As a law student, Katie Brandes acquired a significant amount of experience working with both children and immigrants. She interned at Catholic Charities in New York and volunteered at The Door (a New York-based organization focused on youth development), and participated in a law school clinic that handled immigration cases for neglected and abandoned children. So when Katie, now an Associate at the New York office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, was matched with a 17-year-old unaccompanied boy from West Africa, she knew how she wanted to proceed.

The boy she represented, Ahmed*, came to the United States as a young teenager with his father. Political unrest and ethnic tensions were prevalent in Ahmed's home country. The language Ahmed and his family spoke made them easily recognizable as belonging to a particular ethnic group and therefore a target of a rival ethnic group. Members of this group had attacked Ahmed on his way to school; Ahmed feared for his own safety.

Soon after Ahmed and his father came to the United States, Ahmed's father returned to their home country, leaving Ahmed in the care of an adult cousin. Ahmed's cousin and a family friend provided shelter, food and clothing for him.

Ahmed was referred to KIND by the American Friends Service Committee, which first identified his need for pro bono legal assistance. Sadly, soon after Katie accepted Ahmed's case, the boy's father was killed while attending a political rally in their home country. His mother, having to care for her two other children after losing the family's only breadwinner, could not care for or protect Ahmed if he returned.

Katie filed for special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) for Ahmed. Ahmed's cousin had filed for guardianship of Ahmed and was happy to become his legal guardian.

Then it was time for the difficult wait.

"Immigration cases can take a very long time to adjudicate," Katie said. "It can be very hard for the client because besides being in a state of limbo awaiting a judge's decision, clients often end up with multiple lawyers over the course of their case. This means that the client will have to gain comfort with and confidence in each new lawyer, and when the client is a child, this process can be even harder. KIND is great because there is continuity in the form of the pro bono coordinators. Ahmed was very comfortable with his KIND coordinator in New York, Anne Marie Mulcahy, who was very helpful and offered support and guidance when needed."

It was well worth the wait. Ahmed was granted SIJS and he recently received a green card. Katie was especially gratified with the outcome of Ahmed's case because she has a younger brother who is the same age as Ahmed; she recognizes that now, Ahmed will have some of the same opportunities as her brother. Like Katie's younger brother, Ahmed is applying to college. And like a typical student, he has already changed his major: from business to criminal justice. Katie still thinks about how different the lives of Ahmed and her brother would have been if Ahmed's relief had been denied and he was forced to return to his home country.

KIND thanks Katie for helping Ahmed achieve what was once just a distant dream - an opportunity to have a hopeful and productive life free from fear.