Family still caught up in immigration nightmare
Monday, October 13, 2008 5:43 PM PDT
By Amy M.E. Fischer
Printable version
E-mail this articleA Longview woman who’s been stuck in Mexico since August trying to settle her legal status in the United States was issued green cards in 1989 and 1992, according to the woman’s mother-in-law.
Thursday, Kelso resident Annette DeClue said she went to a background check Web site and discovered her daughter-in-law, Noemi Valdovinos Bartley, had entered the country legally as a child, contrary to what authorities believe.
Valdovinos Bartley married DeClue’s son, Dale Bartley, six years ago. However, when she applied for U.S. citizenship, authorities instructed her to meet with the U.S. Consulate in Juarez, Mexico.
For various reasons, that appointment was delayed until Aug. 22 of this year. Valdovinos Bartley brought along her husband and their 2-year-old son to Mexico this summer, leaving her 13-year-old son, Angel, under his grandmother’s care in Longview to attend school.
But immigration officials denied her the visa and instructed her to apply for a hardship waiver. That, too, was denied, even though she submitted documents saying she had a job, home, husband who is a U.S. citizen and children in the United States.
DeClue has contacted local and state politicians, asking them to intervene on Valdovinos Bartley’s behalf. This week, DeClue received a letter from Sen. Patty Murray’s office that included a memo from the U.S. Consulate, saying Noemi’s petition was denied because she’d entered the states illegally.
Valdovinos Bartley had visited the U.S. as a child with her father, who had a farm laborer work visa. He was murdered in Mexico, and she ran away from home. A Mexican-American teen brought her into the U.S., and she gave birth to his child at age 13. She’s lived in the states ever since.
DeClue said she recently learned that the attorney Valdovinos Bartley hired in 2003 to help her obtain citizenship had mistakenly filed paperwork stating she entered the country without proper documentation.
“She would’ve been approved on the spot” if someone had bothered to search for Valdovinos Bartley’s green card records, DeClue said.
Last week, DeClue contacted the American Civil Liberties Union’s office in Seattle for help. She’s also meeting with an immigration attorney today in Portland.
Meanwhile, Valdovinos Bartley and her husband are working in Puerto Vallarta, hoping they can return to Longview before they lose their jobs and their home.
If the case isn’t straightened out, Valdovinos Bartley can’t reapply for citizenship for 10 years, DeClue said.
Related article:
Immigration entanglement leaves Longview couple, son stranded in Mexico (Oct. 2)
ItsKarma wrote on Oct 13, 2008 8:06 AM:
donnie54 wrote on Oct 13, 2008 9:49 AM:
rosy wrote on Oct 13, 2008 10:27 AM:
And ItsKarma: Are you able to read? The article clearly states that she was legal but a clerical error on the part of a lawyer years ago is the problem. Why do you think all Mexicans are criminals? You might be really surprised to find out how people label you. Forgive a little. It's easier on the nervous system. "
Amazed By Ignorance wrote on Oct 13, 2008 10:27 AM:
Billy Hill wrote on Oct 13, 2008 11:04 AM:
Common_Sense wrote on Oct 13, 2008 12:30 PM:
I was not aware though it was 3 years before you could apply for citizenship - I understood it to be 10; at least that is was we were told when I last renewed my Greencard. "
rastor wrote on Oct 13, 2008 12:54 PM:
Atrucker wrote on Oct 13, 2008 1:18 PM:
Have fun then talking smack .
SEN. Murray you are pathetic . "
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