Please Help Me Bring My Friend Tori’s Husband Home to His Family ❤️

I’m writing this for my friend Tori Mejia and her family, because right now they are living through something no family should have to endure.

I have watched Tori fight for her family, and I honestly don’t know how she is holding herself together. Her husband, Francisco Ramos Mejia, is currently stuck in Guatemala, separated from his wife and their seven children, after traveling there to complete the immigration process he has been working toward for years.

Francisco came to the United States 21 years ago looking for a better life. Since then, he has worked hard, paid his taxes, stayed out of trouble, supported his family, and built an entire life here.

This year, Tori and Francisco celebrate 10 years of marriage.

Francisco has been a father to Tori’s oldest son, Jace, 11, since he was only two years old and officially adopted him in 2022. Together, they are raising Jaden, 9; James, 7; Joshua, 5; and Jeremy, 2.

Their family also includes Jenna, 7, and Jazmin, 5, two little girls they adopted from Guatemala in 2022 when their birth mother was unable to care for them.

Seven children who love their dad. Seven children who need their dad. Seven children who are now waiting for him to come home.

Their family is deeply rooted in their faith and their community. Francisco is a devoted member of Saint Christopher’s Catholic Church in Red Hook, New York, where their family attends Mass every Sunday and their children participate in religious education.

For approximately 10 years, Francisco has been working through the legal immigration process. He sought legal counsel, completed the paperwork required of him, and followed the instructions he was given.

When he was finally scheduled for his immigrant visa interview, Francisco traveled to Guatemala on the advice of his attorney to complete the process.

They thought this was finally it.

His paperwork was approved. They thought he was coming home.

Instead, they were told that because of a current pause, Francisco could not return to the United States.

Now Tori is here trying to hold everything together for their seven children while her husband—their father—is thousands of miles away.

And there is another heartbreaking complication.

If Francisco cannot return, Tori may eventually have to take the children to Guatemala simply to keep their family together. But because of unresolved paperwork involving their daughter Jenna, doing that could put Tori in an impossible position where their family could be separated yet again.

As a mother and as Tori’s friend, I cannot imagine being faced with that choice.

I can’t fix this for her. I wish more than anything that I could.

But I can help make sure she doesn’t have to fight it alone.

That is why I am starting this GoFundMe for Tori, Francisco, and their seven children. Money raised will help with immigration attorneys and legal expenses, travel costs, household expenses, and the enormous financial strain of Francisco being unable to return home and work.

Please, if you can donate—even a few dollars—it matters.

And if you can’t donate, please share this, send prayers to the family. Share it everywhere! Help me get their story in front of as many people as possible.

Because behind all of the paperwork, laws, interviews, and immigration processes is something incredibly simple:

There are seven kids who want their dad back. There is a wife who wants her husband home. And there is a family desperately trying to stay together.

Tori, I know I can’t take this pain or fear away from you. But I can stand beside you and do everything in my power to help.

Let’s bring Francisco home. ❤️

— Melissa