Destination Paradise

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...

OK, so it's officially February and I've been working on the following post for over a month now. But I have a pretty good reason for the delay, I think! 2012 was a remarkable year for our family. It's the first calendar year we've spent completely living in Korea, and the first we've spent living together as a family. While 2011 brought the newness and adjustment of being a complete family for the first time, 2012 was a chance to settle in and make this "normal". And although we started 2012 as a family of three, we finished it as a family of four. Welcome to the world, baby Carolina Violetta. Failed passport photo #27. Turns out this is harder to do with a newborn than a 3 month-old.  The day of her birth was a truly remarkable one in every way and totally warrants its own blog post which I'll hopefully get to soon...er...sometime this year.  Suffice it to say it was a major adventure and we're glad it all worked out as well as...

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 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 ...

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...