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Elizabeth Olivas, who came to the U.S. illegally at age 4, went to Mexico to get a green card or visa to fulfill requirements of U.S. law and has not been allowed to return since she missed the deadline by a day.
Updated 3:45 pm EST -- A teen stuck in Mexico because she missed an immigration deadline due to a “Leap Day” error received a visa on Thursday that will allow her to return to the US just in time to give the salutatorian speech at her high school graduation this weekend, her lawyer said.
Elizabeth Olivas, who came from Mexico when she was four, failed to meet the visa requirement by one day due to it being a leap year and had been stuck in Chihuahua, Mexico, for the last six weeks while she awaited a decision from the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, according to her lawyer, Sarah Moshe.
“Just got out visa in my hands. I’m coming home!” she wrote in a text message to Moshe. “I’m soo happy!”
Moshe said in an email statement that she also received electronic correspondence from the State Department, reading: “The waiver was approved, and we just finished issuing and printing her visa.”
Olivas, who is eligible for a green card because her father is a U.S. citizen, faced a possible three-year bar from entering the country because of the calendar error. People in her situation are allowed 180 days unlawful presence in the country after their 18th birthday, but after that time would need a waiver, said Moshe, who did not have any details about Olivas’ mother.
Olivas traveled from her home in Indiana to Mexico on April 17, the day she believed was her last chance to be within that180-day window. Not knowing how long it might take to get an appointment once she was in Mexico, Olivas and her lawyer decided she should chose to stay in the U.S. for as long as she could beforehand, Moshe told msnbc.com.
“I would never have sent her had I had any question in my mind,” Moshe said Wednesday evening, noting two legal calculators they had used said Olivas would need to be in Mexico on April 17, not April 16, to apply for an immigrant visa. “It was a very innocent mistake … we were aware within days essentially and tried very hard to work in that timeframe but to no avail.”
Olivas, who turned 18 on Oct. 18, 2011, had sought the expedited waiver after learning about the error. She is graduating from Frankfort High School in Frankfort, Ind., with a GPA over 3.9, was winter homecoming queen and has already been accepted into nursing programs. As part of the 400-page waiver application, she submitted at least 25 letters of support from her instructors, Moshe said.
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Waiting at her paternal grandparents’ home in Chihuahua, Mexico -- relatives she had not met before -- she had experienced the highs and lows of the slow-moving immigration process. She has also missed her prom, Moshe said.
“In the past, on the days when there’s been no movement, it’s been really hard for her,” Moshe said before the decision. “Dealing with huge government agencies, there are days when nobody responds to email or returns a phone call. But she’s really excited right now, I mean she’s really hopeful.”
Principal Steve Edwards told the Indianapolis Star that Olivas has done her homework online while she has been in Mexico and her grades had not been affected.
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"This is a very skilled, talented, beautiful young lady. This hurts me and is one of the hardest things I've ever dealt with in my life," he said.
For the waiver application, Moshe argued that Olivas’ absence would prove a medical hardship on her father, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, among other ailments.
“Last time he was in my office, he literally put his hand in front of me and stuck a finger out and said take my finger if you need to, just do anything,” Moshe said.
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Maria Elena-Upson, a Dallas-based spokeswoman for USCIS, told the Indianapolis Star that the agency normally took applications as they came in and not out of turn. The process typically takes two to three months.
"I can sympathize with this situation, but it would not be correct," Elena-Upson told the newspaper.
Moshe had said she would appeal if the consulate denied Olivas’ waiver application – a step that’s no longer necessary.
“She will certainly enjoy a well-deserved graduation celebration on Saturday!” she wrote in an email.
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Sorry the rules are the rules. If I don't pay my taxes on time I get penalized, doesn't matter I have been laid off and losing my home. I live in California...we are being taxed to death to pay for illegal students to go to college...enough! Come into this country leagally or be prepared to get caught...I have no sympathy.
Sucks to be her. I would def have been there earlier than 180 days, just to make sure my bases were covered.
Yes, please don't let her come back. The last thing we need in this country are 3.9 GPA salutatorians who want to earn jobs that are instrumental to our society.
Herein lies the insanity of entrenched bureaucracies. This is anally retentive at its best. Where is some Congressman when you need one to sort through this mess.
I understand their concern for getting her back her. She is a bright and exceptionally gifted young lady. But why not stay in Mexico, since she has not been legal for more than 18 years. She is intelligent. Stay in Mexico and help bring about the change that her Country desperately needs. If just half of the truely gifted illegal occupants in America would stay in their own Countries and FIGHT for a better future, that future will come. But when you see them leaving as quickly and and desperately as they can, what hope is there for Mexico. Show some courage Elizabeth and stay for a bit and spark a fire in Mexico that starts change!!!!
She did not start accumulating actual illegal presence until after her 18th birthday, even though she was her illegally. After that she has to go back to Mexico within 180 days to receive her visa. This is stupid on her part and her family she could have gone back anytime once her father became naturalized and got her visa, why she waited until the last possible day makes no sense at all to me. Prior to turning 18 she was not here legally, but she did not start receiving illegal presence that would create a ban until after 180 days once she turned 18. If you are in the US over 180 days but less than a year you get a 3 year ban, after 1 year you receive a 10 year ban. Each of these bans has an immediate waiver available, but you must present extreme hardship to the USC( her parents) to qualify.
Why, when given 180 days, would anyone wait until the very last? In fact, I'm not even buying that. She had more than ample opportunity to see this through properly. The leap day excuse is lame. You snooze, you lose.
Let's see, a 3.9 GPA and shen can't figure out the date?
Leap year.
Clotho- So what if it's leap year. You would think someone with a 3.9 GPA would be able to figure that out.
Clotho- So what if it's leap year? You would think someone with a 3.9 GPA would be able to figure that out.
Here's a novel idea.........COME HERE LEGALLY LIKE MOST IMMIGRANTS DO. Knucklehead.
She did come here legally, knucklehead.
Californiafirst:
No she did not come here LEGALLY so who exactly is the knucklehead?????? With your screen name perhaps you can vote for California to become a part of Mexico again. I know alot of other folks in this country surely would not mind that.
just shows how out of control illegal immigration is, we have laws why not enforce them and stop all this watering them down for every (sad ass) story and criminal that comes up,illegal is illegal.
Even , worse we have a president that has added even more crap to the tank(101 ways for amnesty, Dream ActII, ) this illegal immigration has to stop, and it starts with elected officials ,business that hire, and allow illegals to suck up tax payers money at a tune of 123 billion a year.
This country has no idea who is entering illegally, what disease that might carry, their intentions nothing, but , refuses to send armed troops to our boarders, ports , and enforce laws ,as criminals invade our country.
Vote Obama , and his left wing , liberal agenda out ,WAKE UP!
Kindly inform us HOW it is that this matter has anything whatsoever to do with illegal immigration.
reg, I am a lifelong liberal...and that is why I keep arguing against the systematic destruction of the American working class thanks to the flood of illegal immigrants working for slave wages and no benefits...and the employers who support them.
At present, we have net zero new illegal immigrants. That is, there are not more people entering the U.S. illegally than are leaving it.
Says who Clotho you Janet and Odumbo?????? Give it a rest. We would not be hearing about these so called tragedies if the ILLEGALS STILL were not wanting to enter our Country ILLEGALLY.
Clotho.
You are wrong, last weekend the Border Patrol raided a house and found 132 illegal aliens in the house waiting to be shipped across the US. Janet Napoletano has forbidden Border Patrol from doing any enforcement in the US so when an illegal comes across, they are home free. Napoletano has also directed the Border Patrol to "catch and release"- to tell the illegals to turn around and go home or drive them to the border instead of arresting them. That's why the numbers look better. Its all part of the administration strategy to declare our borders secure and give amnesty to the 16 to 20 million illegal aliens living in the US, so they can all vote Democratic. Meanwhile, the PEW Foundation for Hispanic Studies calculates that each illegal alien costs US taxpayer 1 Million dollars in health care, education, food stamps, state welfare programs, jail costs, gang police costs, etc.
Send them all back home.
Actually, Clotho is right.
Net immigration from Mexico is actually below 0%, according to a Pew report:
Net Migration from Mexico Falls to Zero and Perhaps Less
Mdsj: how is she truly an American?? Read the description under her photo...it says that, "Elizabeth Olivas, who came to the US illegally at age 4", enough said right there. Not only did she break the law by entering a country illegally, but she waited way too long to acquire her visa. Book smart, yes she is, street smart, I'm not too sure.
Deadlines are put in place for a reason, either meet them or pay the consequence!
Four year olds should know better, amirite?
There is something fishy here. If her father became a naturalized citizen before she turned 18, then she should have automatically received citizenship as well. If he was a native-born citizen, then she should be a citizen too, as long as the father has lived at least 5years, after the age of 14, living in the US.
If the father went through the green card process, and then on to become a citizen, then my understanding is that she should have also received a green card when he, because she would have been a minor. This story definitely has some details missing.
Regardless, you don't mess with USCIS deadlines, just like you don't mess with the IRS. I predict her application will denied, and she will have to apply for a hardship waiver. Waivers take months to process. If the waiver isn't approved, then she can look forward to a prolonged vacay outside the US for the next 3 years.
I really think she should be allowed to come back and graduate with her class. Immigration laws are really messed up. She is the kind of person we need in society - one who works hard in school.
On the other hand though, the people saying sue this or that, and the people saying someone is wronging her on purpose are ridiculous. They made a mistake and slow government is running at its normal pace.
Another illegal alien. Keep her in Mexico or she will come back, drop out of college when she finds out how unprepared she is. She has a 309GPA probably from a high school where 70% of the kids drop out or don't graduate. She will come back, drop out of school, get married and have 10 kids and live in a Section 8 house, mooch on food stamps and welfare and be part of the rest of the politically correct protected minority. MSCBC and the Democrats love these people.
There should be a law against stupidity. But the Democrats would object since any penalties would most likely be applied to Democrat voters and Democrat politicians! I would like a law against the lack of common sense. But penalties would then apply to Democrats, news journalists, pro-athletes, union members, teachers, and terrorists. That wouldn't be fair. The lower half of the IQ curve should not be penalized for their choices.
.
the lack of compassion for this KID is astounding and sad to behold. What has happened to people of this country to make them so cold hearted? She is a KID and she made a minor error. Cut me a break.
She is now an adult not a kid and is responsible for her actions.
Immigration laws are such a bureaucratic morass that it's practically impossible for anyone to follow all the rules. No wonder so many people decide to immigrate illegally, why bother trying to do it right when you're likely to get screwed over some obtuse technicality anyway?
How easy to forget what the law is and she is smart enough to know better. She waited until last minute instead of going with plenty of time to take care of her status. I say she take this as a "lesson learned".
Something for the officials quoted here in the article to think about. THIS IS WHY GOVERRNMENT WORKERS HAVE SUCH POOR REPUTATIONS! These people represent the US government yet do not appear to have the common sense god gave a gnat.
Common sense has nothing to do with it. The law is the law.
Procrastina....ahhh, I'll finish that thought later.
Our government does virtually NOTHING well.On the other hand,I agree,let that be a lesson for those who are needing to do the same thing-get crackin or else
Let her come home !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If her legal citizenship was truly important to her and her family, they would have addressed it sooner and not cut it so close. Now they want an exception made. Very familiar story.
Usually how it works.Someone who is an asset to the community has to deal with political red tape.Where's the politicians on this issue.Oh,yea,she's not one of the 1%ers...
No need to comment anymore people....
She is in Juarez, Mexico... a pretty bad place to be stuck in right about now. Knowing the drug cartels there, within the next 72 hours, she will either be kidnapped or dead.