Hello,

My name is Ana, I am 31 years old and have grown up and lived in the United States for 28 years, undocumented.

As many of you know, the immigration system lacks pathways to citizenship; it’s difficult to navigate and also incredibly expensive.

Fortunately, I have been able to find immigration relief through a family petition via my wife, Gen. We have been able to keep the cost low by finding free resources - until now. The next step in the process is what is called a 601A waiver (forgiveness for unlawful presence). This waiver allows me to be able to do consular processing in Juarez, Mexico, which is the official permanent residency interview outside of the country, and be able to re-enter the country without incident. Due to the high importance of this waiver and the grueling amount of evidence we have to provide to the government, this process carries a huge weight. We have tried to find a cost-effective way to get this waiver filed but after a year of time lost, it was unsuccessful. We have instead had to resort to hiring a private attorney as it would be the best and safest way to handle our case. Due to both the waiver and a current high demand for immigration attorneys, the cost is a lot more than what we can afford on our own.

Breakdown of Costs:

$10,000 for attorney fees (can be higher if attorney needs to work more on the paperwork, but she would represent us until I obtain my residency which could take 3-5 years)

$795 filing fee

$600+ (average for a USCIS approved doctor for medical exam)

$300 miscellaneous fees (postage, getting documents translated, obtaining original documents from home country).

Asking for assistance was the last option for us as we did not want to feel like burdens, but due to what we're currently living through, the price of not having this option would be much higher for us. If you can donate any amount, we would be extremely and humbly grateful. If it's not possible to donate, we just ask that you share this. Ultimately, my goal with this is to be able to finally live a normal life without the constant and gut-wrenching fear of imminent danger and uncertainty. Thank you all so, so much for reading this.