Paying It Forward: Lawyer From Hampton Bays Helps College Student Get Green Card

Wednesday, May 6, was a day that changed Brandon Soto’s life for the better. That was the day that Mr. Soto, who was born in San Ramón, Costa Rica, 22 years ago, finally got his green card — after four years of waiting.

Mr. Soto was 3 years old when he moved to the United States with his mother, Maria Elena Araya Mora. He has not been able to travel back to Costa Rica since, because of issues with his immigration status, he said.

His mother wanted to make a better life for herself and her son, he explained. She had moved to the United States a bit before her son, and when she was situated, Mr. Soto legally crossed the border in 2004 on a tourist visa, which expired in 2011. Once it was available in 2012, he applied for immigration protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.

DACA is a United States immigration policy that allows children who illegally entered the country as minors, or were born in the United States to parents here illegally, to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for a work permit.

Ms. Mora had raised him his entire life, as his father had abandoned him before he was born, he said. When Ms. Mora was pregnant, the doctor had detected issues that would lead to death during childbirth. Mr. Soto’s father wanted Ms. Mora to have an abortion, however, she wanted to take the risk.

Luckily, he said, when Ms. Mora gave birth to Mr. Soto, they both survived.

When Mr. Soto was a senior at Hampton Bays High School in 2016, Micheal Nappo, an associate attorney at David M. Sperling & Associates — a firm that specializes in immigration law — and a Riverhead resident, visited the school to promote a scholarship his firm sponsors for Latino students, associated with the New York DREAM Foundation.

According to its website, the New York DREAM Foundation is a charitable organization that provides college scholarships to outstanding immigrant students who are otherwise unable to obtain government financial aid in New York, as they have no immigration status.

Mr. Nappo is originally from Hampton Bays and a 2001 graduate of Hampton Bays High School. Before Mr. Nappo trained to become a lawyer, he worked construction for many years, learning Spanish from his friends on work sites.

“I went back to Hampton Bays [High School],” Mr. Nappo said. “It was kinda funny. So when I walked in there, I said this is my old health room. And I visited teachers that still knew me.”

It marked the first year that Mr. Nappo was involved with the scholarship. He wanted to give back to the immigrant community on Long Island. Every day after court, he would go to a different high school to spread the word about the program and encourage students to apply.

“It was a very rewarding field of law,” Mr. Nappo said. “I didn’t go to law school to be an immigration attorney, it’s just something that kind of fell in my lap — in part because of where I live, and the fact that there aren’t many Spanish-speaking lawyers. I cannot be more happy with the career that I’ve chosen.”

During the presentation, Mr. Soto was intrigued by the scholarship opportunity, as he was a student on DACA and could not get financial aid, he said. He waited until the presentation was over and explained his situation.

Mr. Soto explained that Mr. Nappo asked him a ton of questions about his life and his academic background. The attorney told Mr. Soto that with his high grades, he qualified for Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJ) status to apply for a green card. However, Mr. Soto did not receive the scholarship.

Mr. Soto had never attempted to apply for a green card, he said, as he did not believe that there were options for him to pursue as a student on DACA.

“I do this for hundreds of kids,” Mr. Nappo said. “And there are certain kids that leave a mark on you when they’re deserving for it like [Brandon], and it pushes you even harder to make it happen. ”

After hearing about the opportunity to apply for a green card, Mr. Soto wanted to know more, he said. He researched, Mr. Nappo visited his home to speak about the process, and he spoke with his family, weighing the benefits and obstacles, Mr. Nappo explained.

When Mr. Soto agreed to pursue the application for a green card, he grew a trusting relationship with Mr. Nappo.

They met each other often and stayed in contact throughout the entire process, which proved to be lengthy.

To start the process, they went through the SIJ process through the family court in Riverhead and submitted his application. The honorable Kathy G. Bergman approved the case in family court. Mr. Nappo was then able to send out the paperwork to the United States Citizen and Immigration Services, USCIS, for Mr. Soto’s green card to be approved.

Each case depends on the origin country of an individual, as that determines how many applications the USCIS accepts, Mr. Nappo said.

“[Mr. Nappo] explained to me that for Costa Rica, the wait time was supposed to be one to two years,” Mr. Soto said, “as not many people apply who are from there.”

There were, however, complications that arose that extended the wait time.

Mr. Soto would meet Mr. Nappo in his office every six months or so to chat.

“I would consider him a nice friend and a good person,” Mr. Soto said.

They would discuss various things, Mr. Soto’s case and his thriving academia. Mr. Nappo would check on Mr. Soto’s grades to make sure he was still doing well in school.

“I’m happy that he was able to wait it out and not ruin his chance of getting it by getting arrested or in trouble,” Mr. Nappo said, explaining that getting in trouble might have led to Mr. Soto’s deportation.

Mr. Soto is now a rising senior at Suffolk County Community College, majoring in information technology. He is planning on attending Marist College, in Poughkeepsie, next semester, continuing his information technology major.

Due to COVID-19, Mr. Soto has been attending classes online. After class on May 6, he received a call, in which he was told that he had gotten his green card and it was on its way.

“I wasn’t sure how I felt,” Mr. Soto said. “I was awestruck one second and then I felt adrenaline. All these years weren’t for nothing.”

Mr. Soto is now a permanent legal resident of the United States and many new doors have been opened for him. He can now apply for financial aid and scholarships to lighten the load on his mother.

“This drops my fear of being deported,” he said. “It is a miracle to finally have it. It has improved my life forever.”

Caroline Haubenstricker is a student at Miami University in Ohio majoring in journalism and global and intercultural studies. She lives in Sag Harbor, and will be a contributing writer for The Express News Group throughout the summer.