When Love Meets Borders: Ozlem Barnard's Personal Journey to Immigration Law
Atal & Mahaprasad
25th March
"We went to the embassy, and the immigration officer almost got angry, 'You’ve got to start over again!'"
The words hung in the air, sharp and dismissive. In that moment, standing in the U.S. embassy newly married with her American husband beside her, Ozlem Barnard felt the full weight of what it meant to be caught between worlds. Not just a woman in love and dreams of the future, but a human being reduced to paperwork, procedures, and cold bureaucracy.
When Love Meets Borders
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Ozlem was a promising law student in Turkey when fate introduced her to an U.S. Army officer who would become her husband. Their love story should have been simple—two people finding each other across continents, building a life together. Instead, they found themselves facing the labyrinthine reality of immigration law, a system seemingly designed to keep people apart.
The pain of separation was acute. Every day apart was a reminder of how seemingly arbitrary the legal system could seem from the outside and how that system could feel heartless when human lives hung in the balance. For Ozlem, this wasn't just inconvenient—it was transformative.
"That's the secret—grit," she reflects now, her voice carrying the strength of someone who has navigated storms and emerged stronger. "You have got to have a grand sense of how to succeed and survive in another culture, another country, another language."
The Decision That Changed Everything
Many would have simply endured the process, relieved when it was finally over. Ozlem chose a different path. The frustration did not fade once her own immigration journey ended. Instead, it crystallized into purpose.
"There was no doubt in my mind that I was just going to do immigration law."
The decision was as clear as it was consequential. Leaving behind her attorney career in Turkey, Ozlem embarked on a new journey in America—not just as an immigrant, but as an U.S.-trained attorney who could better operate within U.S. immigration law.
Standing in Two Worlds
For Ozlem, practicing immigration law is not just a career, it's an extension of her lived experience. Every client who sits across from her is not just seeing an attorney; they meet someone who has walked in their shoes, who understands the sleepless nights, the anxiety of uncertainty when your future is in the hands of a complex bureaucracy.
Ozlem went on to serve on both sides of the courtroom, sixteen years as a federal government attorney both at the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice, and now a career as a private attorney. Through those experiences, she understood that the most important aspect of achieving a just outcome for all is for due process being followed.
"I don't want to watch on the sidelines as due process is being attacked," she says with intensity. Her metaphor is vivid and disturbing: "If we don't stand together, we might end up in boiling water, unaware."
Like the proverbial frog that doesn't notice the slowly heating water until it's too late, Ozlem sees warning signs in today's immigration system that others might overlook—the extended separations, the endless backlogs, the erosion of humanitarian considerations and due process. She understands that the law is best served when justice prevails, and that it can include room for compassion. After all, like her favorite Board of Immigration Appeals case states: The government wins when the justice is done.
Beyond Sympathy: The Power of Shared Experience
What makes Ozlem's approach different is not just legal expertise, its empathy is rooted in experience. When a client describes waiting for a decision that will determine their family's future, Ozlem does not just nod professionally—she remembers. She remembers the weight in her chest, the way time seemed to stretch endlessly when her own fate hung in limbo.
When was the last time you felt truly seen and understood in your struggle? How did that change your experience?
Having the point of view of being an immigrant, a former federal immigration attorney, and now an immigration attorney helping immigrants, "I want to be a bridge," she explains, and the simplicity of the statement belies its profound implications. "A bridge so that we (both the government attorneys and the immigration attorneys) could be more trusting, understand each other's roles, and ensure that justice is truly done."
This is not just about connecting immigrants to the appropriate legal pathway. It is about bridging cultures, perspectives, and experiences to create better understanding.
Reimagining Justice Through Technology and Humanity
Ozlem is committed to making a significant impact in safeguarding due process. Utilizing her extensive experience as a federal litigator, where she managed thousands of immigration cases in immigration courts and handled class action cases in district courts, Ozlem now provides training to immigration attorneys on litigation strategies. This enables these attorneys to effectively protect their clients' due process rights.
Her approach challenges us to rethink what justice looks like in immigration. Is it merely the correct application of law? Or is it something more profound—the recognition of human dignity in every interaction, every decision, every policy?
How might our systems change if they were designed by those who have experienced it firsthand?
The Revolution of One
Ozlem's journey from immigrant to advocate is inspiring. It demonstrates how personal values can shape an approach to the law.
Her story encourages us to help families who are separated because they misunderstand procedural hurdles. How many potential Ozlems are out there right now, their talents and contributions limited by their challenges of working within U.S. immigration policies?
"Grit," she reminds us again. It's what got her through, what gets her clients through, what fuels her ongoing emphasis on a more humane approach.
An Invitation to Act
As you read these words, somewhere an official is saying "start over again" to someone whose future hangs in the balance. Somewhere a family is marking another day of separation on a calendar already filled with too many crossed-out days. Somewhere a talented individual is wondering if their dreams of contributing to a new country will ever materialize.
Ozlem Barnard's story isn't just her own—it belongs to millions. And it asks something of each of us. Whether we're legal professionals, policymakers, or simply citizens of a world where borders both protect and divide us, we face a choice: Will we, like Ozlem, become bridges to pursue justice with a heart?
What small step can you take today to ensure that someone else's immigration story contains more dignity and more understanding?
In the end, perhaps that's the most powerful lesson from Ozlem's journey: Justice is not just an abstract concept to be debated in a classroom, courtroom, or legislature. It's a daily practice, a commitment to seeing the person behind the paperwork, the family behind the file number, the dreams behind the documentation.
And sometimes, it begins with one person who refuses to forget what it felt like to hear those words: "You got to start over again!"
This article is part of LegalBridge's ongoing series featuring immigration law practitioners who bring unique perspectives to the field. Follow us for more insights from legal professionals shaping the future of immigration law.
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