Genoveva Ramirez left Federal Court on Tuesday with a sense of relief, and at least three more months in the United States.
The Berwyn grandmother filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security last month, asking for a federal judge to order a delay in her October deportation until her visa application was reviewed. At a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, Ramirez learned that her visa application was being reviewed, and that within 6 weeks, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, would have an idea of whether or not it will be approved.
More good news came last Friday, when Ramirez learned that she has three more months before she has to return to Mexico — she no longer has to check in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the end of the month, and now has until Jan 30.
“I feel relieved and calm,” Ramirez said. She is glad she will be able to spend the holidays with her family. Ramirez has been in the United States for nearly two decades, and is the primary caretaker for her 7-year-old grandson.
Ramirez hopes that between now and Jan. 30, her visa application will be approved. If it isn’t, she will still face deportation.
Ramirez will return to federal court on Nov. 6, when preliminary findings on her visa application will be reported. In September 2016, Ramirez applied for a U-visa, which is available to victims and witnesses of certain crimes. Ramirez qualified after a break-in at her Berwyn home, where she and her grandson were assaulted.
Kate Melloy Goettel, litigation attorney for the National Immigrant Justice Center, said that if preliminary findings by USCIC determine that her visa will be approved, Ramirez’s legal team will ask ICE to put off her deportation until a final decision is made.
“This doesn’t mean that her deportation is off,” said Ramirez’s attorney, Mony Ruiz-Velasco. “These are just the first few steps where were starting to finally see some movement in her case.”