Going outside of my comfort zone

When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, I volunteered to help a family escape.

I had no idea how far beyond traditional legal work this case would take me.

Here's the thing:

As an immigration attorney, I usually work within well-defined systems:

- File petitions

- Submit evidence 

- Attend interviews

But this was crisis management. When Afghanistan fell, everything changed.

Through an organization connecting volunteer attorneys with Afghan families, I was matched with a family in an especially vulnerable position.

The father was already in the United States through the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) for Afghans who had worked with the U.S. government. But that made his wife and young child — still in Kabul — high-profile targets for the Taliban.

Their case quickly became something far beyond my normal scope of practice.

I wasn't just preparing legal documents – I was:

- Connecting with people on the ground in Kabul

- Coordinating with humanitarian organizations at border crossings

- Tracking evacuation flights in real time

- Becoming a lifeline of information during internet blackouts

Most days, I felt completely out of my depth. 

Immigration attorneys typically handle cases for people already in the United States or applying through standard channels. 

This was a rescue mission — with lives literally at stake.

- There was no template to follow

- No training manual for helping clients escape a country in collapse

The intensity was overwhelming. 

I'd wake up checking messages, terrified I'd missed a critical update during the night. 

Every day brought new obstacles – airport closures, document requirements changing hourly, routes to border crossings suddenly becoming too dangerous.

After months of false starts and crushing disappointments, they finally made it out and to the United States.

Now, almost four years later, their permanent resident case is nearing completion. They have an interview scheduled in September. 

What began in crisis is finally approaching a normal immigration process.

It's one of the most meaningful cases I've ever worked on... And it pushed me far beyond my comfort zone as an attorney.

Pro bono work often delivers this strange paradox – the cases where you give your time freely end up giving you back something far more valuable. 

They remind you "WHY" you became an attorney in the first place.

It's not always about knowing all the answers. 

Sometimes it's just about being willing to try when people need help most desperately.

(The good thing is...sometimes it actually works out)

Question for you:

How has your work taken you beyond what you thought was your role?