Immigration Assistance

I have a friend, she started out as a Resident who was supposed to start her continuity clinic in my clinic this past year. But then her start was delayed b/c of immigration issues. I kept in touch with her as a concerned Attending and invited her into my home b/c she was here all alone from Venezuela with no family and no friends. She started to pull herself away from the other Residents in the program b/c it hurt too much to be around them. This is how she became a friend. She is a strong, determined, smart young lady with a very bright and promising future, but 1 man (an attorney) who gave her some bad advice and our despicable immigration system have ruined her life. She applied for a Visa under the advice of this attorney who erroneously told her that she could get a work Visa in a matter of weeks. When she finally got accepted to Residency in Miami and applied, she discovered that this Visa actually requires a 2 year wait list. With the help of the hospital attorney, she applied for an expedition. 7 months later the government has absolutely no answer for her. In the meantime, she is left in a foreign country alone and with no source of income. What exactly do they expect her to do while they are sitting with their thumbs up their butts. In order to just survive, she has been forced to do the most degrading jobs (No offense. My parents were immigrants and started out in many low paying jobs as well. I know how important these people are to our economy). She has worked so hard. She has an MD and she is forced to clean restaurant kitchens, babysit and work in gas stations illegally. I wish to God there was something I could do for her. Even the CEO of the hospital wrote a letter on her behalf. She solicited the aid of her local congresswoman and still no answer. My heart is breaking. She is broken (her words). I am so worried for her and want so desperately to help, but not sure how. She cries constantly and doesn’t even want to get out of bed. Thanks to this attorney and the vile, thoughtless and evil way our government treat people, she went from being a physician ready to start a promising career in Pediatrics to an illegal immigrant in despair. She cannot go back home as Venezuela is in political and economic crisis right now. Please pray for her. Pray for an answer and an end to her uncertainty and for strength to carry on. She has stopped praying and as a result of all this has lost her faith in God. I can’t imagine anything worse. I can’t imagine her loneliness. Any funds raised will be given directly to her to help pay her rent, buy basic necessities, including food, and pay legal fees that may arise.