A steady stream of visitors walked into the Burlington Library an entire afternoon on Sunday June 13th with one purpose – to partake in the One on One Immigration clinic organized by IAFPE and AASRA, two local organizations that jointly hosted this clinic. Three local immigration lawyers, Prashant Desai, Amita Vasudeva and Trupti Patel were present , first hand to offer free advice and answer questions on a voluntary basis. For the first time, people had the opportunity to ask questions pertaining to immigration, and there were plenty, ranging from status of H1 Visas, Health Care, citizenship, green card and changes in the new laws and how it will affect certain visas. Then there were others who walked in casually and were pleasantly surprised at the opportunity. Each attendee was given 15 to 20 minutes each with the lawyer and the atmosphere was informal and flexible.

IAFPE President, Vanita Shastri, said that the effort was initiated because clinics like these have been held by various other communities like the Irish and proved very successful. “Historically IAFPE has always taken on an awareness and educate campaign for causes such as this, but this is useful too for the community”. Archana Singhal, AASRA’s Board member said, “AASRA has been focusing on conducting a series of educational seminars in three areas, Health, Immigration and Social issues. When this came by, it seemed a perfect opportunity. There is always a synergy when organizations come together and this worked out very well” Both of them were also appreciative of the fact that the attorneys’ had offered to give their time and expertise graciously.

Participants, Sagar and Namrata who came all the way from Weymouth seemed satisfied. “We came for some preliminary advice and we got a great response. Dinaker, who had come with questions pertaining to his friends found the lawyers knowledgeable. “When you go to an immigration attorney for a 20 min interview, you are charged anywhere from $100 to $150. To ask advice on general questions, this is expensive” But today's clinic was wonderful. This is exactly what the community needs” he said . Jagdeep Mehta, who came to ask a question on his H1 status, seemed perturbed by the fact that immigration frauds in this country are denying many conscientious immigrants a fair livelihood. He also had an immigration question on his H1 Visa Status

The organizations also circulated a feedback form and many thought that it was a wonderful opportunity. They also hoped that such clinics would be held in different locations so that lot of people would benefit.

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