Love, Hope and Borders

Haley and I had the opportunity to speak to the local DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) chapter. It was the first time publicly speaking to a group of people about the immigration process we are going through. After speaking, I was so excited to see the support these independent and strong women showed us. In a couple weeks, we will get to speak at a local high school regarding our situation and how it affects us.

There are many misconceptions people have regarding the immigration process people must go through to become a citizen. A few of the members of DAR group we spoke to knew how difficult and costly the naturalization process is. One of the major misconceptions is if you want to become a citizen you only need to apply. However, in reality, there is not just one way to become naturalized in the U.S. Every person’s situation is different and we all must travel through the maze that is the immigration system to reach our goal of becoming a United States citizen. We have not heard back yet regarding our waiver which is the first step towards our goal. If everything goes as planned, Haley and I will be traveling to Mexico in late fall or early winter for my visa interview.
I currently have DACA which won’t expire until the summer of 2019, but we wanted to get the naturalization process going before that happens. As some of you may know, DACA was started by President Obama in 2012 which allowed DREAMers to get a work permit and a social security card that would allow us to get a driver’s license and state I.D. Last year, President Trump rescinded DACA and gave Congress a deadline of March 5th, 2018 to come up with an agreement to allow DACA recipients a path to citizenship. Congress has yet to come to an agreement regarding DREAMers who hold DACA. As of this date March 21st there is still no agreement between both parties regarding DACA. The court system denied the complete rescindment of DACA so those who currently hold their work permit will be allowed to renew, but no new applicants are being accepted at this time. This is both a good and bad thing. Congress no longer has the pressure of DACA being completely rescinded so it may take a lot longer for them to come to an agreement regarding DREAMers. We will continue to wait, hope, and pray something will be passed soon. In the meantime, Haley and I will continue to help educate our readers with as much information as we can. If you would like us to come speak to a local organization please reach out to us through our contact us page!

Cheers,
Jose’