Help bring Karla HOME!
Donation protected
As many of you will know, we met in Kalamazoo, while Karla was a student at Western Michigan University and I was a student at Kalamazoo College. After we both had graduated from our respective schools, I asked Karla to marry me, and she said YES! That began our journey through the immigration system that will soon be coming to an end.
As a result of the type of Visa that Karla received to study at WMU, she was required to return to the Dominican Republic and live there for two years after completion of her education. Unfortunately, being married did not change this requirement and therefore, shortly after we were married, Karla moved back to the Dominican and began the two year "sentence." During this time, we have luckily been able to visit each other several times, and thanks to technology, we text and videochat every day. In addition, we have been working with an immigration attorney to set up Karla's return to the United States, legally, and in a position where she will also be able to work and live a normal life here. We are now quickly approaching the end of the two years and we are also at our last step of the immigration process.
Around August of this year, Karla will have an interview at the US Embassy in Santo Domingo where they will (hopefully) approve her application. At that point, we will have a sixty-day window within which she will need to purchase plane tickets and officially immigrate to the United States.
Over the last two years, we have spent several thousand dollars traveling to see each other and covering immigration and legal fees. We had hoped to be able to cover the additional expenses of moving, but it is going to be more of a strain than we had hoped, particularly because of the short notice that we will have for purchasing flights. We are asking for help raising money to cover the expenses of plane tickets for both me and Karla, so that I can travel to the Dominican and make the return trip together. We are hoping that it will be early in the month of September, but it all depends on when Karla's interview gets scheduled. We will also use some of the funds to help with the costs of shipping Karla's larger possessions to Kalamazoo.
Any and all help that you can provide is greatly appreciated. We cannot wait to be reunited with each other and all of our friends and family in Kalamazoo and throughout the rest of the United States.
Thank you,
-Daedalian and Karla Canela-Derks
As a result of the type of Visa that Karla received to study at WMU, she was required to return to the Dominican Republic and live there for two years after completion of her education. Unfortunately, being married did not change this requirement and therefore, shortly after we were married, Karla moved back to the Dominican and began the two year "sentence." During this time, we have luckily been able to visit each other several times, and thanks to technology, we text and videochat every day. In addition, we have been working with an immigration attorney to set up Karla's return to the United States, legally, and in a position where she will also be able to work and live a normal life here. We are now quickly approaching the end of the two years and we are also at our last step of the immigration process.
Around August of this year, Karla will have an interview at the US Embassy in Santo Domingo where they will (hopefully) approve her application. At that point, we will have a sixty-day window within which she will need to purchase plane tickets and officially immigrate to the United States.
Over the last two years, we have spent several thousand dollars traveling to see each other and covering immigration and legal fees. We had hoped to be able to cover the additional expenses of moving, but it is going to be more of a strain than we had hoped, particularly because of the short notice that we will have for purchasing flights. We are asking for help raising money to cover the expenses of plane tickets for both me and Karla, so that I can travel to the Dominican and make the return trip together. We are hoping that it will be early in the month of September, but it all depends on when Karla's interview gets scheduled. We will also use some of the funds to help with the costs of shipping Karla's larger possessions to Kalamazoo.
Any and all help that you can provide is greatly appreciated. We cannot wait to be reunited with each other and all of our friends and family in Kalamazoo and throughout the rest of the United States.
Thank you,
-Daedalian and Karla Canela-Derks
Organizer
Daedalian Canela-Derks
Organizer
Kalamazoo, MI