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Refugee Family

Refugee Asylum Petitions

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Request from Nassau’s Refugee Coordinating Team:

Please consider signing two petitions in support of the Hashimi family’s immigration applications.

The first petition is for Soraya’s Asylum application. The second petition is for the Humanitarian Parole application by Ahmad, Soraya’s husband, who is currently stranded in Dubai, now separated from his family for more than a year-and-a-half. Both applications were submitted to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services office last Fall with little apparent progress made to date on either one.

The family did not come to the United States with the refugee documentation that our previous families have had because of the sudden and chaotic evacuation from Kabul. With that in mind, Nassau retained an immigration attorney now working with the family on the application processes. In consultation with the attorney, the Refugee Coordinating Team with support from the Mission & Outreach Committee ask for your help in petitioning for the reunification of the Hashimi family.

The petitions can be signed at a table in the conference room during Fellowship between services, or in the office hallway after the 11:00 a.m. service on either March 26th or April 2nd.

Let us together support the immigration applications of this long-separated family and honor their life-changing role as American partners and allies.

Contact Tom Charles (email)

#MissionMonday – Refugee Family Update (August 2022)

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August 2022

The Refugee Coordinating Team is very happy to share an update on the members of the Afghan refugee family that Nassau Church has sponsored.  We are so pleased with their progress since our last report and greatly appreciate the volunteer help provided by so many Nassau members.

The team is continuing to assist the members of the family living in Princeton in applying for asylum, as well the father in seeking “humanitarian parole” so he can join the rest of the family.

This summer has been a very busy time for the six children of this family, who range in age from adolescents to young adults.

The two sons continue to be very engaged in their support of the family and their education. The older son is working at a medical office in Princeton, while the younger son is re-starting his education at Mercer County Community College while continuing to work at a local grocery store.

The youngest daughter graduated this spring from elementary school. She is attending the YMCA summer camp and taking math classes at Princeton Middle School.

The next youngest daughter is also taking math classes this summer to prepare for the start of the school year. Her classes are at Princeton High School.

The third youngest daughter recently faced the challenge of aging out of the Princeton Public Schools, having almost graduated from her school in Afghanistan prior to her departure. She is working to complete her high school equivalency degree by passing the GED test, with ESL assistance from Beverly Leach.

The oldest daughter is working at Costco. She and her sisters rely on the support from volunteer drivers from our congregation for their transportation.

Angie Olsen organizes this group of drivers and provides a weekly schedule to keep everyone on track. Some additional help with this driving would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to be added to the driver list or can help in other ways, please contact Len Scales at the Church office (email).

As we hold this family in prayer, please especially pray that the father can be reunited with his family here in Princeton through the humanitarian parole process.