I’M IIBA Stories: LAURA

The Immigration Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA) has launched a campaign – called I’M IIBA – uplifting what we know to be the true character and positive contributions of immigrants in the Bay Area. This week we highlight the inspirational story of Laura.

MEET LAURA

I’M LAURA

I’M AN IMMIGRANT

After living and working in Mexico for a short period, I returned to Colombia to work as an English teacher for elementary school children. But at 23, I was given the opportunity to work as an au pair in Martinez, California, for an incredible family made up of a single mother and her 10-month-old son. My plan was to work with them for a period of time while obtaining an English certificate that I needed in order to apply for a specialization in Germany focused on early childhood development. However, just a few months after living in Martinez, I met my future husband, Nicolas, and eventually I made the decision to delay my plans for a while. We got married in January 2020, and two months later the COVID pandemic began, once again delaying our plans. Shortly after I discovered that I was pregnant with our son, Benjamin. The pregnancy was not without complications, but the support from my family and my husband’s family was incredible. The birth of our son was a great blessing for everyone.

I’M A TEACHER

I studied early childhood education to become a teacher, but now, having a small baby, I did not feel comfortable not being able to care for him while caring for other people’s children. I looked for different jobs where I could work the night shift while my husband worked during the day, so that one of us would always be available for Benjamin. Eventually, I found more flexible jobs that allowed me to be with Benjamin, such as working as a daycare caregiver and as a nanny. It was not much money, but it gave me the opportunity to stay close to my son.

As I watched my son become more independent with age, I began to feel the desire to grow professionally. It took me a long time to get to where I am, but now I have the pleasure of working as a teacher at a couple of preschools, working with children teaching music, dance, and yoga, which I love. My family and I also moved into an RV in Novato, which is more affordable and close to the places where we work. These changes have allowed us to achieve a stability we did not have before, and we have even been able to start saving to fulfill our biggest dream: buying a home!

In Colombia, being berraca means being strong, hardworking, and perseverant. And if there is one thing I have proven to myself, it is that I am a capable woman and a dreamer, and I owe much of that to my grandmother. She was always my emotional support and my guide, giving me advice during difficult moments. All the changes, difficult decisions, moves, and complicated schedules have led me to where I am today, and throughout all of them, my grandmother always supported me. She passed away recently, which was very difficult for me, but I know that she still watches over me from heaven. And at the end of the day, all the sacrifices my husband and I have made are worth every second we’ve been able to witness Benjamin grow into the incredible child he is today. He is autistic, level 2, and very intelligent. When we brought him into the world, we knew that he was not just a child but part of a community, and what I want most is to help him become a great human being and berraco like his mother.

Once my family was in a more stable situation, we made the decision to save money and begin my immigration process. Neither my husband nor I knew how to start, and we had to spend a lot of money on a lawyer to obtain my green card, which was a great sacrifice that we decided to make in order to have peace of mind. At the same time that the period to apply for citizenship arrived, the renewal of my green card never came, even after waiting two years. I was very scared, especially because my grandmother, who always supported me during those moments, had just passed away. But my greatest motivation is my son, and I did not want him to go through the anguish of his mother not being able to stay in the country.

Eventually, I had the chance to meet Estefany Corsini from IIBA. Although at first there were not many options for financial assistance to move forward with the process, Estefany helped me greatly by connecting me with different types of support, sending me information, and recommending workshops to attend. It was very difficult for me to begin the process without my grandmother, but I prayed a lot to her and to God for everything to go well. And as if it were a miracle, out of nowhere the opportunity arose for IIBA to support me with my immigration process.

Now I feel that I can finally breathe and that a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders. The day I left the office along with the other 70 people who obtained citizenship that same day was a moment that filled me with peace, knowing that I would be fortunate to be a citizen of the United States. After immigrating, you feel as though you no longer belong anywhere, but now having the opportunity to be a citizen is a great blessing. I feel even stronger, more confident in myself, and capable of achieving even more. 

But most importantly, Benjamin will now grow up knowing that his mother has the peace of mind of belonging to this country. I am deeply grateful for IIBA’s support and for the work they do. It is not an easy cause, but it is one that gives meaning to the lives of the people they support, and I am proud to share my story with you and of the incredible positive impact you have had on my family.