Article from Filipino Reporter. Dr. Pedro Servano (right) and wife, Salvacion. (File photo)
Filipino doctor Pedro Servano and his wife, Salvacion, both U.S. permanent residents from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, made headlines in 2007 when they were nearly deported back to the Philippines due to a long-ago error on their immigration paperwork that was discovered when they tried to apply for American citizenship.
But with the overwhelming support of their community, including some politicians, to keep Dr. Servano — who was the only primary care physician in Selinsgrove, an underserved Pennsylvania town — the “model immigrants” were granted a stay of deportation.
Four years later, however, the Servanos are still in legal limbo — tirelessly “hoping and praying” that they find closure.
Having been unable to visit the Philippines since they got entangled in a legal battle, Dr. Servano told the Filipino Reporter he is dreaming of traveling to his hometown in San Ramon, Lagonoy, Camarines Sur in August next year to be with his mother who will celebrate her 100th birthday.
He said the whole Servano clan is holding a grand reunion and “I hope and pray I can attend” along with his wife, who is a nurse, and their four U.S.-born children, now ages 28, 26, 19 and 17.
The Servanos were ordered deported because of a change in their marital status during their visa-application process in the late 70s.
They were young and single when their mothers applied for visas on their behalf, but they were already married by the time the visas were granted in the early 80s.
Immigration officials said they were never told of the change and accused them of lying.
The Servanos and their lawyers claim it was “an honest mistake.”
The couple claimed they were unaware they their marriage could have violated the terms of their green cards.
The Servanos were first served with a deportation notice in 1992, two years after the discovery of the discrepancy.
The order was affirmed in successive appeals — by the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The U.S. Immigration ordered the Servanos to leave the United States by November.
Numerous supporters and patients of Dr. Servano protested and held candlelight vigil, with a petition signed by 20,000 people in support of the Servanos who were often described by many as “model immigrants.”
A Filipino American Action Task Force has been formed specifically to generate support for the couple.
On Dec. 5, 2007, the deportation order was put on hold and the couple was granted an indefinite “Deferred Action Status.”
Their whole community celebrated.
Their whole community celebrated.
In the next four years, the Servano case remained status quo.
According to the couple’s attorney at the time, Gregg Cottler, a private bill — or a special congressional legislation — was their only hope to fix the problem.
A private immigration bill applies to extraordinary immigration cases like the Servanos, who have come to represent law-abiding immigrants who contribute productively to their community but whose status is under review because of a technicality in the law.
The chances of a private bill passing, however, are slim, Cottler said.
The Servanos, nonetheless, want to be positive.
They sought the help of Rep. Thomas Marino and Sen. Patrick Toomey, both Republicans from Central Pennsylvania, to sponsor a private bill on their behalf.
Servano got the chance to personally meet with Marino on Oct. 22 in a town hall meeting in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and follow up his appeal for help.
“I had plenty of time to interact with the congressman,” Servano told theReporter.
“He is very supportive and aware that a congressional resolution is now being drafted. According to Servano, Marino told him that he (the congressman) is now in contact with the U.S. Immigration regarding legal ways and means to help me and my wife. So the process is actively going on and we are very happy and hopeful.”
The Reporter has learned that Marino’s office in Washington, D.C. has assigned Philip Pulizzi, a special assistant to Marino, to handle the Servano case.
On Nov. 19, a meeting will be held in Cameron Park in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, to gather signatures for a congressional resolution to be sponsored by the Snyder, Union and Northumberland Counties Council of Republican Women headed by Irene C. Harris.
Fil-Am lawyer J.T. Mallonga, who currently heads the Filipino American Legal Defense and Education Fund (FALDEF), has also been helping the couple since 2007.
Servano said Mallonga is now in touch with Pulizzi, who suggested that Mallonga help draft two possible resolutions to be presented to the U.S. Congress — one for extension of the deferred status and another for the final solution to the case.
Meantime, Servano said life goes on for him and his wife.
He continues to practice medicine with the Geisinger Health System, based in Selinsgrove for the last 17 years and with a patient panel of about 2,000 to 3,000.
He serves as a clinical preceptor/teacher for third and fourth year medical students at Temple University College of Medicine and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
His wife, Salvacion, works part time as a nurse and tends a small business in Sunbury, Pennsylvania.
“We never lost hope,” the soft-spoken doctor said.
“We never lost our faith.”