PASCO, Wash. - Diana Perez went to Mexico for an immigration visa appointment in January of 2011. She never dreamed she'd end up stuck there. Misinformation on the process for her getting her green card resulted in miles of red tape and two very long years.
"It was so hard, so stressful. Lonely," Diana said.
She and her husband, Juan, struggled these last two years apart.
"I couldn't keep calm in a sense, just being over there but also having a part of me over here and having it affect him," Diana said.
"It was like we weren't married for those two years. Because we weren't next to each other. Anniversaries went along and it didn't feel like it," Juan said.
The big break finally came in early December. Juan was on his way to visit Diana in Acapulco where she was staying with her grandparents when he got an email saying Diana's waiver was approved. All she had to do then was pick up her visa in Ciudad Juarez and she could come home.
"I was shocked. I really had no idea. I was excited enough just to see him," Diana said.
Attorney Tom Roach played a huge role in getting the issue resolved. He contacted the media to get the story out, which made its way to Immigration Headquarters in Washington D.C. Congressman Doc Hastings' office and Senator Maria Cantwell's office also got involved.
"I actually got to know these people a lot more than I get to know my average clients and it was fun, it was great. It's a good feeling," Roach said.
