Samuel’s American Dream

My brother and I were brought to the US by my mother on October 23rd, 2009 because, during this time, Venezuela was on the road to a crisis, which wasn’t as clear before as it is now, and this was a life my mother didn’t want my brother and I to live. My mother wanted us to have a better life than in Venezuela, leaving behind our family and friends, she made a huge sacrifice to come to the US with little guidance and direction so that we can live a safer and more sustainable life. My mother filed for a Political Asylum¹ in order for her and I to be able to stay in the US and remain protected. My brother was born in the US so it wasn’t a necessity for him, however my mother and I’s application was disapproved due to the court’s ignorance of Venezuela’s conditions. She later attempted to appeal the court’s decision, however it never reached the court because of a mistake her lawyer made, which left the appealment case pending without my mom knowing. Following the years, we continued to live our lives oblivious to the mistake that was made by our lawyer, until my mother’s significant other of eight years proposed to her. This marriage also provided her and me a more streamlined opportunity to receive approval for our residency. My mother and step-dad had a meeting with the court of immigration in order to finally conclude our application for residency, however this was the time she was informed of the mistake her lawyer made years ago. This meant that we would need to reopen the appealment case that was left pending and close it in order to move on with our application process. Not being able to legally work, it was difficult for my mother to be able to save enough money by herself, so we needed the financial support from my step-dad. My mother and step-dad started working together in order to best provide for my brother and I, and planned to eventually save enough money to afford the residency process. This was the idea until issues began to manifest in my mother and step-dad’s relationship and my mother left him. Without the help of my step-dad, things got harder for my mother; now working to provide for my brother and I alone. The moment my brother became old enough to work, he started helping my mom economically, but the help was limited. Living paycheck to paycheck, we still couldn’t afford to save the money. My brother soon had to leave for college, which left just my mom and I alone. I was never allowed to work because of my status, and trying to find whatever way to make money posed a risk for my future. This was the time I started freelancing along with helping my mother clean in order to help maintain us. After three years of my mother and I doing everything we could to live comfortably, we’ve yet to be able to afford for our future. Which is why I'm here, with a heavy heart, asking for your help. I need your help to finally become a US resident because not only will it open up more opportunities for my mother and I, it will allow us to finally live a normal life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Samuel ¹grants protection to foreign nationals already in the United States who are outside their country of nationality or habitual residence because they are unable or unwilling to return due to a well-founded fear of persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group).