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Immigration case one of several aided by DNA center's work
Monday, May 19, 2008
FAIRFIELD TWP. — Mother's Day was special for Fairfield Twp. resident Sam Ezenagu and his family.
After 13 years of working to get his family to the U.S., Ezenagu's sister, Anthonia, received her residency visa and is now allowed to move to the country.
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Anthonia is the last of Ezenagu's family — who are natives of Nigeria — to move to the country and will live with Ezenagu, his three brothers — Christian, Ikechukwu and Chinonso — and mother, Caroline.
"There are a limited number of visas that can be issued each year around the world," said Ezenagu, an immigration attorney.
More than 431,000 people were granted legal permanent residence in the United States in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Anthonia has up to six months to move to the country, but Ezenagu said it is likely she'll be flying to the United States in a couple of weeks. Although he has visited his sister as recently as a year ago, Ezenagu said words cannot explain his feelings.
"I don't know how to put it into perspective," he said. "I think it's the greatest thing that has happened to the family for a long, long time. It's what we have been praying for and waiting for and it's finally coming true."
Ezenagu has worked with more than 1,000 clients on immigration-related cases, and many of his clients have similar stories to his own, he said. Once Anthonia has arrived in the United States, she will begin the process to becoming a U.S. citizen, which can take about five years, Ezenagu said.
The DNA Diagnostic Center in Fairfield was crucial in helping bring Anthonia, as well Ezenagu's brothers and mother, to the country with DNA testing. DDC spokesman Jim Hanigan said while relationship testing for immigration cases is a small part of his company's business, it is slowly growing.
"What we're finding is that the government is relaying on these DNA relationships more than they have in the past," Hanigan said. "To be the final piece of that puzzle, to have a mother and a child or a father and a child, it is rewarding."
The majority of the time, Hanigan said the people are related.
"But to be the final piece of that puzzle, to have a mother and a child or a father and a child to be reunited, it is rewarding," Hanigan said.
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5112 or mpitman@coxohio.com.
