How a Harvard-Educated Immigration Lawyer Confronts "Screen Blindness"
“It happened after a busy year of being buried in my computer late into every night. In 2017, I had developed a rare unknown vision disorder – severe sensitivity to artificial light.” From having to stay away from the computer to avoiding flourescant lights in grocery stores, today’s woman dreamer, Samia Chandraker, a Harvard-educated Immigration attorney and the founder of Samia Law, shares a powerful story of finding the silver lining in a dark digital cloud. Samia shares how she adjusted her lifestyle to fit the condition, and overcame the adversity. Further, she shares how her law firm has been helping Indians visit their families during these tough times, how Covid-19 has impacted travel, and her expertise on the ongoing changes to immigration law. An inspiration to rising female lawyers, enjoy her story below!
1) You are a lawyer specializing in Immigration Law and Healthcare Workers, running your own firm, SamiaLaw. That is amazing! What is the most rewarding part of the work you do?
I founded SamiaLaw over 20 years ago, building on my previous experience in civil liberties and public interest law in the UK. Last year, my transition to partnership allowed me to step back from day-to-day operations and do more of what I love: counseling clients, problem-solving, advocating for immigrants, and mentoring. As Consulting Partner, I offer my two decades of experience to get through tricky consultations, assist with the most difficult cases, mentor younger attorneys & interns, and inspire staff & clients to challenge unfair immigration practices.
2) Right now is a pretty crazy time, both from an immigration and health perspective, especially with the Covid impacts on India. What has that been like in your perspective? How has it affected your work? What are some things you are seeing?
The pandemic thrust us into a whirlwind of critical responsibilities, unprecedented client anxiety, and constant flux. We found ourselves working on some invisible frontline. As our office specializes in immigration law application to healthcare workers, we have a special responsibility to medically underserved communities in the US, especially in rural health professional shortage areas. These communities rely on us to get physicians and other healthcare workers in place, on time, to serve patients.
It has taken all of my years of expertise to deal with delayed and rejected filings, suspension of processing, consulate closures, presidential immigration and travel bans, and clients falling into illegal status.
The new administration and the expiration of the wide-sweeping travel ban on March 31, 2021 has brought some relief, but there continues to be frustration. Our office is again having to grapple with rapid changes in immigration laws. US consulates overseas are still closed, or providing restricted services, and struggling with backlogs of visa applications outstanding for almost 18 months. As a result, they are not entertaining requests to expedite even the most compelling and humanitarian cases. For example, our firm is working on the case of a three-year-old who has been stranded overseas, separated from his parents in the US for over a year, and another case of a spouse of a US permanent resident, who has been waiting for two years for permission to enter the US.
The COVID impact on India in the past few months has created a grim crisis for our clients residing in the US. We have received calls from our US clients scrambling to go to India to catch the last breath of a dying father or mother or other loved one, oblivious to the consequences, and risk of no return.
3) You have also overcome an adversity with strength & resilience, as you had gone screen blind. Tell us about this. What exactly is this condition, and how did you push through it? How did you stay positive during this experience, and what did the recovery look like?
It happened after a busy year of being buried in my computer late into every night. In 2017, I had developed a rare unknown vision disorder – severe sensitivity to artificial light. At the same time, I had no problems with sunlight or natural light. The consequences were debilitating. I could not tolerate viewing computer or phone screens, even for a few seconds. Wearing sunglasses did not alleviate the problem and sometimes made it worse. I could not go to stores flooded with glaring fluorescent light, and even standing next to a monitor, waiting to make a copayment at the doctor's office, was agonizing.
I was thrust into living out a digital nonexistence in the 21st century.
A year of pursuing medical treatment led to little relief. Institutions I visited included the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, The Carroll Center for the Blind, the Irlen Institute, and the Boston Foundation for Sight.
With change, in order to survive, you have to adapt. And that's how my frustration ended.
It was either sink or swim, and it had to be swim. Gradually, I found my way out of the ubiquitous fog of screens. I rearranged my life and my business: technology would have to work around me, and not the other way around. I stopped convincing myself that this was impossible, or that was unattainable. It wasn't easy: it took innovation and persistence. I shifted my business from sole owner to partnership, giving me a new opportunity to do more of what I was good at, and hired an intern to be my vision assistant. I resumed writing and connected with my writing group: handwriting, reading pieces out loud, and oral discussion do not require computers.
I was back in business, and I also had my life back.
My awareness of the world around me shifted from digital to analog. I reconnected with humans in a way that my digital consumption would not have permitted earlier. There was a real and physical community that I was becoming central to, keeping its members connected outside the digital universe: neighbors, businesses, friends, family, and clients. In the process, I had created the space I needed to heal and improve.
I had found the silver lining in that dark digital cloud.
(Very recently, a leading eye specialist has identified inflammation in the nerves of my cornea by studying images taken by a revolutionary new corneal confocal microscope. His investigations are ongoing and may lead to treatment.)
4) As a woman running her own law firm, and a graduate of Harvard Law School, what is your advice to other women lawyers?
Over the last two decades, I have mentored many law school graduates transitioning as interns or entering as fresh associates in my office. There are a few things I always encourage:
Firstly, if you don't know how to do something, don't give up too easily – ask. Even if you are a solo practitioner, you can seek out those with expertise and empathy, and ask. There are often designated volunteer mentors within bar associations, and professional organizations – that is a good place to start looking for the right help. Remember – ask!
Secondly, don't be afraid to think creatively. Be bold about doing something unconventional. For example, sometimes the solution isn't a legal one, it's a social or practical measure that provides the resolution. Don't lose sight of the real goal: it isn't always applying the law, it's helping your client.
Thirdly, another thing I see younger attorneys do is fall into the trap of telling clients that the law says you can't do this, and you can't do that and you can't do the other. Shift your perception of your role – tell the client what you can do for them, and never tell a client "there's nothing we can do", because there is always something.
5) As a platform for women dreamers, what is your next big dream?
I am also a writer. I am currently working on a novel combining magic realism with contemporary events, drawing on my experiences growing up in an immigrant Pakistani family in Scotland. The story follows the path of a refugee Pakistani girl who is given sanctuary in a parochial New England town. The local community’s paranoia and suspicion escalate, causing a rift in reality and the resurrection of supernatural forces. I have spent the last five years meeting with a writing group, The Dream Thieves, to benefit from critical workshopping of the manuscript. My next big dream would be to complete and publish the novel.
Thank you Samia for sharing your story with us! We are excited to have you in our global women’s network!
Bio: Samia Chandraker is Consulting Partner at SamiaLaw specializing in immigration law for the healthcare industry and sports professionals. She has been practicing as an attorney in immigration law in the United States for over 20 years. Prior to that, she worked in the United Kingdom in the field of immigration law and civil liberties. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Massachusetts Bar, Law Society of England & Wales, and alumni member of the United Nations Leadership Academy. She graduated from University of Glasgow Law School and Harvard Law School. Samia enjoys creative writing and is currently working on a number of projects, including a novel, personal essays, short stories and a non-fiction book proposal. She also enjoys bringing people together, and founded & chaired the annual Diwali festival in her hometown, Westwood, a suburb of Boston.
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