Mariana

 Mariana* is a good mother. She always has been. “I live for my children” she says. She encourages her children to work hard in school, to stay away from tattoos and gangs. And she works hard to provide them with everything they need.

Mariana used to work the night shifts at a restaurant, tirelessly working to make sure her children had food, clothing, and shelter. But while she was away, Mariana's husband Lorenzo*, the father of their children, would get drunk and sexually assault their nine-year-old son Benito*. Lorenzo threatened Benito not to tell Mariana about the abuse, and she had no idea it was going on until one night she came home early and found Lorenzo abusing Benito.

Lorenzo was arrested, and Mariana was left with the emotional trauma of her son’s abuse as well as bills that she was not able to pay on her own. It was a horribly traumatic time in Mariana and her family's life. Mariana would cry endlessly, at home and at work. “I would see an ambulance, and I would cry.” In addition to her regular expenses, Mariana also found herself responsible for paying months of rent and bills that were owed by Lorenzo; she had no idea how she was going to pay this debt because her job didn't give her enough hours, and she didn't have the legal documents she needed to search for a new job. Finally, she found American Gateways.

American Gateways helped her file for and obtain a U-Visa. Her attorney Natalia “put in all the effort in the world”, and now Mariana has the legal documents she needs to find a better job. She told us, “I only want to thank you all, upon receiving these papers the doors were opened to me. With these papers that you gave me I am taking another step forward. With these papers, I feel more secure, because I know that wherever I go they can give me a job. It is a huge happiness.”

Now, Mariana hopes to study and learn English, to put her children through school, and to find a job that can give her more hours so she can give her children a better life. “I am very happy and thankful... I would be lying if I said my life was the same, it isn't.”

*Name changed