw a big victory party, frankly, we just can’t afford it.

While Sam is able to work now, he is still unable to drive. Therefore, he can not open the business he intended to (thanks to fraud attorney for misleading us for so long and amount of money we both unnecessarily spent!), nor can he drive yet if he was able to obtain a place of employment.

ONE DAY!

When we think back to where we were a year ago,
it seems like 10.
When we think to where were were 4 years ago,
seems like 20!
Therefore, we think we’ll have a 25th Anniversary party,
next summer?

Thank You Kevin!

We have had found it very difficult finding a way we could possible express our thanks and gratitude to the man who made our lives together possible: Attorney Kevin Dehghani.

We tried many times to “sum it up”. Not possible. There are no words to use. Thank You is just not enough. Actually, there came a point in July, where we said it so much it sounded so meaningless, we started using a translation app to say “Thank You” in different languages. What Kevin did for us, in both process and outcome, is not something we can “simply” describe. It’s something, at this early stage of marriage equality, only a few people in this country can relate to. No one but us, can know what we experienced -together- with Kevin; his being by our side the entire time!

US with our Atty. Kevin Dehghani & Senator Richard Blumenthal, July 15, 2013.

He was not just our lawyer acting upon legal precedent; there was none. He was stetting forth in motion, aspects we know that he never anticipated. He represented us and stood up for us. He took legal action towards USCIS for us, and then fought for us when they failed to follow the laws. He provided guidance and support to us, and there there were many times, we wish we could have helped him. We had not retained his counsel under normal circumstances, and he supported us personally after years of lies and deceit by another attorney, always with an understanding of what we had been though and showing concern for our personal well-being throughout the entire process. He was then suddenly caught up in the “Post DOMA Dist. 2 ruling/ Pre- June” waiting game of actions and filings. Post SCOTUS June ruling on DOMA, we waited almost two months with no movement by USCIS. When informed in August that they would not be taking action on our case for “a few months”, he immediately addressed USCIS as our personal advocate and our attorney at the same time and pursued any and all legal venues that were possible.

WTNH TV Interview. He was always there for us, by our side, in every aspect of our entire fight for fairness and equality.

He also did something no one else has or can say: he is the first attorney that is not affiliated with an advocacy group, to obtain a green-card for a same-sex couple. We became the first couple in CT to receive a green-card for the spouse. However, he gave us something much bigger, something we can never express gratitude for, something we have waited over three years to be legally allowed to do…just live together!

Thank You Kevin. YOU made this house…our home!

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Below is an online review we posted of Kevin’s work:
It is impossible to summarize the incredible experience we had with Attorney Kevin Dehghani. His professionalism, determination, fortitude and dedication to his clients, we encountered almost daily, for a full year. We originally sought his counsel in 2012 after being misled by an Immigration attorney in NYC for over 2 years. Atty. Dehghani faced his first challenge with us in obtaining documents from the previous lawyer. Then, what should have been a straight-forward Immigration case, based on Federal Court ruling (Dist. 2, Oct. 2012) of DOMA as Un-Constitutional, turned into one Atty. Dehghani, nor anyone, could have anticipated. The benefits entitled to any foreign sponsored spouse, were legally available prior to the Supreme Court Ruling in June. We are a male couple; American and British and were married November 11, 2011 in Newtown, Connecticut (July 2012 our marriage license was recognized by the UK Govt.). Despite U.S. Federal laws in place when we applied, our spousal petition was summarily denied by USCIS, twice. Atty. Dehghani faced unprecedented legal obstacles, with new laws in an area that few attorneys had ever encountered. He did not hesitate to move quickly and challenge USCIS on what laws they had not followed. He has an unbelievable knowledge of the law and a determination to see all are adhered to for all his clients. In June 2012, when the Supreme Court upheld the earlier ruling, our immigration application was still improperly handled by USCIS. Atty. Dehghani was always, professional, persistent, and showed a determination to be sure the new laws were going to be followed, and USCIS, who had not followed them before, were not going to be allowed to wait on addressing our case. Atty. Dehghani dealt with a full year of unprecedented legal set-backs and challenges, all due to unjust and incompetent oversight of federal law by the USCIS , the Dept. of Justice, and Homeland Security. Atty. Dehghani went above and beyond, battling an immigration system that is broken, a new legal precedent that had not be dealt with by other attorneys, and throughout it all, remained on top of every aspect that we could never properly sum up in a “review”. His compassion for the rights of individuals was evident the first day we met him. His work ethic was proven when he obtained the first same-sex sponsored green-card for a Connecticut couple. If you have any doubts about whether to obtain his counsel, we guarantee, you should have none!

Contact him yourself via his website Dehghani & Associates, or do not hesitate to contact us in any regard, to testify personally for you, what we have said is… “true, and nothing but the truth!”

In case it wasn’t clear already…Thank You Kevin!