HSL, please critique, Thank you

[henrymspears]

Hi, so i think i am ready for your critique....please read and let me know...thank you very much....



Date, 2009

Dear Consulate General,

I, Henry Mora Spears, (petitioner) declare under penalty of perjury, under the laws on the United States of America, that the following is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

I, Henry Mora Spears, United States of America Citizen, in support of an I-601 Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility for my loving spouse XXXX, X, XXXX, submit this letter and evidence. Today; I humbly ask you to approve the I-601 Waiver of Grounds of Excludability that I have filed on her behalf. Her absence has caused and continues to cause extreme hardship on me, our six year old daughter, as well as our extended family. As I have detailed below my educational hardships, medical, financial, and family reasons, relocating to Mexico would create even harsher hardships for myself and my family. My wife was brought to the US as a child and we wish to make things right.

Education: I currently hold a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, a Thesis-Based Masters degree in Criminal Justice from Georgia State University, and was in the process of getting my PhD at the University of Maryland.

My wife and I strive for and believe that obtaining higher education in this great country we call home, is very important. I currently hold a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice (Exhibit 1, Diploma Bachelor Degree) from Georgia State University and a Thesis Based Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice (Exhibit 2, Diploma Master’s Degree). My education in criminal justice is specifically applicable to the Criminal Justice system, which includes the judicial, corrections, policing and the laws of the United States of America (Exhibit 3, GA State University MS Brochure) and not that of Mexico and so I would not be able to transfer the rules and laws I know and apply them to Mexico. Furthermore; given our history as a nation, education as a whole in the field of Criminology is country specific. At both the federal and state levels, the law of the United States is derived from English law. Most if not all of our judicial process branched from English ancestor (Exhibit 4, Law of the United States Article)

On the other hand, the Mexican judicial and legal system is based solely on Spanish civil law with influences of the common law traditions (Exhibit 5, Country Data of Mexico). My experiences and education is useless in Mexico seeing that Mexico’s legal system derives from Spain and my background is specific our land. For examples U.S. judiciary enjoys powers of jurisprudence, Spanish civil law is based upon strict adherence to legal codes and minimal jurisprudence. I studied the U.S. system for four years to obtain my bachelor’s degree, two and a half year to suffice the credits of my Master’s Degree and one additional year to investigate, write and present my Thesis based on our system of government. If I were forced to move to Mexico I would face even greater extreme hardships because I would have gotten all my education in the field of criminal justice and could not apply it to use in Mexico and could not advance in the field because I am educated in the United States of America criminal justice system. Additionally, my first language is English and I was thought my classes in my language. Even thought I speak some Spanish, my life would be turned upside down if I had to unlearned all my education and have to re-school myself in another language and a different system of government.

I am always looking for ways to better myself and advance my career. I feel education is a huge step in achieving those goals. In graduate school there are two options for graduating with a Master’s Degree. The first one is just taking 36 hours of classes and getting your diploma. The second option is finishing the 36 graduate credit hours but also choosing to write a thesis. The second option is for students interested in furthering their education with even higher education. I chose the late. I am in the process of furthering my education by getting my PhD in the field I have dedicated my life (Exhibit 6, University of Maryland Registration). Because the criminal justice system in the United States is of great interest to me, I have made it my goal to submerse myself in the education process and attain all the knowledge possible. I also feel that it is the best gate through which I can help others through education. It is my long term goal to be an educator. I hope to be able to teach what I have learned to others interested in our system of government in the field of criminal justice.

I would not have the same educational opportunities in Mexico. I want the best education possible for myself but also for our daughter and that is only available here at home in the U.S.


Medical: My Health- Cluster headaches

I suffer from and have been diagnosed with an extremely debilitating form of headaches, known as cluster headaches (Exhibit 7, Physician’s Letter). These headaches come on with little to no warning and can last anywhere from one to three hours. They are extraordinarily painful. The pain is ten times worse than a toothache or any other pain I have experienced. My cluster headaches are unpredictable and the source or cause is unknown in my case. My pain comes along with the feelings of nausea, blurred vision, dizziness, double vision, and numbness on one hand, specifically at the tip of my fingers. This form of headache scares me because the relating symptoms are very similar to someone having a brain bleed or brain hemorrhage (Exhibit 8, MD Brain Hemorrhage cause, symptoms and treatments), from which a very close friend died at age 39 just couple of years older than me.

With all the medical advances we have in our great country I was surprised to learn since stricken with this illness, just how little we know about this illness and headaches in general. My doctor, even after many different therapies, a multitude of medications, CatScans, and MRIs, has not been able to locate what is causing this horrific pain (Exhibit 9, MRI Results). During each episode I have to be catatonic, completely in-mobile and isolated from any light and noise until it passes.

My headaches have been documented by my physician (Exhibit 10, Physician’s Documents ) and I have been under several different medical treatments; for years just trying to find anything that works to ease this horrific pain. Currently I am taking a new type of medication called Maxal (Exhibit 11, Physician’s Note) but like all the other pain medications, nothing alleviates the pain once it hits. I know that physicians in the United States have a much greater chance of finding the cause and hopefully the cure for this debilitating and excruciating pain I suffer from; versus Mexico. In Mexico, I will not receive the same care that I receive from my doctor at home.

Whenever I am stricken with an episode, especially at my place of employment, I am completely dependent on my wife. On many occasions my wife has had to drive to my work to pick me up because I am unable to even open my eyes, barely move, let alone drive myself home (Exhibit 12, Coworker’s letter). I need my wife to assist me during my episodes, as it is impossible for me to accomplish the many tasks that are required. During these unpredictable episodes, my wife has had to pick me up from work because I cannot drive, take me to my Doctor, help me up and down stairs, blackout the “quiet” room in our home from light and noise including trying to keep our six year old daughter from her normal six year old behavior and activities, keep close watch over me and if necessary call 911 and provide my medical information.

Medical: Diagnosed with Sepborrheic Dermatitis and Alopecia Areata (Hair loss due to extreme stress)

Even prior to our separation for this process, I was stressing about the hardship I would face because of our separation but I thought that we could go through the hardship without too much stress; I was wrong. I also knew that there would be some psychological issues that I would have to deal with but never thought it would get so stressful that is would show up in other ways.

My worries manifested itself into a physical health issue related to the stress of losing my wife. I begun to lose hair in patches on mu head, concerned I went to see my Doctor who referred me to a specialist. I was first diagnosed with Seborrheic Dermatitis and later I was diagnosed with Alopecia Areate (Exhibit 13, Dermatologist letter, dated July 9). My Dermatologist advised me that both of these illness are due to extreme high stress in my life. I explained to my Doctor the situation with my wife being absent due to the process of correcting her legal status and what her absence has meant. My Doctor concluded that it is very likely the reason for my illness (Exhibit 14, Dermatologist Letter, dated December 21 ). I have been fighting the urge to think about what would happen to my daughter and I if my wife was not allowed to come home and it is killing me. I am hoping that you see just how devastating it is for my family having to deal with this situation.

I am being treated for my illness at this time but I have had to miss several appointments because I have no more sick days to use form work. I am afraid that that my situation will worsen with the continued absence of my wife.

My Mother’s Health: My wonderful mother suffers from extreme migraines as well and relies on me and my wife for her care and support.
My mother has been suffering with migraine headaches for years (Exhibit 15, Mother’s Physician’s Letter). Up until 1998 my mother had my stepfather, a Captain in the United States Navy to help her, but sadly my stepfather was stricken with cancer shortly after returning from overseas and he died in October of 1998. Before he passed, I was living in the state of Maryland and I knew that my mother was alright despite her migraines. But since October of 1998, I moved to Georgia where my mother lives because she depends on me and my wife to care for her. When she is stricken with a migraine headache, she needs us to attend to her every need (Exhibit 16, Mother’s letter). I essentially move in with her for the time that she is suffering from her headaches. My wife and I transport her to and from doctor’s appointments; assist her with the upkeep of her house, care for her dogs, for as long as she needs us.

We have been fortunate my mother and I in that we both have not had an episode simultaneously. I cannot imagine what we would do, but I do feel a sense of relief knowing that my wife would be here for myself and my mother, if such an unfortunate situation were to arise. I am completely reliant on the care and love of my wife and on my many occasions so has been my mother. My wife without any hesitation is always willing to assist her mother-in-law should she need help. They are and continue to grow and be very close. I cannot move to Mexico because, my mother would have no one to help her when she is suffering from a migraine.

Our Baby Died and is Buried here: Our beautiful eight month old baby boy, died in 2009 and is laid to rest in Georgia. I have to go undergo genetic testing because his cause of death is unknown.

My wife and I have suffered the ultimate loss, our first born son(Exhibit 17, Hospital records). In February of 2009, our son died at 8 months. The reasons for his death are unknown. As you can imagine, my wife and I are heartbroken over the loss of our baby. We want to have more children in the future. The Doctor told us that any future pregnancy is considered very high risk, because our son died at such a young age and the cause of his death is unknown. We were directed to a Geneticist. We do not yet know if the issue is with me or my wife so I will need to go through testing. My wife has to be under the care of an obstetrician gynecologist who specializes in high risk pregnancies.

My Doctor strongly advised that I and my wife undergo genetic testing to try and underscore what may have caused the death of my son. Northside Hospital, where the tests will be performed, specialize is this type of case and they are well know for women health issues related to pregnancies. I and my wife have to attend the test. (Exhibit 18, Northside Hospital documents)

Aside from having our 8 months old son buried here in the United States, the medical advances that exist here in the United States are far more advance than in Mexico. This high level of care is necessary to insure the health of my wife and our child is not readily available in Mexico. The infant mortality rate in Mexico is three times the United States and due to our high risk situation, we need to have continued care with our current specialist in the United States. (Exhibit 19, Wife OB/GYN Letter)
Financial: Job offer- I am barely making ends meet, suffering financially as a result of my wife’s absence. Moving to Mexico would destroy me financially and miss opportunities available here in the United States.

While I am employed at this time, I had been looking to find employment in my area of expertise and education and fortunately I was offered a position within my field of study with high potential for advancement with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a foundation championed by John Walsh of America’s Most Wanted (Exhibit 20, Offer letter from National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) but I lost out this opportunity because of the situation we find ourselves in at this time with my wife’s absence. I am educated in the United States with all my degrees related to the field of Criminal Justice, my primary interest are all geared towards this area. I was excited to have been given this opportunity but sadden that I would have to reject the offer because without my wife here with me and my daughter, I would not accept the job offer. The well being of our daughter would be in jeopardy as well because we would be in another state and I would have to rely on strangers watching my six year old little girl while I worked.

I am currently employed as a Project Manager by Foursquare Research in Atlanta, Georgia (Exhibit 21, Letter from current employer). I have been with my present company for 6 years. I also worked additional hours as a part time job an average of about 15 extra hours a week making $540.00 bi weekly (Exhibit 22, Letter showing P/T work hours). I was able to work extra hours because my wife is the primary care giver to our daughter. She is a stay home mom and so she does everything for our daughter. She takes her to the school bus stop in the morning at 7 AM because I needed to be at work at 6:30 AM. My wife picks up our daughter after school at 2:30 PM. I could not because I was at work and do not get home until 7 PM. I have lost all of my income from my extra job which totals $1,080 a month in extra income that help pays our bills. I have suffered and continue to suffer extreme financial hardship because since my wife’s absence I have had to leave my extra job and also sacrifice extra hours from my primary job to do the things my wife would do while I worked.

I was making $52,000 a year in my full time job. Because I have to leave early from my primary job; to care for our daughter and the current economic situation has cost me an additional 15% pay cut. The company for which I work has suffered drastically in this current economy. I use to depend on my $1,300 bi-weekly pay but since the pay cut, I now only bring home $1000 bi-weekly making paying bill almost impossible.

I have medical bill from the loss of our baby($4,895), a mortgage to pay($1,130/Month), as well as student loans($35,000 ), car payment($275/Month), credit card debt due to this separation($200/Month), health insurance ($145/Month) and daily living expenses($400/Month). I am also sending whatever money I can to my wife to support her while she is in Mexico. Without my wife here I cannot get back on track financially because I cannot look for or accept another job without my wife being present with me to take care of our daughter and our other responsibilities.

Bills and expenses outlined

Loss of our Son Medical Mill…..$150/Month …….....Balance……$4,895
Mortgage ………………………$1,130/Month……….Balance…….$165,000
Student Loan …………………..$159/Month…………Balance…….$35,000
Car payment…………………….$275/Month…………Balance……$17,000
Credit Card……………………$200/Month…………..Balance…….$4,500
Car Insurance…………………..$202/Month………….Balance…….$1,220
Daily living expenses…………..$380/Month
(Exhibit 23, Bills)

We are living in a modest single family home, have two cars (one almost dead with 200,000 miles and not sure how it still runs). I am having enough difficulty surviving on what I make it in the United States since my wife’s departure. Moving to Mexico is unacceptable, because my current financial obligations and income would worsen. In which I would incur serious problems with creditors, lose my home, lose my car, and ruin my credit score of 732, considered by the 3 major credit keeping agencies, as excellent (Exhibit 24, Credit score) which I have fought and struggled to obtain, which as you may know means everything to being able to get loans for school or future buying power. The chances of me finding a comparable job with comparable income in Mexico are nonexistent given the differences in economic development between the US and Mexico.



Business Loss: Our Business: Cloverleaf Cleaning Service has been closed and income from the business has been lost.


My wife and I decided to start a small residential and commercial cleaning business (Exhibit 25, Vehicle advertisement, Business cards, Mailing Post Cards) to better prepare for the future. Our goal was to save the moneys from the business for us to use and for the education of our daughter Samantha. We started advertising to obtain a list of potential customers and to our surprise the list proved that there is a market for this service. Unfortunately, our dream of owning our business came to a halt because I cannot start up and operate a business without my wife.

The loss of the income from this venture has placed additional hardships on me and means to provide for my family. If my wife is allowed to returned back home, her presence is sure to provide me the time to start up our business.







Safety: I am terrified to live in Mexico and to raise a family in that environment.

From what I have gathered and seen on the news violent crime runs rampant through the streets of Mexico City, where my wife is from and currently resides. It is unsafe to do something as simple as head to the market, go out for the evening or take a leisurely stroll through the park, let alone allow your child to play in the yard. It terrifies me to even imagine trying to raise a family in such a place. Crime in Mexico continues to occur at a high rate, and it can often be violent, especially in Mexico City. Women traveling alone are especially vulnerable. Rape, armed robbery, assault, extortion are rampant. Drug-related violence, including shootings and kidnappings, has increased. (Exhibit 26, travel.state.gov).

That is not an environment I would ever consider living in or raising a family in. I am terrified for my wife’s safety every day she is there.

Family Ties: I am extremely close with my mother.

My family shares a tight bond. My mother lives a short distance from me and we get together whenever she is suffering from an episode but we also get together on the weekends, holidays or other special occasions. My mother has developed a close relationship with my wife and misses her greatly. She is also extremely close to my 6 year old daughter, who spends a great deal of time with her grandma. She is looking forward to more grandchildren in the future.

We would not be able to maintain these close ties from Mexico. The distance, time and money involved in traveling would prevent us from visiting.

Please consider the facts included in this letter as you make your decision. They have been well documented with supporting letters and other documentation. My wife is deeply sorry she entered the US illegally. She has lived as an upstanding, law abiding member of society since then and will continue to do so. Nothing would make me and her prouder than for her to become an American citizen.

Please allow my wife, XXXX XXXX SXXX (Beneficiary), whom I adore with all my might, to return home to me and our daughter in the United States. The hardships I suffer in her absence are great and relocation to Mexico would be devastating in so many different ways to me and my family. I humbly ask you to please allow my wife to come back home the right way so we could, as a family, begin our journey towards being productive members of society.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,

Henry M. Spears

[profesora]

put your medical section first, before your education and career stuff.

[WaitingtoExhale]

I think this is a very good hardship letter. Good luck and I hope you are able to bring your wife home soon.

[guzman23]

I would put medical first alos do u get insurance from work? If u need genteic counsling can u get the cost of this also facts about how u cant afford or get this same level of care in mexico? maybe break the section of your mother into her own paragraph as well and go more into how and what exactly you do to help her hope others will chime in Im curently working on my own letter I think u have a great start this is my opinion good luck

[laury]

Fantastic letter! A few notes, in addition to the ones already suggested:

Education: I currently hold a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, a Thesis-Based Masters degree in Criminal Justice from Georgia State University, and was in the process of getting my PhD at the University of Maryland.

I would state that your ARE in the process of getting your PhD. Even if you've taken a break, as long as you're still considered an active student, use the present tense. It adds weight to your plans; to say you were in the process means you've either already completed it or have abandoned the idea. Either way, it would no longer apply. Most schools will give you a year off a PhD program before you are no longer considered an active student - mine did.

"I chose the late" - I chose the latter?

"I would not have the same educational opportunities in Mexico. I want the best education possible for myself but also for our daughter and that is only available here at home in the U.S"

Great summary of your previous paragraphs, and a great introduction into how your daughter's education would be affected. Follow it through. Does she not speak Spanish? Great thing to point out - she would either have to attend a public school where she wouldn't understand the language of instruction or she would have to have a private education, which you couldn't afford given your financial situation. Also, throw in some stats about the quality of education in Mexico vs the US, and how it might affect her ability to compete in the US college market. These are just ideas that may or may not be applicable.

Lastly, your situation with the genetic testing is a bit confusing. I get that your baby boy died suddenly and without cause (I am so sorry for this; nothing is worse for a parent than losing a child like that). However, is your 6 year old daughter not your wife's biological child as well? I only ask because it put a question in my mind about the urgency of having the testing done. If your daughter is also your wife's biological child, then you two can clearly have healthy children. If she isn't your wife's daughter, then you should explain that in the letter, as it adds weight to the fact that you two need to do the genetic testing before attempting any more children. I don't say this to be mean or insensitive; I am merely putting myself in the shoes of someone reading the letter and making a decision on it. A question in his/her mind might also arise, and it is probably better addressed if you can do so.

[henrymspears]

Thank you everyone, your feedback is very much what i wanted. Like everyone else, my goal is to ensure that my letter makes the points clear and dead on what i am saying. The placements of medical first V. say financial hardships on the letter, how important is that? I ask because I think that my education carries more weight that my medical issues. For example, my medical issues is not life threatening. I feel that my education carries more weight because if i were forced to move all that i have attained would have to be abandoned and i would have to try and relearn a new system of government. Does that make sence?

Thank you again...

H.

[guzman23]

with work section every one has told me to put how your degree is only pertinant to the united states how u could not continue the same business in mexico have u read all of the aproved letters Good job

[ive1]

Impecable