I came to Catholic Charities of Stockton in 2012 for help with my citizenship case. I needed to petition for my husband, Frandy Ramirez. We have been married since 2008. My husband has not seen his family in Guatemala for the past 10 years. We have been waiting for a solution since then. He was not able to return to Guatemala because his stay in the U.S. was unauthorized. To find a way around our situation was very difficult since we have a 7 year old son – Frandy Jr. I could not bear my overwhelming feeling of insecurity. I wanted a better education for my only son, and I did not wish for him to grow up away from his father. My husband has sacrificed a lot in order to make our lives better, and he tried constantly to change our scattered situation. We have paid money to lawyers who charged us $100 an hour. They did not inform us about procedures or how they used our money. Finally all of them dropped our case and said they were uncertain about our situation.
Then we went to Catholic Charities (Diocese of Stockton CA); we had a case manager that handled everything. She explained the details of the process, she helped with the paper work, and she was very responsible. She even helped with transportation to and from the government offices that we needed to visit, and she helped with translation too. After coming to the Catholic Charities’ Immigration Services Office, I was able to petition my husband. He has a more stable job than before, and he earns enough money to support our family. Recently he was able to get his high school diploma because he has a Social Security number, and he is able to proceed with his English course at Delta College as well.
I’m so happy that we can be together as a family and have emotional and financial security. Frandy and I hope for a better future for our son. My dream is for him to get a good education and a better life.
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