Arturo Bello could not have had a better Christmas than that of 2021, since just a few days ago received his permanent residence. However, his happiness is not complete because the one who most longed for him to become a resident, his mother, died of covid – 19.
“ I would have liked so much for her to be alive so that she could see that I finally achieved residency in the United States ”, she says.
Her mother Guadalupe Mondragón Franco died on 16 January, on 80 years of age, as a result of covid – 19 in a Los Angeles hospital , without his family being able to say goodbye.
“They just tell you that he has died, and you can’t say goodbye.”
It was precisely his mother who brought Arturo to Los Angeles.
“I was born in Acapulco. I reached the 11 years. We came to meet my father who was already here working. ”
Since he was a child, Arturo knew that he was undocumented, and when the 18 years began to Working as an electrician ran into problems because he did not have social security.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program changed his life in 2012 because he removed the specter of deportation and granted him a work permit to be renewed every two years.
“From then on, I had more opportunities to look for a job where I could receive benefits. Two years ago I certified as an electrician ”, he says.
The trip to Ciudad Juárez
One year after obtaining DACA, in the 2013 met his wife, who is born in the US
“We got together in 2015 and in 2016 We married. As her mother had been deported and given a punishment for 10 years, my wife was the one who proposed to help me to obtain residency. ”
It was until the end of the year 2017 when they began the entire residency process with the immigration attorney Sergio Siderman.
“For financial reasons it took a while to present the residence application, and everything was delayed due to the pandemic. ”
An unavoidable requirement to obtain residency is that Arturo had to travel to the US Consulate in Ciudad Juárez to hold an interview with the immigration authorities, prior to having obtained a pardon for his entry without documents.
“I had not returned to Mexico since I left at 11 years. Everything was so different, ”he says.
Last month he arrived very nervous for his appointment for the residence in Ciudad Juárez.
“ You always have the fear that anything could happen and leave your whole life here. In itself, when you do not have papers you always live with the stress that everything will end at any moment “.
He says that the lawyer Siderman gave him a lot of confidence, but was honest when he told him that even if everything was fine, there was a 1% probability that he would be denied residency and would not be allowed to return.
Arturo had no criminal record. His life is a job, dedicated to his wife and two children, a 6-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl.
“There were about 5 questions that they asked me during the interview, such as in what year had I arrived in the country, where did I arrive. How many children did he have?
“There were many mixed emotions, especially great happiness.”
Bittersweet celebration
As soon as he returned to the hotel in Ciudad Juárez, he called his wife to give her the good news and a week later he returned to Los Angeles.
“I still can not believe it. I became a resident 22 years after coming to this country. Now I have 33 years ”.
He only regrets and is saddened that his mother no longer be to celebrate together. “She was never able to fix her immigration status; and it was his illusion to see me as a resident. He always scolded me because I did not rush the procedures, but because of the covid everything stopped. I had an appointment in Ciudad Juárez in August of last year. They rescheduled it until last month. ”
Already as a US resident, Arturo says he wants to get his license to be a general construction contractor. “Being a resident gives you many advantages, especially having a good job.”
But he also talks about not having a residence, they denied him the loan to buy a house.
“My dream was to buy my house to take my mother to live with us.”
He also wants to fulfill his wish to return to Acapulco to visit his family. “There I have my older brother, his children, my cousins, my grandparents.”
So his greatest dream is to travel to Mexico to reunite with his maternal grandparents.
“I want to take my mother’s remains to be buried in a chapel in the town of Guerrero where she was from. In life she always told us that when she died she did not want to be cremated, but with the pandemic we could not fulfill her last wish. ”
Be DACA facilitates residency
Attorney Siderman explains that Bello obtained his permanent residence through his wife, Reyna Verónica, who was born in the United States.
“As a DACA beneficiary, Arturo already had a file with USCIS (Citizenship and Immigration Service), which facilitated the adjustment of status process.”
And he points out that he had to go to Ciudad Juárez because his entry into the country was not detected when he reached the 11 year old. Before leaving, he had to request an advance pardon to be able to attend his appointment at the United States Consulate.
What risks does going to Ciudad Juárez represent?
“The Main risk is going without the necessary preparation, information and documents. You have to prepare for your appointment to face the costs of transportation, accommodation, food, important procedures such as medical examinations and a letter of no criminal record in Mexico “.
And he explains that this time of the pandemic, the time of the in-person interview is shorter to avoid prolonged contact even with healthy distance.
He specified that to avoid risks, the immigrant has to appear twice.
“The first time to deliver documents; and the second for the interview. ”
“ If you are approved, you have to wait for your immigrant visa for a few days and then you can safely return to the United States by observing the health protocols. ”
- If you had already had a legal entry into the country as DACA, wouldn’t you have needed to go to Ciudad Juárez?
“Correct. With a legal entry to the country and with the benefit of DACA, the interview for the migratory adjustment through his wife, would have been in a USCIS office in Los Angeles ”.