So Monday was my first dental checkup in about 4 years or more and it was not as bad as I expected. It took much longer than I would’ve expected because it was the first time I’d been to that office so they had to do the x-rays and everything. The worst thing for me about getting my teeth cleaned is that food is disgusting for the rest of the day. At least I only have three small cavities which will be filled next month. I’m hoping I can wear my ear buds because the sound of the drill is like nails on a chalkboard for me. Who knows, I might get lucky if I ask really nicely…
I also got a phone call from one of the assistants at Lance’s office this morning. I was amused when the woman spoke to me in Spanish, totally ignoring my English greeting. She was talking so fast that I couldn’t get a word in edgewise, and her news was grim: the hearing was cancelled. She admitted that is was most likely postponed, but either way I should wait for her to call me by 4:00 for more information. To my surprise it was Lance that called me, and the first words out of his mouth were, “I don’t know what she was smoking but I NEVER said the hearing was cancelled.” The moved the immigration hearing from 10 am to 1 pm, but everything else would be the same and he said he would see me there.
Tuesday started with a crying toddler, which is unpleasant but typical. I managed to get her dressed with minimal fuss. She refused to use the potty, and subsequently had an accident while I was brushing my teeth. She started crying when I told her that big girls don’t wet their pants, but what else should I do? She has had accidents while Gisela’s watching her because God forbid someone would notice Ashley doing the potty dance. I understand that Gisela has cooking and cleaning to do, but Ashley is still relatively new to the whole potty-trained concept and needs to be reminded from time to time. I reminded Gisela on my way out that Alberto’s immigration hearing was moved to 1 pm and that nothing would be happening at this hearing with the hope that this would curb any phone calls that were not child related. I was not that lucky.
The hearing was to take place at 1 pm, so I arrived at the court by 12:45 as I believe in being on time or early at any opportunity. Naturally these tendencies irritate my in-laws who have refused to abandon ‘Mexican time’. I spent a good hour waiting before I called the law office to find out where the hell Lance was. Lance is out sick today with a stomach virus, so the receptionist promised to investigate who was coming and call me back. She did not call me back, so after 30 minutes had passed I called again. Carissa or Samantha should be there to represent Lance for the hearing, she said. Great, I replied, where are they? She said she would research the matter and call me back. I let 20 minutes pass before I called again. They were going to reach Samantha by cell phone and have her call me apparently, which needed to be soon as my battery was at 7% power by then. I still didn’t get a call from anyone, so I called the office again after 15 minutes. The receptionist said she was going to call Samantha and have her call me right back. Luckily for everyone involved, Samantha called me and told me I must be at the wrong building. Wait a minute, what?! I needed to be at the EOIR court across the street and my Case Manager or Lance should have told me. Since Alberto was in custody, the proceedings would occur at the courthouse attached to the holding facility for immigration. I can’t blame anyone besides my case manager or Lance for the fact that I had the wrong information, so my anger receded rapidly. Samantha was trying to fill in for Lance the best that she could.
During the next 45 minutes I gave Samantha a somewhat detailed summary of our case. A few tears were shed and more than a few curious glances were aimed in my direction during the beginning of my accounting. How could I not become emotional? We are talking about one stupid decision on behalf of my husband that cost us 3 years and change, although I must admit I forgave him a long time ago. I have felt such pain and suffered so greatly but imagine how Alberto must feel; his daughter went from 2 months old to 15 months old in the blink of an eye because he missed everything in between. I think I shocked Samantha with the timeline I laid out for her and the pictures I showed her that illustrated the time that had passed between those visits.
The hearing itself took all of 2 minutes during which the judge stated he has no authority in this case. The reason the judge has no authority is that Alberto is technically not in the US illegally – the USCIS granted him parole when he was taken into custody in Texas. So Alberto is classified as an ‘arriving alien’ rather than an ‘undocumented alien’. The judge says that we need to request permission from the USCIS to allow Alberto to adjust status while in the United States, and complete all the necessary documentation before the appeal deadline of January 12, 2012. The next hearing on this matter will be on January 5, 2012.
Here’s the interesting thing about this situation. Alberto was sentenced to 1 year plus 1 day when he plead guilty, of which he would only have to serve 240 days. Well I did the calculation and the 240 days is up as of January 17. If he serves the full 240 days, he will not have the 5 years of parole because his obligation to Hennepin County will have been fulfilled. So the question is, can we delay his release until then and would we want that?
“Faith is not simply a patience that passively suffers until the storm is past. Rather, it is a spirit that bears things – with resignations, yes, nut above all, with blazing, serene hope.”
Corazon Aquino
Ciao
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