By LAURA LANE
The Long Beach residents can finally put the nightmare of being separated behind them. Louis Shaban, a native of Johannesburg, has been battling the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service for the last seven years as wife Mariann battled lung cancer.
Last week a federal immigration judge in Manhattan granted Louis Shaban's petition to drop its deportation order against him, and wife Mariann is feeling much better. Her cancer is in remission.
We're really so happy, Shaban said. This proves that the system works and that the United States is a wonderful country.
Shaban arrived in the United States in 1993 from South Africa. He moved to Scottsdale, Arizona where he eventually met LaMonte-Shaban. In 1994, INS officials entered the store where Shaban was employed and placed him under arrest. He had been planning to get permanent legal status, but had overstayed his visa by two weeks. Shaban was released from jail after agreeing to periodically report to INS offices, which he did. In 1995, Shaban appeared before a federal immigration judge and agreed to a voluntary departure within the next year. During that year the couple fell in love and decided to marry.
Believing that he would be able to stay in the U.S. since he had married an American citizen, Shaban filed paperwork before his March 22, 1996 departure date. He did this in accordance with information given to him by an attorney. Unfortunately, the attorney's information was incorrect. The paperwork had not only been filed too late but the negligent attorney should have also filed a motion to request that immigration reopen the case. Shaban filed for an extension of the deportation date with a request to reopen his case but was denied. A later appeal was filed but also denied.
Leon Wildes, the immigration lawyer who saved John Lennon from deportation in 1972, heard of Shaban's plight and decided to help. His son, Michael, took on Shaban's case for free and the case was reopened and sent back to New York.
Louis Shaban is now a permanent legal resident of the United States. Mariann will continue to take the experimental drug that has helped put her cancer in remission, and the couple can now enjoy life in Long Beach absent court orders, medical treatments and INS nightmares.
We want to thank everyone for their prayers and efforts, Shaban said. The Long Beach Herald helped us so much. Everything and everyone played an important role in this.
