Support Omar's Path to U.S. Citizenship

Hello! This is Will Woods, and I have started this fundraising campaign to help my friend, Omar, finally become a full citizen in a country (the United States) that he has called home for nearly four decades. Here is his story:

My name is Omar Edwards. I’m a father of three (Sincere 18, Marley 16, and Drelyn 12) and recently engaged to my beautiful fiancée, LaDona. I am co-founder and owner of M.A.D.E. Fitness, a gym offering personal fitness training in Nashville. I was born in Colón, Panama, and came to America when I was just eighteen months old with my mother and siblings via a temporary visa provided through my father. Shortly after our arrival in America, however, my father traveled back to Panama and never returned. Our temporary visa ultimately expired and, because of my father’s abandonment, we had no way of renewing it.

This did not prevent me from achieving success in America. I was able to earn a scholarship to play football at Cumberland University, where I graduated with a bachelor's degree in Physical Education. And as you likely know, the federal program known as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) was implemented in 2012 to protect individuals such as myself who were brought to the U.S. during childhood from deportation. Eligibility for the program required that such would be "Dreamers," as they came to be known, exhibit "good behavior" during their time in the U.S., meaning that they not be criminally convicted of any felonies or serious misdemeanors. I became one such Dreamer, and to this day I remain a faithful and law-abiding resident.

Unfortunately, I fell on hard times right around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and couldn’t afford the legal representation or fees necessary to renew my DACA application, and, regrettably, my DACA status eventually expired. I'd hoped that I would be able to reapply once I got back on my feet, but I learned that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is no longer granting applications for previous DACA holders whose status, like mine, lapsed for over one year. The absence of DACA protection has in recent months significantly impacted my employment opportunities -- including loss of a coaching job specifically due to my immigration status -- and, in turn, my ability to provide for my family.

In light of this, I’ve shifted my focus to applying for U.S. citizenship. America is the only home I've ever known, and like all Americans, I want to attain financial stability for my family. As such, I am now humbly requesting financial support to help me escape this current state of citizenship limbo so that I can continue providing for my family, as I've always done. All donations will be used to pay outstanding application and attorney fees and recurring household expenses to help me get back on my feet. Thank you sincerely for your time and help in this endeavor.