'Cruel' end to Venezuelan family's legal immigration

Sandra Baltazar MartĂ*nez | The New Mexican
Posted: Sunday, September 12, 2010 - 7/23/10 0

Miguel Santeliz and MarĂ*a De Las Casas wanted to start a new life away from their native Venezuela. They made plans to move to the United States 12 years ago, when President Hugo Chávez first took office.

In 2001, De Las Casas went to New Jersey with her three daughters on a student visa. She had been there during her college years and kept in touch with friends. Santeliz stayed behind to sell the family's belongings. He arrived two years later on a worker, or L1 visa, which allows a foreign worker to bring a business into the U.S. and open a new branch.

When the family of five reunited in the United States, the couple applied for a "blanket" L2 visa from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the government agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States.

The family moved to Santa Fe six years ago and bought Little Anita's on Cerrillos Road, a restaurant operating in what is now Castro's Café. The couple purchased a house in Rancho Viejo, sold it and bought another home off Old Pecos Trail. Their new house included more than an acre of land, so they decided to use the extra space to start an organic farm. They closed Little Anita's. Last year, they harvested their first crops and sold the vegetables to several local stores and restaurants.

Their American dream was becoming a reality.

The couple's youngest daughter, Camila Santeliz, 11, was attending Fayette Street Academy, a private elementary and middle school in Santa Fe; the two older siblings were in college, one in California and the other at The University of New Mexico, completing a bachelor's degree in communications. Both paid international fees to attend college. De Las Casas was working as a Spanish and photography teacher at Santa Fe Secondary School, and also had an adjunct professor job at the College of Santa Fe.

After fulfilling what Santeliz and De Las Casas thought were the necessary requirements under the L visa they had for about nine years, they decided to try to obtain a permanent resident card, known as a "green card."

But the government found a glitch in their Adjustment of Status application, and the family's American dream began to turn into a nightmare.

"In January, we received a denial notice," Santeliz said. "It basically said we had 180 days to leave the country."

The so-called glitch, or discrepancy, found by an immigration officer reviewing their case was the fault of the family's immigration attorney, who is based in Florida, the couple said.

They explained that they lawyer never filed their new business plans indicating they were leaving the restaurant business and starting an organic farm. Documentation of the business change is required under the L visa. The couple said they later discovered the attorney didn't have a license to practice.

They probably spent $10,000 to $20,000 or more in fees to the attorney and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The money isn't all they lost. The organic farm, Camila's private school, and De Las Casas' teaching positions all are things of the past. The family's vacant home is up for sale; a few weeks ago their only remaining possessions in the house were a white laptop, picture frames and art stored in a bedroom, all waiting to be packed and shipped away.

They are living in Spain, where De Las Casas has relatives and a double-citizenship status.

"The immigration process in this country, if I had to use a word for it, is cruel," Miguel Santeliz said. "At the end of the day, it seems like it's easier to be here illegally than legally."

The couple hired a local attorney to appeal the agency's decision to deport them and were told to appear in court sometime in November 2011 in El Paso. They petitioned for an earlier date and were given Sept. 14, 2010. Meanwhile, Citizenship and Immigration said they couldn't work.

The mortgage, bills and school tuition fees could not wait that long, so they decided to leave the country. But leaving before their hearing date means the U.S. has banned their re-entry to the country for 10 years. After a decade, they may be eligible to come into the U.S. as visitors.

"We decided to leave for economic and emotional reasons," De Las Casas said. "We decided to face the consequences."

"The thing is, now we don't have a life in Venezuela," Santeliz added. "We brought our education, our money, all of our assets. ... We wanted to come to the U.S., and we wanted to do it for good."

When illegal immigration is discussed in the U.S., many people question why immigrants do not come into the country legally.

The answer is simple: The options are limited and expensive.

According to MarĂ*a Elena-Upson, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services public affairs officer in Dallas, immigrants can enter the country as legal U.S. residents via two primary options.

The first is through a family connection. A spouse, parent or child of a legal resident can pay $355 and file an I-130 petition.

The second option is through an employer, who must first prove that no U.S. citizen has the necessary specialized skills needed for the job.

Some immigrants also have other options. Immigrants who fear for their lives in their country of origin can seek political asylum in the U.S. under the Temporary Protective System.

Legal residency is also available to an Amerasian child of a U.S. citizen; an American Indian born in Canada; a member of the armed forces; a person who qualifies for the Diversity Immigration Visa Program; an informant; a Lautenberg Parolee (someone who has been denied refugee status and is from the former Soviet Union, Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia); a person born to a foreign diplomat in the United States; a victim of criminal activity or a victim of human trafficking.

Visitor visas for business or pleasure (B1 and B2 visas) are the only nonimmigrant visas available. Foreign residents who are applying for a visitor visa need to demonstrate, among other things, that their visit is temporary and that they have sufficient assets in their home country (an indicator for the U.S. that says the visitor is less likely to stay permanently).

Contact Sandra Baltazar MartĂ*nez at 986-3062 or smartinez@sfnewmexican.com.

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