Hey everyone!

We have some exciting news that's coming a bit earlier than we were expecting, and because of that we are also asking for some financial assistance.

We are really happy to announce that Jhosefine and Gina will be getting married! YESSSSS! That’s right- you heard it here. They will be tying the knot!

What we need help with and why:

There was a plan in place to announce this in August, however due to recent changes in policy we have to expedite the process to make sure it runs smoothly. With our original timeline there wasn’t much need to announce or ask for assistance as we felt we had all the time in the world. We were going to DIY the marriage and USCIS papers and felt there was ample time to navigate that path moving forward.

Jhosefine has been here legally (more of that below) since she was 12. The program that she was here on will be ending in August. Typically this was something she can and has renewed every year. Since this isn’t possible this year, it’s created some big hurdles. This request for help covering legal fees to pull this off is also linked to her legal status here while it formalizes as well.

We want to make sure we do this right so there’s no potential for problems moving forward. This will now require a lawyer, and while we are hoping to avoid this, there could be a potential gap where Jhosefine is here legally but unable to work legally. We want to account for all of this and as it’s so unexpected, and the time line is so tight, and the consequences for filing improperly are so high, we will need a lawyer to make sure everything is perfect.

What we are asking for and an estimated cost breakdown:

We are going to need a lawyer. We picked one out in Austin who comes highly rated and will work with us start to finish.

Cost: $6,000-

Additionally we would like to have some lawyer padding money for surprise things that could come up that may be pressing.

Cost: $1,500-

It can take a few months for Jhosefine to get her work papers. She has legal work papers for the next 2 months. It’s important to us that everything be legal, transparent, and above board. This means we will potentially need help for her to cover BASIC essentials while this happens (food, rent, bills, car payments). None of this money will go to non-essentials.

Cost: $1,500-

We know we are asking for a lot here. But if for any reason once this process is complete, if we have money left over because we overestimated our budget, any left over money will be donated to charity. We will not be keeping any of this money for personal gain whatsoever.

A little about Jhosefine, her status, and how she got here:

Jhosefine was born in Venezuela. Her and her family immigrated here legally when she was 12 years old. She remained here legally since then, and is still legally here now.

She has been here through asylum initially and then TPS which she has had to file and pay $135- for every year. Additionally, she also has had to pay $410- for her work papers every year since she arrived.

This was a process that had continued without question for the majority of her time in the US. Recently the TPS program has unexpectedly ended. This will leave Jhosefine with some heavy choices to make in August that she wasn’t expecting to have to make with not much time to make it. Due to her nationality we worry that if we do the wedding after she has returned to Venezuela, the hurdles to get her back with her wife to be will become too great.

We don’t know who exactly will read this so we want to make some things clear. Jhosefine came here and is here legally. She has car payments, a credit card, she’s held consistent jobs that she pays taxes on, she’s not a criminal (and under TPS if you get even 2 misdemeanors you are disqualified from the program). Jhosefine speaks perfect English and she has two cats. She has spent her entire teen and adult years being raised, and assimilated into United States culture.

Her road to stay in the USA hasn’t been easy. 8 years ago her father returned to Venezuela, as did her sister 2 years ago. Being here on TPS, she knew that there was a good chance she may never get to leave the country or travel again, or not for a while. This has also meant not seeing family members for the foreseeable future.

Despite having an established life in Miami Jhosefine wanted to see the world, and since she was unable to leave the United States what did she do?

Jhosefine set off to see the USA and to work in the national parks. She worked in two different locations in Zion national park, and also worked adjacent to Big Bend national/state park in Texas. She made it a mission to see as much of the USA as she could. She works hard at her jobs, she’s never been fired. She’s enjoyed going on hikes, making art, learning martial arts, making friends, and has been exploring a new career as a baker which she has been doing for about 2 years now.

Why this matters:

Sadly with the time frame, (and we want this post to be non-political) and where she’s from, we want to make sure there’s no mistakes and full transparency in this process. We are looking to help her move forward into the next chapter in her life with the least amount of friction or disturbances as possible. Had we been able to plan for this we would have done things differently, but here we are and we feel really good that with legal representation, and some support from our friends Jhosefine and Gina can move forward without fear or disturbances to their life or relationship.

We know there’s also a lot going on in the world right now and there is a million things to donate money to. Whatever you can donate here will be a huge help to Jhosefine and could be completely life changing. I believe Jhosefine should be able to live out the life she has cultivated for herself here, and with your help she will be able to do that.

Thank you all so much.