Flor Marroquín never thought that the beating they gave her almost 10 years, one Christmas afternoon, would lead her to obtain immigration relief through the U Visa, which the government of The United States grants immigrants who have been victims of crimes and who collaborate with the police.
“I never thought that that violent assault that I suffered would open the way for me to obtain the U Visa that I just received. receive, and the one that in three years will allow me to apply for residency ”, he says.
Flor was born in the town of Cojutepeque, in El Salvador. In 2006 he emigrated to the United States in search of giving a better life to his mother and two children, a 6-year-old girl and a child less than months old.
“I left my children in the care of my mother, and I came to this country without having anyone. ”
He says that for a year he lived in Columbus, Ohio, and then moved to Los Angeles where he began to earn a living, selling on the streets.
“Sometimes he sold pupusas, typical food from El Salvador, makeup. I continue to sell anything that is given the opportunity ”, he says.
An unexpected assault
It was 8 at night on 25 from December to 2011, when Flor left her house to buy a card that would allow her to call her mother in El Salvador.
“ I was walking down Santa Ana and Atlantic streets in the city of Cudahy (southeast of Los Angeles County), when I saw a man coming. I didn’t pay too much attention to him, but in seconds, he was beating me up. He hit my head, face and arm. He threw me to the floor and stole my new phone that my husband had just given me ”.
Flor says it was not enough to see the face of his attacker, but as he could, he got up, and in the store that was a few steps away, they gave him some coins to call the police. “I called them from a public phone. They came to see me, took my complaint and gave me my case number. To the 15 days I went for a copy of the report. ”
The criminal act would have been a sad Christmas if it had not been for years later , in 2011, Flor learned from the news that crime victims could qualify for a U Visa.
“I went to the East Los Angeles police, and they gave me my case report and police certification, which are key, to apply for the U Visa, as I heard on the news.”
But she was soon disappointed because after consulting not one but up to three lawyers, none did anything for her.
“They only took money from me.”
A little over a year and a half ago, someone recommended to the immigration lawyer Sergio Siderman, whom he went to see as a last option to see if there was any opportunity that based on the violent robbery he had suffered, he could regularize his immigration status.
“The attorney Siderman started the process, but I still couldn’t believe it was possible. ”
Last month, as if it were an advance gift for Christmas , Flor received her U Visa.
“When the lawyer’s office notified me, I answered that I was not kidding. Then I realized that it was reality. I reacted crying, happy, nervous. There are many mixed feelings that cannot be explained. ”
He never thought, he says, that“ from a bad thing that I experienced, something good would come ”.
The U Visa has opened a very big path for him and represents a life change, he says.
“Now I have my social security and my job. In three years, I will apply for residency. ”
And he does not hide his happiness, but his dream is to stop selling on the street. He currently has a stall selling masks on Los Angeles Street in the center of the city.
“You suffer a lot as a street vendor. We have to endure the rain, the wind, the cold, the sun, assaults, and sometimes the authorities make us run away because they don’t like us to sell on the street and they confiscate our products. ”
For this reason, he says that with his work permit, he wants to look for a more formal job.
“I want to be an employee and quit street sales.”
Flor married in the United States with a US citizen who helped her bring her children from El Salvador and obtain residency. “They have now 22 Y 16 years”. She and her husband are also the parents of a son of 12 years, born in this country.
Call to report crimes
Immigration attorney, Fahim Nessary from the law firm of Sergio Siderman, says that the list of crimes that qualify for the U Visa is very broad.
“It could be from extortion. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be a crime in which people end up in the hospital, or have to go to court or be witnesses, ”he explains.
“As long as they report the crime to the police, actively cooperate with the investigation, and have suffered a physical or mental assault, they can fight for the U visa. It doesn’t have to be an extreme situation.”
It states that normally when a police report is made, if there are injuries, the police take photos and other evidence. “In Flor’s case, the report was made and that made it easier for the Los Angeles Police Department to issue the certification years later so that she could apply for the U Visa.”
Y It adds that it does not matter the time or year in which the crime occurred, as long as they have a certification that allows them to fight for the U Visa.
Lawyer Nessary said that depending on the case, the victim’s children, parents or partner can be included in the U Visa. “To benefit, the children must be minors,” he clarifies.
AND encourages immigrants who are victims of crime, not to be afraid and report the crime suffered to the police, because without a report they cannot apply for a U Visa.
The U Visa is designed to grant a pardon against deportation and a work permit of up to four years for victims of a serious crime and who collaborate with the authorities to report, inv prosecute, prosecute and punish criminals.
With the benefit of the U Visa, applicants can make an immigration adjustment in the country without import how they entered the country as well as obtain a pardon for extended stay.