Destination Paradise

Saying goodbye to Daddy's airplane at Incheon airport/Seoul So yeah. It's been awhile. No, the title isn't referring to a new baby, as thankfully our lives are quite full with the two we already had as of my last posting. But in the nine months since I last updated this blog, I guess we've had a lot of eventful moments anyway. Most notably, we said goodbye to Korea. Korea was a gracious host. Certainly not without its challenges (goodness, were there challenges). But it was the one country that offered us visas, a job, a place to live, our son's first school, our daughter's birthplace, and for two years, a home. We made lifelong friends. We gained new food addictions. We discovered just how much we could accomplish all alone, half a world away from our friends and families, with no one to depend on but each other. And we learned just how much we really needed each other. Lucas and his friends take a final stroll through Seoul's historic center ...

a symbol of the vows we took on May 12, 2007 In the days leading up to Valentine's Day, there tend to be lots of events and lively public discussion about marriage. For example, today is National Marriage Day, and there is a growing international movement to make the week surrounding February 14  International Marriage Week , a week to celebrate marriage and promote its health and survival. In fact, last year several Congressmen in the House of Representatives spent 45 minutes reinforcing the benefits of marriage and the need for a National Marriage week. During that time, they said things like the following: "...It should always be our goal to keep that family unit together, and to hold that bedrock of our society together...And this is something that we can build on that will benefit our society." ~Rep. Gregg Harper and this "National leaders should be encouraging stable family formation, not redefining marriage. I call upon Congress to recognize the i...

So here goes Part II in my rapid-fire blogging spurt to catch up to the present... Summer 2012 kicked off with Carlos taking part in his country's political process for the first time, sending in his absentee ballot to vote for Mexico's next president. Although there was widespread discontent and distrust in Mexico over the general management and final result of the election, at least we know Carlos did his part. From Summer 2012 in Korea Carlos and Lucas got to spend Father's Day together for the first time, I believe. :) From Summer 2012 in Korea Baby G #2 started growing and making her presence known From Summer 2012 in Korea Although it took another ultrasound to really confirm her gender, this one was pretty cool, if you're into ultrasounds: In a later post, I'll write about the experience of being pregnant and getting medical care in Korea, as I have plenty of things to say on the subject (mostly positive!).  In early August, I final...

A wonderful, sincere, and kind reporter from the Chicago Tribune named Antonio Olivo interviewed me and Carlos for a story about maintaining families across borders through Skype. Later, Brian Cassella, an equally fantastic photographer, came and photographed the madness that is us talking via webcam. The photo above ran only in the print version, but the rest is visible online: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-separated-immigrant-families-20100731,0,1883435.story If you make it as far as the comments section, I would caution you to only proceed if you have a stomach for hateful and ignorant rantings. It's not too pretty in there! Anyway, that's the excitement for the weekend, and it's likely I'll have another small update later this week. Thank you for your support, as always!

Some updates for today: 1) We now have a petition up on change.org.  Signing it sends an email to Senator Durbin, and it only takes a couple seconds! Click the red button in the box below to get started: Petitions by Change.org | Start a Petition » We've also linked this petition on our Ways to Help page. 2) We have a new letter to mail him.  If you haven't sent a letter yet, or want to send another, check out our " Ways to Help " page for the text of the letters and the addresses to send them. 3)  We're also asking for prayer support, and you can stay updated on ways to pray for us on the Ways to Help page as well. Thank you!!

We've definitely surpassed 150 letters this week, so thank you to everyone who has written to Senator Durbin!  The momentum is building, and I have faith this is going to ultimately result in getting Carlos home to us.  Last night I had a really productive and encouraging conversation with someone I would consider an expert in pushing private legislation.  She helped me start brainstorming lots of ideas for the next few steps.  I'll keep you all updated on how to help, so for now let's keep finding Illinois voters to send letters to Senator Durbin.  Thank you all!

OK, everybody, here we go!  We're asking everyone to send letters to Senator Durbin at his Chicago and his Washington offices.  All the details are on our " Ways to Help " tab.  You can access sample letters and addresses there. We are so grateful for the outpouring of support.  New followers of this page, new followers on Twitter, and, last I checked, more than 90 people connected to our page on Facebook in the first day it went live.  We are SO thankful for your support and enthusiasm and we're anxious to put all this positive energy to good use!

After several weeks (OK, let's be honest, YEARS) of roller-coaster moments, we have been encouraged that the time has come to urge Senator Durbin to sponsor private relief on our behalf.  We've tried all the avenues, and we've tried waiting patiently, but no more.  We are calling for this to end NOW, and the right way.  This is scary because of how daunting it is, but exciting because we finally get to involve all of you who have been faithfully standing behind us ready to act all this time. So here's your chance.  It's all going to come down to letters and phone calls.  Lots of them.  We are finalizing a draft of a sample letter that you can send.  We'll let you know when it's ready and where/when/how to send it.  But in the meantime, you can help us by connecting to our Facebook Page and/or our Twitter account where we'll be posting updates to keep everyone informed on where we're at in the process of drawing attention to our cause.

I always dread having to answer the question, "So, any news on Carlos' case?" Because it's truly shameful to answer, "No, still nothing..." Especially after 2 years of this process and one since his visa denial. But it is what it is. All I have to report is that we submitted an inquiry recently to Ciudad Juarez requesting some detail and justification for the false claim of citizenship charge, especially in the light of a similar case where it wasn't charged. They have about a week and a half to respond, according to their stated processing times. We'll see if we get any info. I am trying to gear up for a bigger fight. I'm tired of playing this game, with appeals, inquiries, and attempts to get legislators on our side. We put in a lot and always come up empty, and that's a very dissatisfying place to be. There must be a better strategy. Working on it!

Recently, we were granted the honor of an appointment with Clarisol Duque, who is the director of Senator Durbin's Chicago office. Yesterday, I went with Lucas and my mom to meet her. I expected it to be a quick in-and-out type of thing where she would listen to our story for a minute and then assure me that Senator Durbin will support immigration reform. Instead, here's what happened. We waited in the reception area for a couple minutes and then she came out, super friendly, and really excited to meet Lucas. He, by the way, put on such a show, being extra-cute and smiley and charming the whole time. So she led us, not to some little office or cubicle, but to the CONFERENCE ROOM, big, huge corner room there on the 38th floor overlooking the south end of Chicago's Loop and Lake Michigan. Then Ms. Duque sat down, opened a notepad, and said, "So, tell me about your situation." So I did, and she listened intently. She wrote down all the legal codes. She wro...

We've been struggling with possibilities in Canada, as these sluggish economic times make it hard enough to find a job in one's own country, let alone a foreign one. While we're still trying hard to make that option work, we're also stepping up the fight on the homefront to push for legislation that would ultimately allow Carlos to return to the US legally and finally be a regular husband and father. That brings us to American Families United . They recognize that mere Comprehensive Immigration Reform isn't enough unless it includes the families of US citizens that are stuck with ridiculous bans. They've constructed a pretty fantastic waiver reform proposal that has already been placed in the hands of various legislators. We believe that AFU's lobbying efforts are making a difference in the immigration legislation currently being drafted. That's why we're adding our voices to theirs in hopes of some positive change. Our story can be seen on...

I'd love to have posted on all the fun and interesting moments that transpired since the last post. Unfortunately, due to my slacker nature, I'm now forced to jump straight to the very important and not so pleasant news that defines my family's reality. Where to begin? As you all know, or for those who don't, last October Carlos and I received the final word from the US Consulate in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico. He is not eligible for a visa to live in the US as my spouse, and he also isn't eligible for the hardship waiver that US citizen spouses usually get to file when their loved one isn't eligible for a visa. All this because of one unfortunate day when he was 16, when he was forced by a parent to seek entry to the US using a relative's US birth certificate instead of the visitor's visa he already possessed. Under immigration law -- INA 212 A 6 C ii to be specific -- a false claim of US citizenship carries a lifetime ban with no waiver. Still, the ...

OK, a week has passed since the last post, and a LOT has happened since then. First of all, I said goodbye to Carlos (and our home in Mexico), knowing full well that the next time I see him, I'll be introducing him to our newborn baby! That's a sad and happy thought at the same time. The GOOD news is that the next time I see him, Lord willing, we will be meeting up in the lovely city of Windsor, Ontario, Canada! That's right. With the help of my wonderful parents, and possibly even joined by my brother and sister-in-law, we will be driving through Michigan into Canada shortly after the baby's born. Carlos will fly one of the direct flights from Mexico to Canada and then travel to Windsor to meet up with us for several days so that he can meet his new baby. After that, he'll ideally stick around for a short while scouting out the city of Toronto, which we dream of as our future home. You've read correctly. Our days in Mexico are coming to an end. It...

The official decision was not in our favor at all, but we are not willing to accept it as final. This is far from over, everybody! However, our immediate concern is for the baby, who has been through a lot already. So for now, our main focus is to finish a healthy pregnancy and also come up with a plan for right after the birth (which is still happening in the US) where the three of us are together in one healthy, sanitary place. As of right now, Mexico is not it. So we will need to get hustling on something of any nature in Canada, ideally for late December or January. It is insane to think that's possible, but we're going to try. In the meantime, we're working on the great advice we've received from family and friends all over the place. There are plenty of people to contact, angles to work, and believe me when I say we will work all of them. The reason we refuse to give up is simply the injustice of this situation, and not just the injustice of separating...