It was in ELS classes where she met who her husband would be, and through him, she was able to normalize her situation
Edith Herrera will have a very special Christmas. A few days after obtaining his permanent residence, he will travel to spend Christmas and the rest of the week in Tijuana. She has not returned to Mexico, the country that saw her born, for 15 years.
“When leaving work this December 24, we go to Tijuana to spend the holidays with family members,” says Oliverio Ibarra Topete, Edith's husband and who applied for residence for her.
Edith first came to the United States in 2004 with a special permission to see her mother evicted from cancer, whose last wish was to see her daughter. He was then 35 years old. She was married to a taxi driver and was the mother of two children in Mexico.
“I spent six months next to her until she died and we buried her. I returned to Ciudad Sahagún in the state of Hidalgo, in Mexico, where my husband and children were waiting for me, ”he says.
However, after having spent a season in the US with her mother, she told her husband that everyone would better come to this country. "There are more opportunities for our children."
He adds, “he asked me to wait for us to raise money before coming, but since my permit expired in a week, it was now or never. I did not want to enter undocumented. ”
Edith came to Los Angeles, and after six months her husband and her two children reached her. In 2004, when they entered the country, they were 8 and 6 years old. The family settled in Paramount in Los Angeles County. Edith's authorization to remain in the country expired, and she was undocumented.
About four years after he immigrated, Edith divorced the father of his children.
In 2010, once divorced, she decided to enroll in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, something she had always wanted to do.
She never imagined that learning English would meet her second husband, another student who was attending ESL classes; and that also through him, he would obtain his residence.
“Two years after we met, we got married. I liked it a lot because he was a romantic man, very sociable, attentive, and of a light nature, ”he says.
Edith Herrera with her immigration lawyer Jonathan Strait of the legal firm of Eric Price. (Courtesy Paulina Herrera) Oliverio works in the kitchen of a food company at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), but also has his own Mariachi Charros de Jalisco, in honor of his home state in Mexico.
“As a child, I am Mariachi. First I was a trumpet player, now I play the guitar. For a long time I toured with artists all over the country, ”he says. Oliver, who emigrated to this country in February 1979.
On August 24, 2018, Oliver became a citizen of the United Statess. Months later, in December of that same year, he presented the residency petition for his wife Edith.
“In February of this year they sent me to take the prints; in October, they issued a work permit; At the beginning of November, my husband and I had an appointment in Migration to verify the authenticity of the marriage, ”she said.
And on December 11 of this year, in the office of his immigration lawyer Eric Price, he was given his residence card.
"I cried for joy, ”said Edith. "I still can not believe it. At times, I think I am still part of that group of paperless people who live in fear of deportationn. I have lived with that fear for a long time. ”
When the now new resident remembers the moment in which they handed her the envelope with her card greencard, His face lights up and the spontaneous smile emerges.
“I am still super excited. Grateful to God and life, ”he says.
Oliver, on the other hand, says that, with his wife's residence, they have taken away a distress.
“In a marriage, the couple are the two turbines that drive the same boat,” says Oliver. “If one is taken away, a misfortune occurs. And yes, if I was worried about a possible separation. ”
The dream of this couple is to open a freight transport company, but in the meantime this Christmas Eve and Christmas are going to celebrate Edith's permanent residence in Tijuana. "Let's see if it works," says Oliver smiling.
The fastest way to reside
Migration attorney Eric Price, whose office handled Edith's case, explains that she did not have to leave the country during her residency petition process because she had a legal entry from 2004. However, she had to ask for forgiveness for exceeding the time limit allowed in the country.
"Happily during the interview at the Migration and Citizenship Service (USCIS) he was able to verify a clean record, excellent behavior, tax payment and that his marriage was for love ”he points out.
“She can become a citizen in three years if she wants to,” he says.
And he goes on to say that Edith's case shows that a petition from a US citizen is the fastest and safest process of obtaining permanent residence with a path to citizenship.
“The advice is always to tell the truth and seek the representation of an honest lawyer, expert in immigration laws and informed of the constant progress of the immigration process. It is important that the immigrant collaborate with all the documents requested so that the petition package before USCIS is complete and perfectly presented. Valid marriages and for love, with the help of a lawyer, will be very likely to succeed in an immigration process, ”he says.
