By Latina Staff • July 1, 2015 • 12:33pm

Leslie Hernandez thought her dream had finally come true when Mexico asked her to join the 2016 Olympic national boxing team.

But she encountered one huge problem. Hernandez, 17, had been living as an undocumented citizen in the United States since childhood, and she could not return to Mexico for training without risking a dangerous crossing to return to her home in Arizona.

Hernandez managed to obtain a visa from the United States to go back-and-forth to practice with her teammates. However, by the time she received the visa, the Mexican Olympic qualifying boxing tournaments she needed to compete in had been canceled. Now, she hopes to work with her native country to find new qualifying tournaments — but that will require new visas.

http://www.latina.com/lifestyle/our-...ted-immigrants