A Short Story

I talked about a non-profit organization called ‘Friendly House’ in my last post. Well, they have a story that outlines the hardships of people who get married in order to get a Green Card. I will share it with you in this post.

“ Recently, a young woman with three children (one of whom has special needs) needed assistance working toward obtaining her permanent residence in the United States. This courageous young woman was a victim of domestic violence from her spouse, a U.S. citizen. He refused to file for her adjustment of status. Due to violence, her husband was incarcerated. In the meantime, this young woman tried to care for herself and her three young children without having work authorization.

If things could not get worse for the young woman, she was pulled over by a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy. She faced deportation proceedings and imminent separation from her young children. After receiving financial assistance from family members, she was released on bond and came to Friendly House for help. At Friendly House, we immediately took action by filing a VAWA and U visa application for her.

A VAWA petition allows an abused spouse or child of a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident to self-petition for lawful status in the U.S., receive employment authorization and access health benefits. VAWA provides domestic violence survivors with the means that are essential to escaping violence and establishing safe, independent lives. A U Visa provides interim relief for immigrant victims of certain crimes who are helpful to law enforcement in either investigation or prosecution of the crime.

Friendly House attended her court hearing with her before a judge. This young woman just received her prima facie finding under VAWA and we remain very optimistic that this young woman will be allowed to adjust as a permanent resident alien to the United States in the very near future." (www.friendlyhouse.org)

As you can see, immigrants face a lot of hardships. There are many more stories like this that do not have a happy ending. In fact, there are over 3 million people who are undocumented in the U.S today. I can’t imagine how tough their lives are. They are not able to apply for a proper job, not able to leave the country, not able to apply for anything that requires an I.D, and not able to openly ask for help. I don’t support illegal immigration; I support some sort of reform that will keep families together.

-Jenny