Ana and Roberto's Story
Actually, this is not just Ana and Roberto's story* —it's also the story of their two young daughters. Ana and Roberto have a storybook romance: girl and boy meet, fall in love, get married, and have a baby. There was only one problem: Roberto did not have legal status in the United States. He was undocumented.
Ana and Roberto wanted to make things right, so Ana petitioned the government for permission to have her husband obtain legal status. The petition was granted, but Roberto still had to go through the arduous visa application process and file a waiver to atone for the time he lived in the country without papers. Roberto wasn't allowed to stay in the United States while finishing this process, so he had to say goodbye to his family and return to Mexico.
Soon after her husband returned to Mexico, Ana learned that she was pregnant again. Because of several delays in the visa processing, Roberto was not able to return to the United States in time for the birth of his second daughter. In fact, he wasn't allowed to come back to the United States until his baby girl had already turned 2 years old. Because of financial difficulties, Ana and the girls weren't able to visit Roberto while he was in Mexico.
Ana and Roberto asked the MICA Project to help them file the waiver necessary to complete the visa process. After years of waiting, Ana and Roberto reunited in the United States in July 2013! Roberto finally got to hold his baby girl.
Many families want to be reunited like Ana and Roberto.
Waivers are one of the most common applications that the MICA Project works on, and they are also one of the most arduous to complete. They require huge amounts of documentation, and the final application packet is often 300-400 pages long. The process can often be difficult for families that are already struggling to make ends meet, especially when one family member has to travel outside the United States.
Can you help?
When you sit down to dinner tonight, imagine living without one of your family members for as long as three years. Imagine not having the money to pay an attorney to help with the only application that could reunite your family. And then consider whether you might be able to contribute to meet one of these costs:
*Some details have been changed to protect client confidentiality.
Ana and Roberto wanted to make things right, so Ana petitioned the government for permission to have her husband obtain legal status. The petition was granted, but Roberto still had to go through the arduous visa application process and file a waiver to atone for the time he lived in the country without papers. Roberto wasn't allowed to stay in the United States while finishing this process, so he had to say goodbye to his family and return to Mexico.
Soon after her husband returned to Mexico, Ana learned that she was pregnant again. Because of several delays in the visa processing, Roberto was not able to return to the United States in time for the birth of his second daughter. In fact, he wasn't allowed to come back to the United States until his baby girl had already turned 2 years old. Because of financial difficulties, Ana and the girls weren't able to visit Roberto while he was in Mexico.
Ana and Roberto asked the MICA Project to help them file the waiver necessary to complete the visa process. After years of waiting, Ana and Roberto reunited in the United States in July 2013! Roberto finally got to hold his baby girl.
Many families want to be reunited like Ana and Roberto.
Waivers are one of the most common applications that the MICA Project works on, and they are also one of the most arduous to complete. They require huge amounts of documentation, and the final application packet is often 300-400 pages long. The process can often be difficult for families that are already struggling to make ends meet, especially when one family member has to travel outside the United States.
Can you help?
When you sit down to dinner tonight, imagine living without one of your family members for as long as three years. Imagine not having the money to pay an attorney to help with the only application that could reunite your family. And then consider whether you might be able to contribute to meet one of these costs:
- $20 pays for the certified postage required to submit the application.
- $50 pays for obtaining medical records, an important piece of evidence in many waiver cases.
- $120 pays to print and copy the waiver application, which is often 300-400 pages long.
- $225 covers the cost of preparing the client's personal statement (affidavit).
*Some details have been changed to protect client confidentiality.
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