Pinkbutter
05-06-2008, 10:46 PM
please comment!! :blush: anything will be appreciated...
U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services
US Department of Homeland Security
American Consulate General
Ciudad Juarez, Chih, Mx.
P.O. Box 9896
El Paso, Texas 79995-9896
Re: XXXX
CDJ: XXXXX
Application: I 601 Wavier of Grounds of Excludability
To whom it may concern:
I am a United States Citizen humbly urging the approval of the Waiver of Grounds of Excludability (I-601) so that my wife may once again be with me here in the United States. I cannot begin to explain the amount of hardship my kids and I would endure if her return would be delayed, or worse, denied. We both regret that she broke the law by entering the U.S. illegally, she came to the United States at a young age of 15, her dream was to be successful and to obtain a higher level of education, and she has since then obeyed and respected the laws of our country. She learned to fluently speak the English language and obtained her high school diploma. We (my kids and I) seek a fair chance at her becoming legal and being able to do so immediately. It’s been 15 months of being apart now and with true feelings we ask for forgiveness for her unlawful status. Let this family be united again.
I and my wife met in May 1999 while in high school, I can say it was love at first sight, we started dating two months after, I knew right there that she was the one woman that would make me happy, and in August 2001 we got married. I wasn’t wrong, I been extremely happy all this 8 yrs, she is my soul mate, she is my friend, and she is almost perfect in so many ways. I am so proud of her for being able to keep up with this and take care of our kids all by her own this past 15 months, but I cannot take it much longer with out them; we have been hardly overcoming the extreme situations this process has brought us.
There are several hardships to consider:
Medical Hardships
My 5yrs old daughter NAME has health issues that would be negatively impacted to the point of being life threatening if she does not have immediate access to expert medical care. She suffers from severe Asthma, a Lung Disease for which there is no cure. Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the airways. This inflammatory process can occur along the entire airway from the nose to the lung. Once the airway becomes swollen and inflamed, it becomes narrower, and less air gets through to the lung tissue.(Exhibit “From Internet”) I feel extremely Impotent and don’t get much sleep at night thinking that she might have an Asthma attack, she has been in the ER before for having suddenly asthma attacks (Exhibit “Medical Records”), she was been treated in US for her asthma, she was taking medicine everyday, Albuterol (It works in the lungs to open breathing passages to make breathing easier, it is used to prevent and treat asthma attacks) every eight hours and Pulmicort (Steroids for short, reduces the air way swelling) every twelve hours, now that they have been living in Mexico with my wife, she was still taking this medicine from the prescriptions we had from before (Exhibit “Prescriptions”), now we are out her medicine, she can’t continue with that treatment in Mexico, so my wife had to take her to another Doctor (Exhibit “Letter from Dr.”) and now she is in another treatment (Seretide Evohaler) a different one which is not working as well, she has being having Exacerbations which are characterized by recurrent episodes of breathlessness, wheezing, coughing and chest tightness. Either at night or when she wakes up in the morning, she presents some of these symptoms. Living in Mexico she won’t get the appropriate health care needed for her Asthma, but her, needing that much attention and supervision on her treatments I won’t be able to have her with me in the US without her mom, I won’t be able to work and take care of her disease properly. But also I cannot move to Mexico, I am not going to be able to follow up with her treatment, this past 2 months have been so hard for us to maintain her health stability, her Asthma is not under control, my wife has been managing very close her health, but if she suffers an asthma attack and we are not able to transport her quickly to receive medical care, the consequences would be fatal.
If my wife is banned for 10 yrs and I am forced to relocate to Mexico, there is no possible way for me to keep up with her future treatments. My daughter will be facing extreme danger without her treatment. It wrenches my heart just by saying it, but she can die if she does not receive the appropriate health care.
My daughter NAME has been wearing glasses since 3 yrs old,(Exhibit) they found out that she didn’t reach the normal vision at that time, the Ophthalmologist said that she was to wear glasses for one full year, after that she was going to have to go back and have an eye exam to see if wearing the glasses helped her get the normal vision, then my wife and kids had to move to Mexico, so I never had the chance to take her to that appointment, I let a year passed by , so my wife decided to take her to an Ophthalmologist in Mexico, Dr. Fernando Aguilera, Cirujano Oftalmologo he said that she has Myopia (or Nearsightedness) and Astigmatism ( Exhibit “Letter from Dr.”), in people with Myopia, the eyeball is too long or the cornea has too much curvature, so the light entering the eye is not focused correctly, causing blurred vision. Ophthalmologist said that she needed to wear glasses all the time, until she reach the majority age and decide to have surgery, until then she has to be revised once a year (Exhibit). It really makes me feel so bad, angry at my self for not having the time to take care of my own kids, she is the one who’s always taking care of them, I really need her by my side, my USC kids have been depraved of the benefits of our country, instead they are there suffering lack of health care, I can’t have them here with me, I can’t take care of them by my self, I suffer a lot for not having them here but it is so true that I can’t have them here without my wife. She’s always been there for my kids. In Mexico they will not receive the needed care; I will not be able to take my daughter to her once a year visits to the Ophthalmologist, when we took her on January we spent $235.00 Dollars (Exhibits “Receipts of 2 payments”), I don’t regret paying this, but for sure I wouldn’t be paying this money in US with Insurance. And for sure I will not be able to pay this amount if my family had to stay in Mexico.
My son NAME is also needing a surgery, he was born with a duplicated thumb that needs to be fixed, the doctor said that the surgery needs to be done while he still a toddler, because the bones are still delicate, plus it needs to be done before he enters kinder garden, otherwise it could be traumatic for him, when the kids start making fun or stare at him, definitely don’t want them to humiliate my son, we all know how cruel kids can be sometimes. We had one surgery appointment postpone(Exhibit ), at that time my son was hospitalized for almost two weeks (Exhibit “medical record”) for having RSV( Respiratory Syncytial Virus) a virus that kept him apart from other people, we had to wear gloves, masks, gowns and wash our hands every time when entering and exiting the room, this virus is spread easily. It was so painful seeing him like that, he couldn’t keep enough oxygen by himself, my wife stood all the time with him, didn’t wanted to leave him alone at all, he was only 1yr old. At this age this Virus can cause Pneumonia, Bronchiolitis (inflammatory of the small airways of the lungs), and Croup. Croup is breathing difficulty. We were very frustrated my son could get Asthma, since Asthma is related to Bronchiolitis, and breathing problems. We’ve seen how bad my daughter gets when having Asthma attacks or exacerbations; we couldn’t imagine my son having this too.
On October 2007 SON was taken to Doctor Alvarado in Mexico for having Croup (Exhibit), he had difficulties breathing, I couldn’t even work well that day, knowing my wife was alone there taking my son to the Doctor and been unable to help her out, I felt fear my son could be hospitalized, I was mad, worried all together, I was going crazy.
Recently on April 5, we took him to Doctor Lizarraga for a suspicious cough, we didn’t wanted it to get worse or to be some kind of respiratory infection, unfortunately the Doctor said it was an infection Laringotraqueitis, “Croup” that could get worse if not attended soon, so she prescribe him some medicine (Exhibit), since taking the medicine we started seeing him weak, didn’t wanted to eat, he had bags under his eyes and pale. We took him again and they did a blood test (Exhibit), which result in a little low on his defense or immune system a little anemic, now he is taking prescribed vitamins, this kept me thinking that this separation has something to do with it too, they could be going thru some depression, for not having me with them, I always try to give them quality time when I visit but I know that’s not enough…
Educational Hardships
I enrolled in adult school last semester trying to get my GED (Exhibit), I have been in and out, since I have to work to maintain two households, I can’t afford to miss hours of work. My goal is to obtain the GED and enroll in the Academy. I so much want to become a Police Officer. They offer very good competitive salaries and opportunities for promotions. But especially they give you the opportunity to contribute to a better community and to make a difference in people’s lives. If my wife is able to come to the US legally I will definitely get the GED in less than two months, I will have the time and money to pay for the final exam, and consequently apply to enter the Academy. The starting base salary for a high school graduate is $54,475 (Exhibit); I will be earning this full salary on my first day of Academy training, and upon completion of 6 months of probationary period I will get an automatic salary step increase. Plus I will get tremendous benefits (Exhibit), including health and dental insurance for me and my family. And finally I will become that successful man. If my wife were to be denied, I will be forced to forget about becoming a Police officer, about providing my family a better life, a better future for my kids. I will feel devastated for not been able to accomplish my Goal. Becoming a successful man has always been my dream. It will never happen if I don’t have my family to give me support in every way and feel tranquility. A good education is the key to success. I want my children to be educated in English. My daughter just turn 5 years old, I want her to start school in the United States, our country, I want them to master the English language, the culture, the American history; she is forgetting what she already knew, even losing the accent because TV and people only speak Spanish, if not returning to US with me she will face academic disadvantage. She already missed preschool and according to First Five California (Exhibit) children who attend a quality preschool do better in Elementary school, more likely graduate from High school and less likely get involved in crime. I want my kids to be one of those children and even more I want them to graduate from college in a career they chose. Every parent wants to see their children succeed; please don’t take that opportunity from us. An opportunity that won’t have in Mexico.
Education level in Mexico is very poor, in comparison with the education level in US; in US they will have lots of opportunities. In order for my kids to have a good education approximately similar to the one they could receive in their country, I will have to enrolled them in a private school, which is so expensive in Mexico(Should I get info on this for evidence?), I can barely make it now this days, it will be impossible for me to pay for the tuitions and expenses of a private school, even a public school is hard for me to afford now, since they charge for everything (Should I get Evidence on this? Like a list?). Please let my Childs have an education they deserve as US Citizens and let them have their parents together to support them.
We have big plans for the future, as a mention before I want to become a police officer, but also my wife feels the need to upgrade her education, that’s why she came to the US in the first place ( I’m not sure about this sentence) , but with our first child on the way, she decided to be a stay home mom and take care of our children for their first years which are the most important years for a child, I couldn’t have made a better decision on marrying this beautiful woman from the inside and out. We want to set a good sample to our children and want them to have role models to follow.
Employment
I recently got my Contractor’s License in conjunction with my brother; the name of our company is Superior Building Contractors, (Exhibit) decided to get this License since the workload has slow down in the company I work for. We plan to do this as part time or when a job comes up. I worked so hard to get this License, we paid a total of $ in fees. Since I am planning to enroll the Academy soon, this License will be there for when needed, and until I get the GED. I need my wife and kids here with me, I cannot continue with the plans we have in mind if they are not able to come back to me. I will loose all I have work so hard to obtain, since I got the License I haven’t been able to get some side jobs because that’s the only time I have to go visit my wife and kids and they have to be done on weekends, I can only work on them if there’s no work during the week. I work for Preferred Framing Inc, I have been working here for 8 years now (Exhibit) I normally get paid hourly $....... this job has been giving us all we’ve had so far, but I am not planning to keep this job for life. I started working at a very young age to help my mother and siblings, I had to drop high school at 11th grade, I have been working so hard since then to provide my family a good standard living and to have the resources for my kid’s college education. In addition I enrolled in the 401k in 2006 investing in some bonds for retirement (Exhibit); I wouldn’t like my kids to worry about me when retired. It’s good to save for retirement but I won’t be able to save enough if forced to relocate. It would drastically affect my retirement income. Losing this income will affect our family for years to come. ( I am not sure about adding this paragraph )
Air Pollution/ Climate in Mexico
As said by the Environmental Health Investigation Branch, (Exhibit) the Imperial Valley has one of the worst particulate matter pollution problems in California, and arguably the most contaminated river in the US, the New River, which flows from Mexicali through Imperial to the Salton Sea. Pesticide and Industrial runoff into the river have large impacts on the ecosystem. This is the environment where my children have been living( Maybe give proof of address), I am concerned about their health, as I mentioned before my daughter suffers from asthma, although there is no cure for asthma, a provision of a healthy physical environment will make their living happier and secure. This environment hasn’t done any good or any better to their health. If they continue to live in that environment, my daughter and son can suffer traumatic health problems. Doctors say that people with asthma should not be around too much dirt or dust. Mexicali is full of dirt and dust, so when it’s windy it really can bring some viruses that my daughter will easily caught and this can make my daughters asthma extremely worst. Climate in Mexicali is not good for my kids health either it could get really windy and is super hot and humid. (Exhibit)
Concern for Safety
As reported in the U.S Department of State Travel Alert ;( Exhibit) violent criminal activities continue along the U.S – Mexico border and have said that foreign visitors and residents, including Americans, have been among the victims of homicides and kidnappings in the border region. I constantly face potential risks due to my weekly visits to Mexicali, B.C, a border city where my family sadly and currently lives; but it’s not just me, my wife and kids have to face this on a daily basis, even though they don’t go out a lot a few months back on November, my wife and kids went grocery shopping and when they came out some guys took my wife’s wallet, she told me back then that she was carrying like a little purse with her wallet inside on her shoulders pushing the store cart towards the automobile and that suddenly two guys (teenagers) passed running and grab her purse, everything happened so quickly that she just looked around and run to the car, her knees where shaking because she fear of my children safety, she put all grocery as fast as she could and drove home, but before getting close to home she first drove around the block fearing she could be followed. Fortunately it was just the wallet, no harm was done but it still terrifies me a lot that some day something worst can happen. I’ll never recover from the stress and concern this situation has cause me and my family, but I remain strong and with a lot of hope that this won’t go on for much longer.
Family Structure
This separation has affect my kids tremendously, I have no doubt my kids could be going thru some depression due to being alone all the time, they have no one to play with, I always try to be with them the most time possible and try to give them quality time when I visit but I know that is not enough, it fears me a lot knowing they could be emotionally disrupted, my wife tells me they often ask for me they say “when is my daddy coming back” and the youngest even thought he doesn’t talk much ask for me right after I left, and sometimes he just stares at the window, not mentioning that when he hears a car passing by he thinks it’s me arriving. It wrenches my heart only by seeing them waving bye to me when I leave, my daughter gives me that sad face and my son cries,
It will be such a negative impact on us for many reasons if my wife does not come to the US. First of all there is no doubt that it is crucial for kids this age to have their father and mother present in a daily basis, since this years are the most important of a persons life.
A child's brain develops most dramatically during the early years of life. (Exhibit)
As stated by Migration Information Source, “The right to a shared family life draws additional support from the prohibition against arbitrary interference with the family. Finally, states have recognized that children have a right to live with their parents. Both the father and the mother have common responsibilities as parents and share the right and responsibility to participate equally in the upbringing and development of their children”. (Exhibit) Suddenly taking a father away from a young child can cause serious issues with the child.
We as family share a very close bond, an unbreakable bond; my kids are only 5 and 2 years old and we’ve been teaching them to care for one another, even though we’ve been apart all this time, I have always try to be there the most time possible, I have been traveling back and forth most every single weekend, but it has become really hard for me to keep up with this, I have missed some weekends lately, and believe me I can’t stay without my kids for long, I love them to death, they are the reason for me to always do better. It’s impossible for me to keep living with this situation, but I pray to God that this ends soon. I could never imagine living in Mexico; my entire world will fall apart if my wife is not re-admitted to the U.S to be a whole family again.
Financial Considerations
Financial decisions play a big part on qualifying to enter the Academy since they have to be responsible decisions (Exhibit). My big concern is being able to maintain these financial responsibilities if my wife is not granted a visa. I can say my credit is good now, but in order to maintain it, I have to be able to keep paying on time. I am the sole provider of our family and I have come to the point where everything is extremely difficult and financially stressful this past months. I know that you’ll probably hear this in a daily basis, but what can I say, is so true, we had our ups and downs financially but not to this point. Having my family in Mexico will lead me to ruin my credit and consequently won’t be able to attend the Academy.
On April 2002, after 8 months of being married we decided to buy a home (Exhibit), a home we had lived for 5 yrs and that I had to sell in order for us to have money for all the expenses to come with this separation. I made some profit; it really came in handy, I also used that money to pay some stuff, like credit card debt, car loans, but unfortunately and embarrassed to say I am in the same boat again since my wife is not around.
We have sacrificed selling our home, a place where our kids had a yard to play, were they felt safe. My daughter ……. constantly asks “when will they be back to their white house”, and says that “she doesn’t like the house” were they lived now, there is no place to play; they always have to stay inside the house, and it’s like a jail to them. The only place they go out to is grocery shopping, and it’s really frustrated after what already happened.
I currently pay a total of $ monthly, including:
Rent $.00
Car Payments $
Car Insurance $.00
Credit Cards $0.00 w/minimum payment
Gas $00.00
Utilities $0.00
Groceries $0.00 to $0.00
Phone Bill $ 00.00
That’s not counting clothes, medical visits and medication. I won’t be able to maintain any payments whatsoever if they were to stay in Mexico any longer. This past 15 months I’ve been trying so hard to support my wife and kids in Mexico and my self in the US.
Health Insurance
Having my wife and kids residing in Mexico all this time has cost us many things, Insurance is one of them. Leslie and Erick were covered by IEHP (Exhibit). With this health insurance we only had to pay a co-pay of $ 5.00 for any visit to the Hospital, or for prescriptions. Comparing this to what we have spent on Mexico, $5.00 is nothing. We pay $20.00 to $40.00 for each visit, plus costs of prescribed medicines in Mexico. If my wife is banned for any amount of time it will not be possible for me to buy my daughters medication for her asthma, without medication she’ll be in great danger of having an asthma attack. My daughter’s asthma medication costs in Mexico are $........ while in US I only have to pay $5.00 dollars (Exhibit). Even though money plays a huge part, what’s most importantly is the tranquility of knowing that if something happens, they’ll be taken in any Medical Hospital to give the health care needed.
With this Health Insurance (IEHP) they also had vision coverage (Exhibit) which is very helpful for my daughter’s vision problems, which covers visits to the Ophthalmologist and costs of glasses. In Mexico I have been paying $ for a visit and $ for glasses. Dental coverage (Exhibit) is another benefit that they could take advantage of when needed as growing up.
Other considerations
Adding to my stress is the tremendous fear I feel for my family, starting this year in February there is being earthquakes occurring in Baja (Exhibit) and as you see is not just a couple of them. My family lives with fear since this seism can not be predicted, you don’t know when they are coming or how bad can they get. My wife and kids are not used to this, not even the people who have been living in Mexicali their whole life has seen this earthquake swarms,( Exhibit) and that is what really scares me, my kids suffered from vomiting and diarrhea the day after an earthquake of 5.1 occurred at night time. There is no way to express the tremendous feeling if something catastrophic would happen to them being there by them selves.
Conclusion
I desperately ask you for your help on reunite this loving family, I am a 25 year old man who grew up with two brothers, a sister and my mom, dad left when we were all too young, I get sick to my stomach just to think I could be separated from my wife and kids, I really don’t want my kids to go thru a similar situation, because not having a father by your side does affects you in one way or another. As you can see there are many facts that will and are extremely impacting my everyday life without my wife and kids here in the United States. My wife is a wonderful hands on mother; this May will be 9 ½ years since we’ve been in each others life and in August will be 7 yrs of marriage. I can’t imagine my life without her I feel as though life it self would loose its meaning.
I respectfully plead that you reconsider and waive the 10 yr ban so that we can pursue our lives together in a country we call home, the United States. If allowed to entry the US, my wife would not only continue to take care for our family, but be a positive contributor to the United States of America as well.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services
US Department of Homeland Security
American Consulate General
Ciudad Juarez, Chih, Mx.
P.O. Box 9896
El Paso, Texas 79995-9896
Re: XXXX
CDJ: XXXXX
Application: I 601 Wavier of Grounds of Excludability
To whom it may concern:
I am a United States Citizen humbly urging the approval of the Waiver of Grounds of Excludability (I-601) so that my wife may once again be with me here in the United States. I cannot begin to explain the amount of hardship my kids and I would endure if her return would be delayed, or worse, denied. We both regret that she broke the law by entering the U.S. illegally, she came to the United States at a young age of 15, her dream was to be successful and to obtain a higher level of education, and she has since then obeyed and respected the laws of our country. She learned to fluently speak the English language and obtained her high school diploma. We (my kids and I) seek a fair chance at her becoming legal and being able to do so immediately. It’s been 15 months of being apart now and with true feelings we ask for forgiveness for her unlawful status. Let this family be united again.
I and my wife met in May 1999 while in high school, I can say it was love at first sight, we started dating two months after, I knew right there that she was the one woman that would make me happy, and in August 2001 we got married. I wasn’t wrong, I been extremely happy all this 8 yrs, she is my soul mate, she is my friend, and she is almost perfect in so many ways. I am so proud of her for being able to keep up with this and take care of our kids all by her own this past 15 months, but I cannot take it much longer with out them; we have been hardly overcoming the extreme situations this process has brought us.
There are several hardships to consider:
Medical Hardships
My 5yrs old daughter NAME has health issues that would be negatively impacted to the point of being life threatening if she does not have immediate access to expert medical care. She suffers from severe Asthma, a Lung Disease for which there is no cure. Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the airways. This inflammatory process can occur along the entire airway from the nose to the lung. Once the airway becomes swollen and inflamed, it becomes narrower, and less air gets through to the lung tissue.(Exhibit “From Internet”) I feel extremely Impotent and don’t get much sleep at night thinking that she might have an Asthma attack, she has been in the ER before for having suddenly asthma attacks (Exhibit “Medical Records”), she was been treated in US for her asthma, she was taking medicine everyday, Albuterol (It works in the lungs to open breathing passages to make breathing easier, it is used to prevent and treat asthma attacks) every eight hours and Pulmicort (Steroids for short, reduces the air way swelling) every twelve hours, now that they have been living in Mexico with my wife, she was still taking this medicine from the prescriptions we had from before (Exhibit “Prescriptions”), now we are out her medicine, she can’t continue with that treatment in Mexico, so my wife had to take her to another Doctor (Exhibit “Letter from Dr.”) and now she is in another treatment (Seretide Evohaler) a different one which is not working as well, she has being having Exacerbations which are characterized by recurrent episodes of breathlessness, wheezing, coughing and chest tightness. Either at night or when she wakes up in the morning, she presents some of these symptoms. Living in Mexico she won’t get the appropriate health care needed for her Asthma, but her, needing that much attention and supervision on her treatments I won’t be able to have her with me in the US without her mom, I won’t be able to work and take care of her disease properly. But also I cannot move to Mexico, I am not going to be able to follow up with her treatment, this past 2 months have been so hard for us to maintain her health stability, her Asthma is not under control, my wife has been managing very close her health, but if she suffers an asthma attack and we are not able to transport her quickly to receive medical care, the consequences would be fatal.
If my wife is banned for 10 yrs and I am forced to relocate to Mexico, there is no possible way for me to keep up with her future treatments. My daughter will be facing extreme danger without her treatment. It wrenches my heart just by saying it, but she can die if she does not receive the appropriate health care.
My daughter NAME has been wearing glasses since 3 yrs old,(Exhibit) they found out that she didn’t reach the normal vision at that time, the Ophthalmologist said that she was to wear glasses for one full year, after that she was going to have to go back and have an eye exam to see if wearing the glasses helped her get the normal vision, then my wife and kids had to move to Mexico, so I never had the chance to take her to that appointment, I let a year passed by , so my wife decided to take her to an Ophthalmologist in Mexico, Dr. Fernando Aguilera, Cirujano Oftalmologo he said that she has Myopia (or Nearsightedness) and Astigmatism ( Exhibit “Letter from Dr.”), in people with Myopia, the eyeball is too long or the cornea has too much curvature, so the light entering the eye is not focused correctly, causing blurred vision. Ophthalmologist said that she needed to wear glasses all the time, until she reach the majority age and decide to have surgery, until then she has to be revised once a year (Exhibit). It really makes me feel so bad, angry at my self for not having the time to take care of my own kids, she is the one who’s always taking care of them, I really need her by my side, my USC kids have been depraved of the benefits of our country, instead they are there suffering lack of health care, I can’t have them here with me, I can’t take care of them by my self, I suffer a lot for not having them here but it is so true that I can’t have them here without my wife. She’s always been there for my kids. In Mexico they will not receive the needed care; I will not be able to take my daughter to her once a year visits to the Ophthalmologist, when we took her on January we spent $235.00 Dollars (Exhibits “Receipts of 2 payments”), I don’t regret paying this, but for sure I wouldn’t be paying this money in US with Insurance. And for sure I will not be able to pay this amount if my family had to stay in Mexico.
My son NAME is also needing a surgery, he was born with a duplicated thumb that needs to be fixed, the doctor said that the surgery needs to be done while he still a toddler, because the bones are still delicate, plus it needs to be done before he enters kinder garden, otherwise it could be traumatic for him, when the kids start making fun or stare at him, definitely don’t want them to humiliate my son, we all know how cruel kids can be sometimes. We had one surgery appointment postpone(Exhibit ), at that time my son was hospitalized for almost two weeks (Exhibit “medical record”) for having RSV( Respiratory Syncytial Virus) a virus that kept him apart from other people, we had to wear gloves, masks, gowns and wash our hands every time when entering and exiting the room, this virus is spread easily. It was so painful seeing him like that, he couldn’t keep enough oxygen by himself, my wife stood all the time with him, didn’t wanted to leave him alone at all, he was only 1yr old. At this age this Virus can cause Pneumonia, Bronchiolitis (inflammatory of the small airways of the lungs), and Croup. Croup is breathing difficulty. We were very frustrated my son could get Asthma, since Asthma is related to Bronchiolitis, and breathing problems. We’ve seen how bad my daughter gets when having Asthma attacks or exacerbations; we couldn’t imagine my son having this too.
On October 2007 SON was taken to Doctor Alvarado in Mexico for having Croup (Exhibit), he had difficulties breathing, I couldn’t even work well that day, knowing my wife was alone there taking my son to the Doctor and been unable to help her out, I felt fear my son could be hospitalized, I was mad, worried all together, I was going crazy.
Recently on April 5, we took him to Doctor Lizarraga for a suspicious cough, we didn’t wanted it to get worse or to be some kind of respiratory infection, unfortunately the Doctor said it was an infection Laringotraqueitis, “Croup” that could get worse if not attended soon, so she prescribe him some medicine (Exhibit), since taking the medicine we started seeing him weak, didn’t wanted to eat, he had bags under his eyes and pale. We took him again and they did a blood test (Exhibit), which result in a little low on his defense or immune system a little anemic, now he is taking prescribed vitamins, this kept me thinking that this separation has something to do with it too, they could be going thru some depression, for not having me with them, I always try to give them quality time when I visit but I know that’s not enough…
Educational Hardships
I enrolled in adult school last semester trying to get my GED (Exhibit), I have been in and out, since I have to work to maintain two households, I can’t afford to miss hours of work. My goal is to obtain the GED and enroll in the Academy. I so much want to become a Police Officer. They offer very good competitive salaries and opportunities for promotions. But especially they give you the opportunity to contribute to a better community and to make a difference in people’s lives. If my wife is able to come to the US legally I will definitely get the GED in less than two months, I will have the time and money to pay for the final exam, and consequently apply to enter the Academy. The starting base salary for a high school graduate is $54,475 (Exhibit); I will be earning this full salary on my first day of Academy training, and upon completion of 6 months of probationary period I will get an automatic salary step increase. Plus I will get tremendous benefits (Exhibit), including health and dental insurance for me and my family. And finally I will become that successful man. If my wife were to be denied, I will be forced to forget about becoming a Police officer, about providing my family a better life, a better future for my kids. I will feel devastated for not been able to accomplish my Goal. Becoming a successful man has always been my dream. It will never happen if I don’t have my family to give me support in every way and feel tranquility. A good education is the key to success. I want my children to be educated in English. My daughter just turn 5 years old, I want her to start school in the United States, our country, I want them to master the English language, the culture, the American history; she is forgetting what she already knew, even losing the accent because TV and people only speak Spanish, if not returning to US with me she will face academic disadvantage. She already missed preschool and according to First Five California (Exhibit) children who attend a quality preschool do better in Elementary school, more likely graduate from High school and less likely get involved in crime. I want my kids to be one of those children and even more I want them to graduate from college in a career they chose. Every parent wants to see their children succeed; please don’t take that opportunity from us. An opportunity that won’t have in Mexico.
Education level in Mexico is very poor, in comparison with the education level in US; in US they will have lots of opportunities. In order for my kids to have a good education approximately similar to the one they could receive in their country, I will have to enrolled them in a private school, which is so expensive in Mexico(Should I get info on this for evidence?), I can barely make it now this days, it will be impossible for me to pay for the tuitions and expenses of a private school, even a public school is hard for me to afford now, since they charge for everything (Should I get Evidence on this? Like a list?). Please let my Childs have an education they deserve as US Citizens and let them have their parents together to support them.
We have big plans for the future, as a mention before I want to become a police officer, but also my wife feels the need to upgrade her education, that’s why she came to the US in the first place ( I’m not sure about this sentence) , but with our first child on the way, she decided to be a stay home mom and take care of our children for their first years which are the most important years for a child, I couldn’t have made a better decision on marrying this beautiful woman from the inside and out. We want to set a good sample to our children and want them to have role models to follow.
Employment
I recently got my Contractor’s License in conjunction with my brother; the name of our company is Superior Building Contractors, (Exhibit) decided to get this License since the workload has slow down in the company I work for. We plan to do this as part time or when a job comes up. I worked so hard to get this License, we paid a total of $ in fees. Since I am planning to enroll the Academy soon, this License will be there for when needed, and until I get the GED. I need my wife and kids here with me, I cannot continue with the plans we have in mind if they are not able to come back to me. I will loose all I have work so hard to obtain, since I got the License I haven’t been able to get some side jobs because that’s the only time I have to go visit my wife and kids and they have to be done on weekends, I can only work on them if there’s no work during the week. I work for Preferred Framing Inc, I have been working here for 8 years now (Exhibit) I normally get paid hourly $....... this job has been giving us all we’ve had so far, but I am not planning to keep this job for life. I started working at a very young age to help my mother and siblings, I had to drop high school at 11th grade, I have been working so hard since then to provide my family a good standard living and to have the resources for my kid’s college education. In addition I enrolled in the 401k in 2006 investing in some bonds for retirement (Exhibit); I wouldn’t like my kids to worry about me when retired. It’s good to save for retirement but I won’t be able to save enough if forced to relocate. It would drastically affect my retirement income. Losing this income will affect our family for years to come. ( I am not sure about adding this paragraph )
Air Pollution/ Climate in Mexico
As said by the Environmental Health Investigation Branch, (Exhibit) the Imperial Valley has one of the worst particulate matter pollution problems in California, and arguably the most contaminated river in the US, the New River, which flows from Mexicali through Imperial to the Salton Sea. Pesticide and Industrial runoff into the river have large impacts on the ecosystem. This is the environment where my children have been living( Maybe give proof of address), I am concerned about their health, as I mentioned before my daughter suffers from asthma, although there is no cure for asthma, a provision of a healthy physical environment will make their living happier and secure. This environment hasn’t done any good or any better to their health. If they continue to live in that environment, my daughter and son can suffer traumatic health problems. Doctors say that people with asthma should not be around too much dirt or dust. Mexicali is full of dirt and dust, so when it’s windy it really can bring some viruses that my daughter will easily caught and this can make my daughters asthma extremely worst. Climate in Mexicali is not good for my kids health either it could get really windy and is super hot and humid. (Exhibit)
Concern for Safety
As reported in the U.S Department of State Travel Alert ;( Exhibit) violent criminal activities continue along the U.S – Mexico border and have said that foreign visitors and residents, including Americans, have been among the victims of homicides and kidnappings in the border region. I constantly face potential risks due to my weekly visits to Mexicali, B.C, a border city where my family sadly and currently lives; but it’s not just me, my wife and kids have to face this on a daily basis, even though they don’t go out a lot a few months back on November, my wife and kids went grocery shopping and when they came out some guys took my wife’s wallet, she told me back then that she was carrying like a little purse with her wallet inside on her shoulders pushing the store cart towards the automobile and that suddenly two guys (teenagers) passed running and grab her purse, everything happened so quickly that she just looked around and run to the car, her knees where shaking because she fear of my children safety, she put all grocery as fast as she could and drove home, but before getting close to home she first drove around the block fearing she could be followed. Fortunately it was just the wallet, no harm was done but it still terrifies me a lot that some day something worst can happen. I’ll never recover from the stress and concern this situation has cause me and my family, but I remain strong and with a lot of hope that this won’t go on for much longer.
Family Structure
This separation has affect my kids tremendously, I have no doubt my kids could be going thru some depression due to being alone all the time, they have no one to play with, I always try to be with them the most time possible and try to give them quality time when I visit but I know that is not enough, it fears me a lot knowing they could be emotionally disrupted, my wife tells me they often ask for me they say “when is my daddy coming back” and the youngest even thought he doesn’t talk much ask for me right after I left, and sometimes he just stares at the window, not mentioning that when he hears a car passing by he thinks it’s me arriving. It wrenches my heart only by seeing them waving bye to me when I leave, my daughter gives me that sad face and my son cries,
It will be such a negative impact on us for many reasons if my wife does not come to the US. First of all there is no doubt that it is crucial for kids this age to have their father and mother present in a daily basis, since this years are the most important of a persons life.
A child's brain develops most dramatically during the early years of life. (Exhibit)
As stated by Migration Information Source, “The right to a shared family life draws additional support from the prohibition against arbitrary interference with the family. Finally, states have recognized that children have a right to live with their parents. Both the father and the mother have common responsibilities as parents and share the right and responsibility to participate equally in the upbringing and development of their children”. (Exhibit) Suddenly taking a father away from a young child can cause serious issues with the child.
We as family share a very close bond, an unbreakable bond; my kids are only 5 and 2 years old and we’ve been teaching them to care for one another, even though we’ve been apart all this time, I have always try to be there the most time possible, I have been traveling back and forth most every single weekend, but it has become really hard for me to keep up with this, I have missed some weekends lately, and believe me I can’t stay without my kids for long, I love them to death, they are the reason for me to always do better. It’s impossible for me to keep living with this situation, but I pray to God that this ends soon. I could never imagine living in Mexico; my entire world will fall apart if my wife is not re-admitted to the U.S to be a whole family again.
Financial Considerations
Financial decisions play a big part on qualifying to enter the Academy since they have to be responsible decisions (Exhibit). My big concern is being able to maintain these financial responsibilities if my wife is not granted a visa. I can say my credit is good now, but in order to maintain it, I have to be able to keep paying on time. I am the sole provider of our family and I have come to the point where everything is extremely difficult and financially stressful this past months. I know that you’ll probably hear this in a daily basis, but what can I say, is so true, we had our ups and downs financially but not to this point. Having my family in Mexico will lead me to ruin my credit and consequently won’t be able to attend the Academy.
On April 2002, after 8 months of being married we decided to buy a home (Exhibit), a home we had lived for 5 yrs and that I had to sell in order for us to have money for all the expenses to come with this separation. I made some profit; it really came in handy, I also used that money to pay some stuff, like credit card debt, car loans, but unfortunately and embarrassed to say I am in the same boat again since my wife is not around.
We have sacrificed selling our home, a place where our kids had a yard to play, were they felt safe. My daughter ……. constantly asks “when will they be back to their white house”, and says that “she doesn’t like the house” were they lived now, there is no place to play; they always have to stay inside the house, and it’s like a jail to them. The only place they go out to is grocery shopping, and it’s really frustrated after what already happened.
I currently pay a total of $ monthly, including:
Rent $.00
Car Payments $
Car Insurance $.00
Credit Cards $0.00 w/minimum payment
Gas $00.00
Utilities $0.00
Groceries $0.00 to $0.00
Phone Bill $ 00.00
That’s not counting clothes, medical visits and medication. I won’t be able to maintain any payments whatsoever if they were to stay in Mexico any longer. This past 15 months I’ve been trying so hard to support my wife and kids in Mexico and my self in the US.
Health Insurance
Having my wife and kids residing in Mexico all this time has cost us many things, Insurance is one of them. Leslie and Erick were covered by IEHP (Exhibit). With this health insurance we only had to pay a co-pay of $ 5.00 for any visit to the Hospital, or for prescriptions. Comparing this to what we have spent on Mexico, $5.00 is nothing. We pay $20.00 to $40.00 for each visit, plus costs of prescribed medicines in Mexico. If my wife is banned for any amount of time it will not be possible for me to buy my daughters medication for her asthma, without medication she’ll be in great danger of having an asthma attack. My daughter’s asthma medication costs in Mexico are $........ while in US I only have to pay $5.00 dollars (Exhibit). Even though money plays a huge part, what’s most importantly is the tranquility of knowing that if something happens, they’ll be taken in any Medical Hospital to give the health care needed.
With this Health Insurance (IEHP) they also had vision coverage (Exhibit) which is very helpful for my daughter’s vision problems, which covers visits to the Ophthalmologist and costs of glasses. In Mexico I have been paying $ for a visit and $ for glasses. Dental coverage (Exhibit) is another benefit that they could take advantage of when needed as growing up.
Other considerations
Adding to my stress is the tremendous fear I feel for my family, starting this year in February there is being earthquakes occurring in Baja (Exhibit) and as you see is not just a couple of them. My family lives with fear since this seism can not be predicted, you don’t know when they are coming or how bad can they get. My wife and kids are not used to this, not even the people who have been living in Mexicali their whole life has seen this earthquake swarms,( Exhibit) and that is what really scares me, my kids suffered from vomiting and diarrhea the day after an earthquake of 5.1 occurred at night time. There is no way to express the tremendous feeling if something catastrophic would happen to them being there by them selves.
Conclusion
I desperately ask you for your help on reunite this loving family, I am a 25 year old man who grew up with two brothers, a sister and my mom, dad left when we were all too young, I get sick to my stomach just to think I could be separated from my wife and kids, I really don’t want my kids to go thru a similar situation, because not having a father by your side does affects you in one way or another. As you can see there are many facts that will and are extremely impacting my everyday life without my wife and kids here in the United States. My wife is a wonderful hands on mother; this May will be 9 ½ years since we’ve been in each others life and in August will be 7 yrs of marriage. I can’t imagine my life without her I feel as though life it self would loose its meaning.
I respectfully plead that you reconsider and waive the 10 yr ban so that we can pursue our lives together in a country we call home, the United States. If allowed to entry the US, my wife would not only continue to take care for our family, but be a positive contributor to the United States of America as well.
Thank you for your time and consideration.