CVLS was excited to host Northwestern undergraduate student, Tess Ballis, for an internship last summer. Bilingual, professional, hard-working, and kind, Tess was an incredible asset to the Minor Guardian ad Litem (GAL) and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) Programs.
Last week, Tess wrapped up one of her cases with the supervision of CVLS staff. She did all of the heavy lifting on an SIJS case for Timur Kulik, a 20-year-old college student from Slovakia. Despite a challenging childhood, Timur did incredibly well in high school and received a full-ride scholarship to study biological sciences at the University of Southern California.
Thanks to Tess, Timur’s bright future will also soon include lawful permanent immigration status in the United States and a path to citizenship. For more information about SIJS cases at CVLS, please contact Rebekah Rashidfarokhi at rebekah@cvls.org.

