Mr. Jamshid Arfany, an Afghan, sought legal representation from the CCCTX immigration legal services program after a long journey from his home country. After enduring a yearslong journey to the United States, Mr. Arfany was alone without any family and had no funds to pay for legal services. The CCCTX ILS program was able to help him navigate the complicated legal process and cover his legal fees with the help of grants and donors.

This client had to take a long and treacherous journey to gain legal status in the United States. Many people think being a refugee is as easy as showing up at a border and claiming refugee status, or that it can be “faked” with no evidence. This is not the case, as shown in the story below. 

Mr. Jamshid Arfany, an Afghan, was in the middle of his graduate school studies when the U.S. military suddenly pulled out of Afghanistan. The country quickly devolved into chaos. Unlike other Afghans who entered with humanitarian parole into the United States, Mr. Arfany made his way from Afghanistan to Iran, and eventually to Brazil (after that country issued him a Humanitarian Visa). Not feeling safe, not knowing anyone in Brazil, he made his way through South and Central America, passing through the Darian Gap, a notoriously dangerous no man’s land between Colombia and Panama.

Mr. Arfany said about this experience, “After four hours of travel by sea, I arrived in Capurgana and ventured into the forests between Colombia and Panama. For eight days and nights, I walked through the forest with limited food and water, facing the dangers of wild animals and the sea. As an immigrant, I had no other choice but to take this journey, even if it meant risking my life. I was close to death twice, but I persevered and eventually made it out of the forest. The memory of this experience will stay with me forever.”

He eventually arrived in Mexico. While in Mexico, he was robbed of his belongings and attacked several times before reaching the U.S. border. 

He made it to the Tijuana in November 2022, and the only way he could quickly make his way to safety was to cross the border and turn himself in to DHS officials and state his fear of returning to his country in order to be given the opportunity to start his asylum process. He was placed in deportation proceedings, where he would need to defend his asylum claim before a judge.

Mr. Arfany came to CCCTX in March 2023, at which point the legal team began work on his case. In June 2024 he went before immigration court with support from ILS team. The team is proud to have successfully helped Mr. Arfany prepare his testimony and evidence. After hearing Mr. Arfany’s testimony and reviewing the evidence, he was granted asylum and is legally allowed to reside in the United States.

Now Mr. Arfany is looking forward to his future here in the United States where he is now eligible to become a legal permanent resident and eventually a naturalized U.S. citizen.