Love, Hope and Borders

November 26 is the date Jose will be interviewed in Ciudad Juarez for his visa. We’ve been waiting for this date to come for three years now. When we received the email stating that November 26 was the date, I was flooded with a mixture of emotions—sadness, anxiety, worry, excitement, happiness. I knew this date would be coming, but I just wish it never had to. You know? I wish Jose never had to leave, but we’re forging ahead. We know that now is the best time for us to do this. We never want Luisa to deal with any of it.

I received the email from the National Visa Center on Monday, October 28 during work. I opened it right away, immediately started crying and then called Jose.

This is what we’ve been waiting for all along, and it’s finally here. Please keep us in your hearts over the next several weeks. This will be the toughest thing our family has to go through, but we’re ready to get it behind us.

Timeline

• November 20 – Jose travels to Mexico (He has to arrive a bit early for a medical exam and to get his fingerprints taken.)
• November 26 – Interview date
• Jose will wait in Cd. Juarez to receive the packet that he needs to present to a port of entry. Once his visa is stamped, he is officially a permanent resident.
• If everything goes well, Jose will return home in about 2-3 weeks.
• When he arrives back to the US, he will be mailed his green card.

It’s SO much to process. We’re taking things day by day, and we will of course continue to update you. I know that once all of this is over, I’ll wonder how we did it all—hours and hours of paperwork, monthly payments to our attorney, the stress of this and just normal life… I’m proud of us. We’re one strong family, and we aren’t going to let this break us down. Plus, I think it will be a pretty awesome story to tell Luisa when she gets older.

If you haven’t seen it, please check out the Our City, Our Story video below. It perfectly tells our story. We are so thankful for Pablo’s hard work.

Much love,

Haley, Jose and Luisa