I started a relationship with the man I thought I was going to be with forever when I was 21 years old. When I found out that I had tested positive for HIV because of him and his refusal for using protection, my world collapsed.

 

We eventually reconciled, however, and in 2015 he asked me to move to the US and live with him. I knew I did not want to stay illegally but he assured me that he would make a petition for residency to Immigration. 

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After living together for almost a year, there was a switch in my husband towards me. He began to verbally abuse and degrade me. Every time I spoke against him, he would threaten to call Immigration and cancel my residency request.

 

I began to get more and more sick and my HIV became detectable once again. I suffered from extreme insomnia, alopecia, and thyroid disease. I needed the medication my husband refused to give to me and when I contacted Legacy, they told me I needed his consent which he did not give. I suffered through it all, that at the hopes of the end of it I would at least have my residency application accepted. 

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On January 2017, I called Immigration to ask for an update on my case. I was heartbroken to learn that my husband had cancelled my request for residency. When I confronted my husband, he told me he was in love with someone else and to pack my bags as I was no longer welcome.

 

He then proceeded to block my number, change the locks, and cancel our joint accounts so I no longer had access to our money. I was sick, alone, and in a country where I could barely speak the language.

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I was hopeless until I came into contact with BPSOS – Houston. With their help I was able to get into touch with a community health provider. They were able to offer me medical and psychiatric assistance along with providing me the retro virus to keep my CD4 up and prevent my cancer from returning.

 

BPSOS legal team worked fervently to make sure I was approved for my green card. I now have a job, my medication, and am able to stand on my own two feet.