Keep Our Family Together

Hi, my name is Ezzie Dominguez,

I’m doing this fundraiser in support of my husband, Jesus Dominguez's immigration case. We started this journey in 2011 when we got married, and I petitioned for him thinking that as a US Citizen that was the fastest way to legalize his status. Little did I know we were about to start a never-ending journey and get caught up on the new internal immigration agenda to deter people from reaching legal status.

Our Petition was approved in 2011, but USCIS informed us that the process had changed and we now needed to do a waiver process and his case was transferred to the Department of State which then transferred it to the National Visa Center.

I was diagnosed with cancer in 2012, and Jesus became my caretaker. My older son Jorge, from my previous marriage, was left alone while I was in the hospital, and he was a victim of bullying in school and developed emotional and mental problems due to the negative impacts of the bullying so Jesus also became his main support and caregiver. Jesus was working three jobs to sustain our family and pay for my medical treatments, our housing, and my son’s care. Not only was he taking care of me, but also my son. Jesus is the most amazing person you can know and interact with. Jesus is a friend to many people. Jesus is a chef at an Italian restaurant; he is a landscaper, a janitor, and a community cook as he often offers his time to cook at community events to cook for the elderly and the needy.

In 2013 we hired a law firm that submitted his waiver application, and there was a mistake in his country entry date from 1999, and they put 1991 instead, and that mistake was not caught on time and affected his case. We got our first waiver denial. I kept fighting his case and advocating for him and, in 2014, submitted a second waiver which also got denied. Our first lawyer dropped his case, and we were forced to hire a new lawyer who submitted the third waiver in 2015, and after much fighting, it was finally approved in 2016. That second lawyer moved out of town and could not continue our case, so in 2017, we found a third lawyer (our current one) who offered to take his case. This year is also when our miracle baby arrived. I found out while doing chemo I was pregnant and had to do seven months of radiation while pregnant with Our baby boy Cristian, who was born in June 2017. We submitted all the required papers in 2018 and they delayed his process because more financial documents were requested and we finally turned everything in 2019 and waited for them to review all the documents and close his case, and that's when my dad passed away and he was our financial sponsor. In 2020 everything shut down due to the Covid Pandemic and we were given an extension and told to wait and I submitted my financial packet alone hoping my work was enough to prove that we are not a public charge nor were we taking advantage of the system or receiving any government benefits.

In 2021 I found out I was pregnant again and lost our child Jair, just as my cancer came back, which took us on another fight to keep me alive. In March 2022 we finally close his immigration case at the Visa Center, and his case was transferred to the American Consulate in Juarez where we have been waiting for them to give him an interview appointment. He was given multiple 60 days' extensions this year in May, July, September, November and so I got tired and asked for a review of his case and just a few weeks ago, after much fighting and pressure from political supporters, we finally received his Visa interview date which is set for January 31, 2023.

So as you can see, not only have we been fighting his immigration since 2011, but we have also been fighting my cancer journey since 2012. Jesus has been caring for me, for my mom after I lost my dad, for his parents, who are indigenous people from Puebla, for our children, and for himself. He needs a break and needs to be recognized as a human being. The very thing I have been fighting for, which is to keep my family together, is the very first thing that immigration is doing now. The nightmare I feared is happening now because now we will for sure be separated and I’m gonna have to leave my children behind and take my husband to his interview process in Juarez, Mexico. I’m broken in pieces and trying to stay strong and keep him from worrying because his only worries are his family and how he won't be able to protect them and provide for them. Our children, make sure our rent is paid on time, our bills are paid on time, our family has the things they need, my mom is cared for, his parents are cared for, and we can finance our way there and back.

The problem we are currently facing is that there is no guarantee that we will be able to return home. He has to go through a very rigorous interview process in Juarez at the American Embassy. He has to do a fingerprinting process which costs more money, a medical examination which also costs money, show financial proof that he is above the poverty level and is not coming back to be a burden on society, and he also has to prove he has not committed any crimes or is wanted by the FBI and the hardest and most difficult part is the interview process where he will be asked all the hard questions to prove why he should be allowed to come back to Colorado to his family. To the place, he has called home since 1999. And even after all that, they get to decide if he is allowed to come back or not.

So I’m asking you all to invest in Jesus. To support our family through this last harder steps and to pray for us as we embark and continue on this immigration journey to keep our family together once and for all. So that I may be able to take Jesus to his interview and be allowed back so we can reunite with our children Jorge and Cristian, who will be left behind waiting for their dad to return.

Thank you and God bless.

Ezzie Dominguez