Agent Series 1: Night With A Special Agent

Chapter 1

IT WAS Monday morning and Cassandra Perez was late for work. Hindi niya inaasahang mabigat pa rin ang daloy ng trapiko bandang alas Diez ng umaga sa araw na iyon sa San Pedro Street. She had an urgent meeting with her client. Dapat ay eksaktong alas diez ang kanilang usapan. Her insomnia triggered last night kaya late na siyang nakatulog.

The case of her client was a bit complicated kaya lagi itong nakikipag-usap sa kanya ng personal. Cassandra was working as an immigration lawyer specializing US Immigration Law but she was based in the Philippines. After she passed the board exam in the USA, she came back to the Philippines to build her own law firm. Majority of her clients were from the Philippines. IIlan lang ang foreign clients niya.

"I am so freaking late!" She annoyingly grunted. Mukhang mawawalan pa yata siya ng kliyente sa araw na iyon. Tanaw niya na ang building kung saan ang office niya, kaya naman ay bumaba na siya ng taxi. "Kuya, dito nalang ako!" She didn't wait for the driver to speak. She jumped off of the taxi and started running towards the building.

The guard immediately opened the door for her when he saw her running. Alam nito na late siya dahil memoryado nito ang oras ng kanyang pasok.

"Madam!" It was Andy, her gay secretary calling her. Patakbo itong lumapit sa kanya na may dalang folder. "Sobrang late mo na!"

"I know! You don't need to remind me!" She snatched the folder from Andy. "Kamusta sina mrs. Dengler?"

"Ayon," Andy pressed the button for the elevator. "Okay naman sila. They understand why you're late."

She felt relieved of what Andy said but she was still embarrassed. The Dengler couple was her very important client dahil siya ang pinagkakatiwalaan ng mga ito upang makapunta na sa Estados Unidos ang misis at dalawang anak ni Mr. Dengler. The first case she handled for them was the Consular Report of Birth Abroad of their youngest child. Ngayon naman ay ang spousal visa ng asawa ni mr. Dengler.

Cassandra didn't wait for Andy to open the door of her office for her, she did it herself. "Good morning, mrs. Dengler! I'm very sorry na late po ako." Aniya pagpasok sa kanyang opisina. Nadatnan niyang nagpapaded* ito sa bunsong anak nito.

"Oh, it's okay, attorney. I arrived exactly 10:00 am naman." Ngumiti ito sa kanya habang inaayos nito ang nursing bra nito. "Dala ko na nga pala ang ang mga papeles na hinihingi mo, we're hoping it could really help us get through the process of my visa." Mrs. Dengler reached for the bag on the chair next to her and took the envelope. Andy volunteered to help. "Thank you." Anito saka binigay sa kanya ang envelope.

"Thank you so much for understanding, mrs. Dengler. It won't happen again." She said sincerely. Binuksan niya ang envelope at binasa ang papeles.

Cassandra only requested for Mrs. Dengler's National Bureau of Investigation clearance with AKA on it plus a copy of her correction on her birth certificate. Marami kasing error sa birth certificate nito kaya kailangan ayusin bago i-upload sa Consular Electronic Applications Center/ National Visa Center. The NVC was the most important stage of processing a US visa. She's been through it before when she applied for a student visa for the USA.

"Thank you so much for these, ma'am. Ia-upload ko ang mga documents today as soon as I finished compiling all of it. I'll let you know when it's all uploaded."

"Ilang araw ba ang process ng documents sa NVC, attorney? Pareho rin ba sa USCIS(U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)?"

Ngumiti siya dito saka umiling. "Oh, no, no, no. The NVC process is quicker compared to USCIS. It only takes them within 15 days to review your documents."

She saw how relieved mrs. Dengler was and that made her heart happy. Matagal rin ang hinintay nila bago i-upload ang documents nito sa CEAC dahil sa error ng Birth certificate nito. She's been dealing with a lot of complicated cases ever since she built her firm and they're case wasn't new to her. The toughest case she handled was when the petitioner committed a moral turpitude.