Stories

I came with my daughter to the United States in 2013. My two sons had to stay behind in Africa with their stepfather because I did not have enough money for all of us to come at once. I have been working hard since then at Jennie-O Turkey Store and have saved the money to pay for my sons’ visas and travel, or anything they need.

I applied early in 2014 using the I-730 form (Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition) for my two sons, then aged 13 and 10 years old, as well as for my husband. I received notice of approval of all three applications from USCIS in 2014. USCIS then forwarded the petitions to the Department of State National Visa Center. The Department of State then contacted the U.S. Embassy in Kampala, Uganda to process the visas. All three had interviews at the Kampala Embassy and passed medical exams early in 2016.

I was told by an employee of the Office of Refugee Resettlement to expect my family to arrive in May of 2016. But they did not come. My younger son finally arrived in May of the next year (2017). My older son was not given a visa with his brother.

My older son and husband are still waiting in Kampala for visas. My son misses me and his brother very much. He needs education and a future. I pay for his schooling there, but it hurts everyone in the family to be separated like this.

Early in 2017, I received notice from USCIS that my son and husband’s cases “after review, were re-opened.” I do not know why the cases would have been closed in the first place, or sent back to USCIS for review after their approval three years before. I have emailed the Uganda U.S. Embassy many times, but they never tell me what is wrong or give me a response other than an auto-reply. No one at the Embassy will talk to my husband either.

I have also contacted U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin’s office for assistance in resolving my family’s cases. The Senator’s office can only report what USCIS tells them, that “USCIS records indicate that your constituent’s cases were referred to the extended review process,” and that they “are unable to predict when your constituent [I] will receive either a notice or a decision.” My son and the rest of my family are hurting and I do not know how to fix it because they will not tell me what the problem is.

I have since become a United States citizen and I have filed an I-130 petition for my son. This is expensive, both the money sent to USCIS and for a lawyer, but I am willing to do whatever I can do for my family, the same as you would do for yours if you were separated like we have been.

Almost eight [now nine] years ago, in 2011, I started the process to get my two sons to the United States through the Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition (Form I-730). In 2010 I had come alone to the United States as a refugee; I have now been a citizen for two [update: four] years. I support both of my sons so they can receive an education; however, there are no jobs available in Africa where they live. I own my own business in northwest Wisconsin and provide money for my sons’ food and school every month and also support my mother. I left my family because I couldn’t provide for them in Kenya. Here, in Wisconsin, I can give them food and an education.

I believe my sons can benefit the Wisconsin economy just as I do. If they join me in the United States, they will be able to further help my business because of their education, including college. Already I pay for the rent of my home and business and many services I use; they will contribute the same way, improving the economy.

My younger son has gone through the last screening step for a visa, the medical appointment, two times, but both times the time period the appointment is good for has expired without a visa being issued. Now his application has been pushed back from the Embassy to the Resettlement Support Center in Africa for more processing with no reason given for doing so.

My older son’s paperwork was returned to the United States for processing almost two years ago [as of 2018], but I still hadn’t received confirmation from USCIS that it was received and notice of what I could do next. Now I have submitted DNA evidence that he is my son, but we are still waiting with no end in sight.

I have traveled back to Kenya three times and each time visited the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, but they said they could not help. So each time I also went to the refugee agency there, and they told me just to wait. My younger son e-mails them often too, but always he is told to wait.

Here in the United States I have worked with lawyers that I pay for myself and gone to Senators and now my Congressman for help, but still I have no answers.

I am alone here, running a business. I need help. Both of my sons can, with their education, help me benefit the economy even more than I am already doing alone. I could go back to Kenya, but here I can provide for not just my own family but help others in our community as well as the local economy. I am a proud U.S. citizen and resident of Wisconsin; I just need my sons.

In 2013, I came to the U.S. as a refugee with my two boys. I applied in 2014 for refugee family reunification (using the I-730) for two girls and one boy, ages 13, 15 and 17. They were approved by USCIS in 2015 and completed all of the processing steps including DNA testing and interviews.

Two years after my children were approved they were still not coming over so I went to a lawyer to see what was going on; that cost me $1,000 plus $800 for new visa applications and more DNA testing which cost me $950. There was no notice of my children’s approval; just silence.

I called Congressman Sean Duffy’s office and wrote letters about my children’s cases. They told me to contact the U.S. Visa Center, which I did, and the Visa Center told me that my cases were with USCIS. I called USCIS and they said everything was okay; I just have to wait.

It has been four years [update: six] since I first applied and now it is even more urgent because one of my daughters has ear and nose problems that need medical treatment, and my children’s father has died so no one is looking after them. I have worked hard to become a citizen, and to learn English. I also work at Jennie-O Turkey Store to support myself and my family as well as the economy. My family will not be a burden as I will support them and they will work just as I do.

I was born in Somalia in 1983; the Somali Civil War started in 1991. My parents died in the war. My three brothers and two sisters and I first went to Kenya and then transferred to Uganda when I was very young. We lived there for 10 years.

I married in 2001 and had four children. My husband took my four children away from me in 2005, moving them to Kenya. I did not know where they were, and was alone, so I went to a refugee camp. I came to the United States in September of that year.

Finally, after I was already here, my husband contacted me in 2015 about my children. My aunt intervened on my behalf and brought my children to Uganda, where she took care of them using the money I sent to her. I applied for immigration visas using Form I-730 for all four of my children, spending $3,000 for a lawyer to assist me with filing and $1,400 for the DNA testing proving my children were my own.

All four I-730 petitions were approved by USCIS in 2016. We have been waiting since then for approval from the U.S. State Department/Embassy and the visas and plane tickets (which I will pay the government for after their travel) my children need to come. My aunt died in April of this year [2018], and since then my children have been living alone with no one to watch over them. Even though my youngest daughter was just 12 years old and my oldest 16, this is not considered an emergency, and I have been told by both nonprofit immigration agencies and the federal government that there is nothing I can do besides wait however long it takes until my children’s visa processing is finished.

I left Somalia due to civil war when I was 22 years old. I went to Kenya in 1991. I lived in Kenya for 12 years. Two daughters are in the U.S. My son and my wife are still in Kenya. I applied to bring my daughters but I could not apply for them all because it cost too much. One of my daughters goes to school and works part-time; the other one works full-time. I am a hard worker and I do not take food stamps or health insurance from the government.

I came to Minnesota and then to Wisconsin. I work at the Turkey Store; a lot of overtime. I took English ESL classes for 3 years. I passed my U.S. Naturalization Exam and became a citizen. I applied for my son in 2015. Due to lack of funds, I cannot afford right now to apply for my wife to come.

I have spent a lot of money for applications (the initial application cost $1,000) and health checks (they cost $400 and because the first one expired, I needed to pay for a second one). I also paid $375 for my son’s green card and $830 for the DNA tests for all 3 of my kids plus $120 to open a file. All told I have spent $10,000 for all 3 children.

I have called the U.S. Embassy in Kenya multiple times, but nothing more has happened with my son’s case. He is 18 years old now and would work to support himself.

My friend is a 49-year-old Somali man. He has 10 children—3 girls and 7 boys—and a wife. His youngest child is now 8 years old and his oldest is 24.

In June of 2007, my friend left Somalia fleeing the Civil War. He went to Kenya for 9 months, then lived in Malta until early in 2014. Finally, 7 years after leaving Somalia, he came to the United States through the refugee process.

Upon arriving in the United States, my friend began working at Jennie-O Turkey Store in Barron, Wisconsin and trying to reunite with his family in the United States. He started the process in 2016 and was told it would only take 2 years. Even though he has contacted his U.S. Congressman for assistance, it is almost 2019 [now nearing 2021] and his family is still not here due to the recent Travel Ban by the Trump Administration.

Today he is trying to continue on despite the constant ache of separation. He still works at Jennie-O, supports his family in Africa while parenting by phone as best he can, and is practicing to become a U.S. citizen. The majority of his family has completed all of the requirements to come here, and he hopes one day soon they will join him in America.