Just Married Immigration Expenses

Hello Friends!

As you may know, Santi is currently in the US on a student visa as he completes his Doctorate in Philosophy, which he'll be finishing in Spring 2021. In order for him to stay in the country — and for us to stay together — we are applying for a change in his immigration status via marriage (i.e., a permanent green card). This will allow him to work anywhere and not be dependent on the volatile academic job market for his ability to stay in the US.

Our original plan was to wait until he got a tenure-track position (with a work visa) and then have a fabulous wedding with all of our friends and family. But then COVID happened, and the academic job market is even more uncertain than before. Furthermore, given the various uncertainties surrounding the upcoming election and what it might mean for immigration for people from Mexico and other Latin American countries, we decided (on the advice an immigration attorney) that getting married sooner than we planned and starting the change in status ASAP is the best way to make him less vulnerable and to ensure that we can stay together in the US.

We got married on October 19, 2020 in a socially-distant drive-thru ceremony in Las Vegas! It was an absolute delight, and we're beyond thrilled to officially be wife and husband. (And we will most certainly, someday in a post-COVID world, have a reception so we can celebrate our love with the amazing community of friends and family we're so lucky to have).

In lieu of wedding gifts, we're asking our loved ones who would like to get us a gift to please consider donating to our immigration expenses fund. Government filing fees and the lawyer's fees are estimated to be $6,000. As a freelance writer and underfunded grad student, we simply don't have the income to pay for it. Donations of any amount are deeply appreciated and will make a huge difference in our lives. These funds will, quite literally, allow us to remain together and continue building our life together in the US.

Thank you for reading, and for your incredible generosity. We look forward to being able to pay it all forward to continually provide support and mutual aid for those in need.