Love, Hope and Borders

As I write this, I can’t begin to explain how grateful I am for all of the people who have stepped up to share our story, or their own stories with us.

Just last week, I had a coworker come up to me, and tell me that he too went through a similar process that Jose and I are going through, and, he is now a citizen! His hope for our future almost had me in tears.

Then, another coworker stated how she recently spoke to an area high school group, and she shared our story with them.

While our society has a long way to go, I can see change forming right in front of my eyes. Being undocumented isn’t something someone should feel scared or embarrassed to talk about. Many young people today are growing up to be accepting and loving of all people. And, they are willing to learn about things they may not fully understand without just believing something because Bob Smith next door said so.

My sister and I were raised in a family where we were taught to love people from all paths of life. I can’t begin to explain how crucial this is. We were blessed, and I can’t wait when Jose and I have children of our own to teach them the same.

6.5 years ago when Jose and I first started dating, I was a little hesitant to tell my family he was undocumented. I don’t know why, but even then, I feel like there was such a stigma attached to it. Like, it should be something you NEVER talk about, and it should be kept a secret. Of course, after finding out, my family loved Jose no matter what, but I was initially nervous to talk to them about it. Now, I feel like our society is moving a step in the right direction. There are so many people who in strength have decided to step out of the shadows to fight for what is right. It’s truly amazing.

Thank you to everyone that has read our story, has come up to us to ask questions or provide their support – you are all awesome, and it means so much.

Jose’s waiver application is still being processed. (Not sure what the waiver is? Click here!) Every day before work, I go to www.uscis.gov to see if there are any updates. For all applications, you can type in the receipt number and check to see the progress that has been made. I am hoping by April or May we will have an answer, and then, be able to move forward with the visa application. Everything is moving along as it should. I have dreams of when all of this is behind us. I’m sure that time will be here before we know it, and we’ll be planning our dream vacation to go back to Mexico for Dia de Los Muertos. I’m so ready to get this all behind us and live our life together without this in our way.

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Look at these super cute buttons I ordered! You can get your own here!

Thanks again for reading,

Haley