Mother and Son Reunited After 8 Years Apart

We are thrilled to announce the reunification of our client “Rose” and her son! Our Lucha Program represented Rose, a Haitian survivor of domestic violence in her VAWA self-petition, which allows individuals to petition for immigration status without the sponsorship of the abusive US citizen or permanent resident spouse. Rose had a son “Jonny” still in Haiti whom she was desperate to be reunited with. Our team filed his initial visa application in January 2021 while continuing to work on the case and submit supplemental documents to the embassy. 

A couple months after his visa application was filed, Jonny’s father and caretaker was murdered in Haiti. He now had no stable home and no reliable caretaker. Our team filed a request to expedite his case and asked Senator Marco Rubio’s office to intervene. The child was finally given a visa interview in Port-au-Prince in October 2021.  

Rose travelled to Haiti to transport her son from his hometown to Port-au-Prince because of the dangers he faced in Haiti. To our dismay, the visa was not immediately approved. Jonny’s application was placed in administrative processing, leaving him vulnerable and his future uncertain. During this time, conditions in Haiti made it too dangerous for him to travel back home from the capital, and he was forced to stay in a home in Port-au-Prince where he did not feel safe. Rose, to avoid losing her job, was forced to return to the US. 

Rose was constantly calling us, desperate and concerned for the safety and wellbeing of her son. While providing constant support and reassurance to Rose, we called and emailed the US embassy in Port-au-Prince weekly urging them to expedite the visa processing. Unfortunately, we never received a response.

After this inexplicable and unnecessary delay, we got the news in December 2021: his visa was approved! After some additional delays in receiving his physical visa, Jonny has finally been reunited with his mother in the US after 8 years of living apart. We are unbelievably happy for the family. We commend our Lucha team for all their hard work and for never giving up until this family was reunited. 

“Thank you, thank you for all of your good professionalism and kindness that you provide us. Thank you for this joyful moment that you helped my son and I rejoin after 8 years of our separation. Only God could recompense for that hard job you’ve done for us. Even sometimes I stressed out and upset, you are always kind and  calm. I appreciate your service.”

-Rose