My name is Maria Guadalupe Pulido Cardoza. I am 61 years old, a United States citizen, and I am asking for help during the most devastating and frightening period of my life.

My husband, Norman Cardoza De Leon, and I have been married for over 22 years. We met through our Christian church community in the late 1990s and built a life grounded in faith, love, and mutual sacrifice. Norman has not only been my husband, he has been my sole provider, my caregiver, and the person who has kept me alive as my health has steadily declined. Our marriage is not symbolic; it is one of daily dependence, especially now.

In 2015, my life changed forever. I suffered a severe medical episode that left me partially paralyzed, in chronic pain, and permanently disabled. I later underwent lumbar spinal tumor removal surgery, followed by complications that required additional procedures and prolonged recovery. Since then, I have been unable to work and am often bedridden. I require constant medical care through Kaiser Permanente, Dignity Health, UC Davis Medical Center, Saint Joseph Hospital, and San Joaquin General Hospital. I see multiple specialists, receive pain management treatments and injections, and rely on ongoing psychiatric care for depression and anxiety. My condition is chronic and progressive.

Norman has been my lifeline throughout all of this. He manages our household, provides financially, assists with my daily care, and has been the one constant stabilizing force for my physical and mental health. Without him, I cannot meet my basic needs, medical care, housing, or even daily survival.

Despite our efforts to follow the law, our family was deeply harmed by an immigration attorney we trusted. In 2011, we paid thousands of dollars to an attorney who failed to file required motions, misrepresented her actions, and ultimately abandoned our case. This misconduct caused years of delay, financial devastation, and emotional trauma that we are still trying to recover from.

Still, we did not give up. In 2017, with what little hope and resources we had left, we retained new counsel at Mendoza & Campos Law Offices, later known as Campos Law Offices P.C., who properly initiated our case. Over the course of the next nine years, we complied with every requirement placed before us. We filed the I-130 petition, the I-601A provisional waiver, the I-212 permission to reapply, and completed consular processing. At every stage, we followed the law with honesty and patience, believing that perseverance would finally allow our family to remain together legally.

Although Norman’s I-601A waiver was approved and his consular processing completed, his visa issuance was stopped due only to a nationwide immigrant visa pause, nothing related to a denial or wrongdoing. He remains legally eligible to return, but we are separated by circumstances entirely beyond our control.

This separation has already placed me at risk of severe medical deterioration, homelessness, and psychiatric destabilization. I have no meaningful ties outside the United States. My parents and close family are here. My brother was murdered in Michoacán in 2019, highlighting the danger there. Relocating to Mexico or Guatemala is not possible due to violence, lack of medical care, and the fact that my health conditions require specialized, continuous treatment that I simply cannot access outside the U.S.

I am asking for help to survive this nightmare. The funds raised will help cover medical expenses, housing, basic living costs, and legal fees while we fight to be reunited. I never imagined I would have to ask strangers for help, but my situation is desperate, and my life truly depends on being reunited with my husband.

Please consider donating or sharing our story. Your support is not just financial, it is lifesaving. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for standing with us during this impossible time.