One Week to Appointment

There's one week left until Jose's waiver appointment in Ciudad Juarez on June 7th.

At the appointment, Jose will drop off the waiver packet the attorney has made that proves the hardship I will suffer if Jose is not allowed into the U.S. for 10 years.  The hardship comes either from me being in the U.S. without Jose, or from me moving to Mexico for 10 years to be with Jose.  There are 14 categories of hardship that the consulate accepts, and we have focused on the medical, educational, and financial hardships.  It seems that the medical hardship is strongest, because of my Celiac Disease and ulcers from stress.  I've also been diagnosed with depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from living in Mexico, the violence I've seen in Mexico and being separated from Jose.  Basically, the less healthy I appear, the better Jose's case, and I'm not looking healthy.   For the education hardship we have focused on how being separated from Jose affected me in school last year, and how my future educational goals would be harmed by him not coming home.  My professors wrote letters about how my participation changed after Jose was attacked in April and how I am a promising student who would not be able to succeed academically in Mexico.  I don't contribute very much to the financial hardship since I am a student, instead that is mostly hardship on my dad.  Since he has had to pay for everything, he wrote a letter saying that he cannot afford to continue supporting us in Mexico.   The waiver packet has come together really well, and we are all feeling good.  The paralegal at the attorney's office told my dad she thinks this is the strongest case they have ever had.  That's promising, considering that the attorney has had 11 cases since January and 9 of them were approved.  Of course, everything comes down to who looks at our packet and how they feel about us.

We have been collecting documents for the waiver packet for the last few weeks.  I spent dead week before finals driving from Berkeley to Santa Rosa for lots of appointments, once even twice in the same day.  I didn't get much studying done.  I've been in Mexico for two weeks, and many of our days have been spent on the waiver.  We are ready to be done with it. Luckily, we are close.  The attorney is sending the packet to Ciudad Juarez on Thursday and Jose will pick it up on Monday before the appointment.

At the appointment, Jose just pays a fee, leaves his passport, and drops off the packet.  We don't hear if he is approved until a week or two after the appointment.  It will probably be the most stressful one to two weeks we've ever experienced.  When he is notified that his decision has been made, and he will go to the DHL office in Ciudad Juarez to pick up the decision.  His passport will be in the envelope either with or without a visa.  We're hoping for a visa.

Fingers crossed.
-Emma

Waiver Packet and Appointment

For the last 2 weeks we have been working on getting together all of the new supporting documents we need for our hardship waiver packet.  Now that we are getting closer to our appointment on June 7th, our lawyer has given us a checklist of all of the documents she needs to update and put together our final waiver packet.  Most of the things on the list are things she needs from Emma in order to show the hardship she has gone through and how being away from me has affected her.  Emma had to get together recent medical records, doctor letters, psychologist letter, work letter, volunteering letter, and letters from friends and family about how these past 2 years have affected her.  Getting this list from our lawyer was very exciting because it reminded us of how close our appointment is but at the same time very stressful.  When we got the list Emma was in the middle of papers and getting ready for finals, so it was very bitter-sweet for her.  Like always, Emma took on another project on top of school and work, and was able to manage working on all three things at once.  The week before finals Emma spent most of the time traveling from Berkeley to Healdsburg and back.  Monday she had a doctors appointment at UC Berkeley, on Tuesday a doctors appointment in Healdsburg, and then Thursday night an appointment with a psychologist in Santa Rosa.  I am pretty sure she spent the majority of that week at doctors appointments and in her car.  She managed all of that while sending emails to professors and volunteer supervisors asking for letters, working, and studying for finals.  WOW, I get exhausted just writing and thinking of all those tasks at once, I can't imagine the stress Emma felt.  That is the list of things Emma had to get together before she came down to Mexico this Friday.  There are smaller and much easier things that we still need to get together.  The majority of the stuff left on the list we already have and will just have to get together or print them out.  My tasks are getting a few documents together that I already have and finding proof of the conditions in Mexico and how dangerous it is.  I have been focusing on finding proof of violence in the places we have lived. Monterrey and Chimalhuacan were a piece of cake and Coyoacan was surprisingly not that difficult.  Of course the incidents I found did not occur in the colonia we live in, but luckily what is considered Coyoacan has many colonias, and a few of them are not all that safe.  I am also having people I have met in Mexico write letters about my good moral character.  Once we get all of those things together, which is nothing compared to all the things Emma had to get on her own, we will be ready for our waiver appointment.

At the appointment I will pay the fee for review of our waiver and drop off the waiver packet.  This appointment is pretty straight forward and quick.  I will first pay and turn in the packet at the same time and then will be asked to see a consular official.  The interview with the officer is just to verify that what we are including in our packet is accurate and true.  Once the packet is turned in and I take the oath, we will be one step closer to me coming home.  After the waiver appointment it can take up to 2 weeks to hear back from the consulate about  the decision they have made.  Our lawyer mentioned that it has been taking 7-10 days for her other clients who have recently gone through this part to get the visa in their hands if they are approved.  We are hoping for a fast approval so we can get the visa and come home as soon as possible.  If we are to get approved in 7-10 days we will be able to come home before my birthday on June 19 which would be the best birthday present.  If it takes 2 weeks for us to get the visa, which would not allow us to come home before my birthday, it would still be the best present ever.

For now we work on the last few things for our packet, then wait and cross our fingers for good news.  Hopefully we will be seeing you back in California very soon.

-Jose

Adios Monterrey

I am back in Mexico City.  My professors have been really supportive during the last month and have done everything they could to help me after I was robbed.  Their first concern was my safety and well being.  Right away they let me know that I should take off as much time as I needed to get better.  Having so much support from my professors was really nice for me because at the time I was convinced that everything that had to do with Monterrey was working against me or just hands down terrible.  Although I had no desire to go back to Monterrey, I got myself back to school a week ago.  It was really weird and stressful being back in Monterrey and the 100+ degree weather was not helping in making my return pleasant.  My first night back I was welcomed with gunshots which made me really question my decision to go back to Monterrey.  Unless I had class, the weather and danger of Monterrey kept me locked in my apartment.  Luckily after talking with my professors, they gave me two options: stay on campus in the dorms for free so I could be completely safe, or leave Monterrey and finish my school work online.  Of course I decided to get out of Monterrey ASAP.  So here I am, happily back in Mexico City with Anna and Benjamin, the best hosts in the world.  IIn the few days that I have been back in Mexico City, I have rented an apartment for a month in Coyoacan for Emma and I, and been here with Anna when she found out she got into UC Berkeley.

Back in Monterrey

I was in Mexico City for three weeks and I must say that I had no desire to return to Monterrey.  But opposite to what I would have loved to do, I got on a plane and now I'm back in the boring and scary city of Monterrey.  While in mexico city I spent my time relaxing and preparing myself for the last three weeks I have to be in Monterrey. Three more weeks and I am free and never to step foot back in this city.

Being back in Mexico city was nice.  After being in Monterrey for three months and finally getting out of there, I realized how unhappy I am in Monterrey.  Mexico City is definitely better than Monterrey but does not compare to Healdsburg.  I am more than ready to be back home and finally be able to se my family and friends.  I visited Coyoacan many times while I was back in Mexico City because it is one of the only places in Mexico where I feel somewhat comfortable.  I was able relax in Mexico city, as crazy as that sounds, but even with 20 million people around me, it is less stressful than being in Monterrey.  In Coyoacan and in Condesa (Anna's area) I was able to go on walks when I need to clear my mind without having to worry about my safety.  Just that alone was really helpful after I was robbed.  It helped me relax and remind me that I don't have to be worried about my safety 24/7.  Physically I am doing much better.  My ribs are the only thing that bother me now.  Its been 3 weeks since I was attacked so the pain is not as bad but definitely still there.  The bruising on my ribs and face are gone along with the scratches I had on my cheek, arm, and neck.  I am really glad Emma insisted I go down to Mexico City because now I feel much better emotionally and can feel I can power through the last of my time in Monterrey .  I do not know how I would have done if I had stayed in Monterrey.  Like Emma said, I would have probably beeen a basket case.

After I was robbed and beaten, our lawyer sent in a request for an expedited waiver appointment.  She was told that the consulate was not going to send a request for an expedited appointment to the USCIS because request for expedited appointments are only considered for active duty military applicants or for serious medical illnesses.  I guess being robbed at knife point, a fractured rib, and a concussion don't count.

The waiver appointment will be on June 7th like planned.  Right now I am working on updating and making our hardship letter as strong as possible.  We will have 15-20 minutes to convince the USCIS officer reviewing out case that Emma needs me home so this letter and the supporting documents are my number one priority from now to June 7th.

-Jose

I Got a Beating

I have been staying at Anna's apartment in Mexico City for the past week, after being mugged in Monterrey while buying tacos in the evening.  I am fine now, but it was an eye opening experience.  After living in Mexico for almost two years and seeing and hearing violence, but never being the recipient of it, it was a shock to be attacked.

Last Saturday, I was walking a few blocks from my house when a guy came up from behind me and shoved me to the ground.  He held a knife to the back of my ear and demanded everything in my pockets.  I only had about 250 pesos, or 20 dollars, and a really cheap cell phone.  I gave up my money and cell phone without a fight, but the robber got angry with how little I had and didn't believe that that was it.  He kneed me in the ribs a few times and demanded more.  Once he realized I actually did not have anything more on me, he cut my shoulder with his knife, just for good measure, and left.  Also for good measure, he threatened to find me and kill me if I told anyone.

After going home and calling Emma (yes, crying) and letting her know what happened, I went to the closest clinic to get checked out.  I hit my head pretty hard on the pavement and got a minor concussion, a bump on my eyebrow, a fractured rib, a gash on my shoulder, and a couple of scratches here and there.  Nothing is really bothering me anymore except the rib, but that is hurting enough to make me curse the robber multiple times a day.  After being checked out at the clinic I went to campus to report the incident, and the campus security along with 2 police officers assigned to the Tec area were there within minutes.  I told them what happened, and they said that this is becoming common in the area.

 I was freaked and and in a lot of pain, so the next day I flew to Mexico City and am now staying with Anna and Benjamin.  My professors are letting me take my exams after Semana Santa, the Mexican Spring break, so I'll be in Mexico City until April 24th.  By the time I get back to Monterrey, there will only be three weeks until the semester is over and I am out of there for good.  Being beaten up sucked, but it is nice to have an unexpected few weeks in Mexico City.

I am taking some anti-anxiety medicine that lets me relax and sleep.  I've been surprised by how much this got to me mentally.  I felt angry, scared, sad, and confused for a few days after and wasn't acting like myself at all.  When I got jumped in Healdsburg a few years ago I wasn't nearly as bothered as I was this time, and that was surprisingly similar to this attack, down to the knife cuts and hurt ribs.  A lot of people have been making comments, usually joking, about what good are my muscles if they don't even keep me from being beaten up.  But put a knife to my neck any day and  I won't even consider fighting back.

Whenever I tell people in Monterrey that I lived in Mexico City they think I am crazy because they say it is so dangerous.  Even when I say that nothing happened to any of us (except that one time Emma got groped a little on the metro), Mexico City is clearly, in their opinion, a lawless wasteland.  I don't understand how people in live Monterrey where they see and hear gun battles and corpses on the street, and where random attacks and kidnappings are common, and they think that Mexico City is too dangerous to visit.  I have always felt safe in Mexico City, and I do even more now that I compare it to all the danger and crime in Monterrey.


Our lawyer is trying to get my waiver appointment expedited on the basis of extreme hardship for Emma because she has to choose between being with me and giving up school or staying in school and being so stressed out she isn't able to do well.  It is not very likely that it will happen, but its worth a shot.  She sent out the request yesterday and it takes about a week to get a response.

-Jose

Waiver Appointment

I received an email from our lawyer today letting us know that they were able to schedule a waiver appointment.  The appointment will be on June 7th at 8:00 am.  The date is a little later than we were hoping for but I am just as excited because it is one step closer to coming home. 

If all goes well at this appointment and they determine that Emma will suffer extreme hardship if she were to have to live without me or move to Mexico to be with me, I will receive my visa within 2 weeks of June 7th.  My birthday is June 19th and being able to come home would be the best present I could wish for. 

The next step is updating our waiver packet and making it as strong as possible so I can come home in June.

-Jose

First Appointment Success

I had my first appointment today and I got some great news.  I was approved for the waiver appointment!  I am now officially closer to being home than the first time around in 2009.  I was approved at the appointment in 2009, but a few weeks later got a letter saying that I was approved by mistake and had to wait three years.  It took 2 tries and a year and a half, but I got through it and can start on the next step now.

The appointment was very short and to the point.  I was only asked when I came to the US (1991), how I got there (my parents carried me accross the river), and when I returned to Mexico (2009).  The officer asked if I had tried to cross back since I was denied in 2009 and I said no.  She asked me if I have been using drugs, and I said no and the drug tests from the medical exam were clean so that was all.  I am guessing that I was not asked about my marriage and relationship since I had been interviewed once before and she had all the answers.  I had a big packet of proof of our relationship that we had been collecting over the last few weeks, but she didn't want any of it.  It is weird that I only have that appointment because I am married to Emma, but she wasn't brought up once so it was like she isn't a part of the application.

After the consular officer was done asking me questions, she told me I have a 10 year bar from unlawfully being in the United States and informed me that I qualified for a waiver to the bar.  Until recently, I would have been given a form right then to schedule my waiver appointment, but since the immigration process is going through some changes, I have to wait until it is mailed to me before I can schedule the appointment.  We don't know how long it will take for the letter to arrive at the office in Monterrey.  Luckily, our lawyer informed me that she has been successful in scheduling some waiver appointments without having to wait until the form is sent.  She will try to schedule an appointment as soon as possible and let us know what she finds out.  The waiver appointment is usually around 8 weeks from when the appointment is scheduled.  At this next appointment I will be submitting a hardship packet that will be used to determine if my visa is approved within a couple of weeks and I get to go home, or if I will have to wait for 8-10 moths from the waiver appointment before I get my visa.

-Jose