Keep Annie's Family Together
Donation protected
♡ Please help me raise money to cover immigration fees. I have been unfairly denied twice for a mistake that wasn't my own, but for which I have had to pay dearly for ever since. I need to raise $1000 as down payment for my lawyer and $675 for USCIS before August 6th. ♡
♡ About me and my family ♡
I live in San Francisco with my beautiful queer unconventional family. I have lived here for 7 years. My family consists of me, my partner Eli, my sister Nina, her son Aurelio, my sister-in-law Xochitl, her son Xavier, and our doggies. My nephews are 2 years and 10 months old and I am one of their primary caretakers (secondary only to their mothers). I care for them on an almost daily basis. If I had to leave it would be very challenging, if not traumatic, for me and even more so for the babies with whom I share a strong bond and attachment. When I think of leaving this is what hurts most. As if I didn't already have a beautiful family at home, I also have close friends that I consider as family as well, that I would hate to leave behind. My family and life are here and I don't want to be uprooted against my will.
My experience with immigration
I came from Guatemala to the US on a student visa for college in 2011. In April 2017, I applied for a green card via marriage to my partner Eli. Everything was going well, I got the mandatory medical examination and went to my biometrics appointment. The final step was our interview, which we were waiting the expected year for. The notice that USCIS sent me via mail to show up for my interview never came, it got lost in the mail. I was sent no other form of notice, no e-mail, and my USCIS page online had not been updated since the year prior. To my shock and dismay, I got a letter in April 2018 saying my case was denied because we hand't shown up for the interview.
We then hired a lawyer and sent in a motion to reconsider, hoping that they would re-open my case since it wasn't my fault that I never got their letter. However, on July 21st 2018 I received a second letter of denial, with no explication as to why my case was denied again. It went something like: "We see here that you claim you didn't get our letter, even though you got all our other letters. So, case denied, please leave asap."
It's been an extremely expensive, unfair, scary, and stressful ordeal. I have already paid over $5000 in lawyer and government fees alone. And I have to submit a new motion to reconsider by August 6th, because USCIS only allows you to mail that motion within 30 days of them sending their denial notice.
There is no guarantee this will work, I might get denied a third time. But my only other two options would be to restart the whole process and pay even more, or to leave the country which would cost me not just money but also my job, my family, and my home.
Summary
The US has been separating families unjustly for a long time. Not just at the border, but also with deporting people who have lived here for years or decades. This is nothing new, but it is deeply unfair and unacceptable. Things have been pretty terrible on this front lately so I understand if you have another case to donate to, so many are worthy and in need. Any contribution you can make I will be deeply grateful for, even if it is just your support. Feeling so supported by my friends and family is what has kept me strong through this difficult time. Thank you if you have already helped me, as some people did when I got my first denial notice. You can also talk to me about commissioning artwork if you'd rather do that.
Thank you for reading, donating, sharing, doing what you can. I appreciate it deeply, and so does my family.
Love, Annie
♡♡♡
♡ About me and my family ♡
I live in San Francisco with my beautiful queer unconventional family. I have lived here for 7 years. My family consists of me, my partner Eli, my sister Nina, her son Aurelio, my sister-in-law Xochitl, her son Xavier, and our doggies. My nephews are 2 years and 10 months old and I am one of their primary caretakers (secondary only to their mothers). I care for them on an almost daily basis. If I had to leave it would be very challenging, if not traumatic, for me and even more so for the babies with whom I share a strong bond and attachment. When I think of leaving this is what hurts most. As if I didn't already have a beautiful family at home, I also have close friends that I consider as family as well, that I would hate to leave behind. My family and life are here and I don't want to be uprooted against my will.
My experience with immigration
I came from Guatemala to the US on a student visa for college in 2011. In April 2017, I applied for a green card via marriage to my partner Eli. Everything was going well, I got the mandatory medical examination and went to my biometrics appointment. The final step was our interview, which we were waiting the expected year for. The notice that USCIS sent me via mail to show up for my interview never came, it got lost in the mail. I was sent no other form of notice, no e-mail, and my USCIS page online had not been updated since the year prior. To my shock and dismay, I got a letter in April 2018 saying my case was denied because we hand't shown up for the interview.
We then hired a lawyer and sent in a motion to reconsider, hoping that they would re-open my case since it wasn't my fault that I never got their letter. However, on July 21st 2018 I received a second letter of denial, with no explication as to why my case was denied again. It went something like: "We see here that you claim you didn't get our letter, even though you got all our other letters. So, case denied, please leave asap."
It's been an extremely expensive, unfair, scary, and stressful ordeal. I have already paid over $5000 in lawyer and government fees alone. And I have to submit a new motion to reconsider by August 6th, because USCIS only allows you to mail that motion within 30 days of them sending their denial notice.
There is no guarantee this will work, I might get denied a third time. But my only other two options would be to restart the whole process and pay even more, or to leave the country which would cost me not just money but also my job, my family, and my home.
Summary
The US has been separating families unjustly for a long time. Not just at the border, but also with deporting people who have lived here for years or decades. This is nothing new, but it is deeply unfair and unacceptable. Things have been pretty terrible on this front lately so I understand if you have another case to donate to, so many are worthy and in need. Any contribution you can make I will be deeply grateful for, even if it is just your support. Feeling so supported by my friends and family is what has kept me strong through this difficult time. Thank you if you have already helped me, as some people did when I got my first denial notice. You can also talk to me about commissioning artwork if you'd rather do that.
Thank you for reading, donating, sharing, doing what you can. I appreciate it deeply, and so does my family.
Love, Annie
♡♡♡
Organizer
Annie Schloesser
Organizer
San Francisco, CA
