OUR GOLIATH!!!!

[Iwontgiveup 0]

POSITIVELY NEGATIVE

I'm a new member here at the group. I have been lurking on various immigration websites searching for information, over the years but to no avail. Certainly there are circumstances unique to our case, but I believe that we are not alone. Maybe we are just one of a handful to come forth. This story must be told to encourage others that are in the same struggle. This is the long form. Sorry, there just aren't any shortcuts because in order for you to truly appreciate the victory, you must understand the struggle. With that being said, I will proceed.

In 2003 my fiancé and I were united in marriage in Lagos, Nigeria. We began our CR-1 (immigrant) visa process shortly thereafter. Well after two years of toiling and waiting for the various petitions to be processed and approved by the NSC and transferred to the NVC for additional processing, our case was completed and transferred to the U.S. Consulate at Lagos.

In preparation for the interview my spouse went to the only clinic contracted out by the U.S. government to perform visa medical examinations . Chest x-rays were taken and blood was drawn. Chest x-rays were normal, but the blood test results were to render the absolute shocker of a life time…HIV+!!!

As you can imagine our world was shattered to say the least, because he was totally unaware of his status until the test results were given. (Thankfully, we were in the habit of using condoms. I have a HIV Neg. status).

Well…… He went for his visa interview and of course was denied on the sole basis of his HIV+ medical diagnosis. The consulate officer gave him the "Blue" paper which explained the reason for denial, and gave him a Health Waiver packet for grounds of inadmissibility to mail to me. He was informed that consulate officers do not grant waivers; instead the immigration court that has jurisdiction over my state would adjudicate our case, and in turn send the determining verdict back to the overseas post.

Now the journey begins……………

I had no clue of where to begin, but I did know that I could do research online. I visited every immigration law website that I could find, and truthfully the odds didn't look good. There were no stats that documented the number of health waivers applied for, (less alone those applied for in Nigeria), nor the number granted. The cards were stacked against us, and we were preparing ourselves to fight an uphill-but not losing battle. There was a mountain of evidence that was required, and I didn't have any solid leads or resources to obtain them. Just a struggling student living at the poverty level (according to American standards anyway...

The health waiver requires two endorsements; One from the consenting physician/HIV specialist,( whom agrees to counsel & treat once my husband enters the country), and the other from the county deputy health director. I was felt totally lost and hopeless, because I didn't know where to start, who to call, or what to say. First of all, my husband probably didn't qualify mainly because he was not a permanent resident of the U.S. So, there wasn't any health insurance coverage in place. Oh Jehovah God, what do I do??????

I began by going to the local health department website. That's where I seen a special unit designed for HIV services. I mustered up the courage to pick up the phone to call and make an inquiry. The patent advocate (social worker), told me to fax the form and she would pass it on to the chief medical director, whom also happened to be the lead HIV specialist. But informed me that to her knowledge this is the first request ever made to do such, and there could be no guarantees that the physicians would consent on the grounds that my husband wasn't within the U.S. borders, not a resident of the state, and they have never seen him. I spoke to her at 10 am, and she stated that she would be in touch……………………

At the close of the same business day she called to inform me that the county medical director had reviewed the health waiver and agreed to endorse it. However, he couldn't vouch for the deputy health director. (But she did mention the fact that he works in the same building, a couple floors up). I thanked her and got to plugging away. I obtained his address and composed a plea for help letter, and expressed mailed it to him.

After one month, I still hadn't received a response. Therefore, I called his office directly to leave a voice message to confirm the receipt of delivery of my mail.

The following week I received a call from the patient advocate notifying me that the county director had endorsed the form, and the envelope was ready to be picked up!!!! That was the first victory, which took nearly 5 months after the visa interview to obtain this document.

The next step to fulfill in the waiver process was to acquire health care insurance for my spouse. This would be likened to climbing Mt. Everest—Doable, but no easy task to say the least. Once again here I was a struggling student, and I didn't even have insurance for myself! My LORD how do I do this??? With a new semester just beginning, I wouldn't be able to secure a full time job for at least nearly 6 months!!!! My husband isn't in the country, so naturally he doesn't have a social security number, so how can I get insurance for him—I'm unemployed?? ????

I looked into various options; however since he has a pre-existing medical condition I would have to contact the states High-Risk medical insurance pool. Their quotes were astronomical! !! Out of the roof!!!! Nearly $800/month!! (Keep in mind that the insurance has to be in place when the Health Waiver is submitted to the U.S. consulate, and maintained until the verdict is given on the case…With immigration court backlogs, we were possibly looking at 17 months!!!!) So, that wasn't even an option.

He didn't qualify for state HIV Medicaid care under the Ryan L. White Title, because once again he wasn't a U.S. permanent resident.

The semester was coming to a close, and I managed to secure a job that offered medical benefits through a major HMO. At the end of the probationary period I secured coverage for my spouse. (Only $319/month)

The next feat was to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and overcome the Public Charge. HIV is estimated to have a yearly medical cost of $80,000. Using my household members' income and assets to overcome this obstacle wasn't going to be enough. I was allowed to use up to 2 additional Cosponsors. My father gathered an appraisal on his home, property tax assessment, valued at $449,000 and mortgage deed. He also provided me with savings, IRA, and mutual funds account documents. My church pastor made his income available also.

The last stage would indeed prove to be the battle of Armageddon….We needed an extremely strong hardship letter. This is when I felt like the rubber had hit the road…A good immigration attorney that specializes in health waivers would cost between $7,000 & $10,000!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!! It became evident that we were going to have to go at this alone. (Crying) In the midst of the crying God spoke to me and said, "Simone, why are you crying? Dry your tears. I am the best attorney for your case! Don't worry about what you don't have…I am your Father; I can do exceedingly & abundantly above all that you could ever ask or think. You just do what you can, and allow me to do the rest. I will represent you, but you must be willing to give me the glory in the end."

O.K. God, I'll do my best!"

I searched immigration forums in an attempt to find others, whom might be going through the process, but all I could find was I-601 waivers for cases that pertained to criminal violations such as overstays, entering the country illegally, moral turpitude, etc…None regarding HIV until……I came across the Immigrate2US website. A gentleman's wife from Russia had been granted an HIV waiver! He chronologically detailed every step taken in the process and even provided a copy of his hardship letter that had been drafted by the paralegal. I used his letter as a guide to draft our very own. Even though we couldn't afford an attorney, we felt confident to be the mouthpiece and take a bold stand to tell our story (besides, who knows our story better than us?)

In addition to the hardship letter, which is very long because basically this is your one and only chance to carefully present your opening statement, all evidence, and closing argument? You play the attorney and defendant. You must make your voice heard and fight like hell from the information contained within the hardship letter, because you will never really have your "Day in court" to personally speak for yourself before the judge.

If the immigration court denies the waiver, there is absolutely no recourse---No appeal process at all-Just a permanent denial!!!! So we took painstaking care when drafting this letter. In addition we also secured sworn affidavits from family to garner support, and submitted our own personal letters stating that my husband is aware of modes of transmission, and why he felt like he poses a relatively minimal health threat to the general U.S. population. Of course we mentioned immigration statutes that expand upon family reunification and the tragic implications a permanent visa denial would cause.

Well, on Friday May 18,2007, exactly one week to this day, and approximately 1 year and 4 months after we received the death blow-Denial decision with a request for more information (Never stamped denied in the passport though.), my husband finally returned to the embassy armed with every required document imaginable along with the Grounds of inadmissibility waiver forms, and the $265.00 filing fee. (I even sent him his Kaiser Permanente medical I.D. card and the member benefits welcome letter).

My husband was called up to the window to present his documents, and several hours later he was recalled to another window to go over the documents with the clerk. The clerk stated that all documents were complete and the waiver could be filed. But there was a questionable document that might jeopardize the outcome of our case. My pastor's (cosponsor #2) tax transcripts had been fax transmitted to him via IRS electronic services. The "blue" sheet clearly states that no email, fax, or scanned copies of documents will be accepted. So, my husband decided against submitting the waiver, until he concluded with me.

I included a letter in the FedEx envelope alongside the tax transcripts, making him/her aware of the fact that my husband has been instructed that the envelope is to be opened only by U.S. Embassy staff official as a precautionary measure to avoid any speculation of mail tampering, forgery, of the enclosed documents. Those items are scheduled to arrive on May 29, 2007.

On Monday May 21, 2007, my husband received a phone call from the contracted panel physician, stating that he needs to come and pick up the final letter that we requested to accompany the medical exam test results. (The letter basically states that my husband is asymptomatic, not on any type of therapy, and is medically fit to work etc. The Dr. claimed that he had previously written personal letters for cases of the same nature, it helped to strengthen the case and in the final analysis, the visas were granted as a result.) Bear in mind that my husband had to retake his medical exam in Feb. of this year (2007) because HIV+ medical exams are only valid for 6 months.

When my husband arrived at Komorass Specialist Clinic he was surprisingly informed that he would have to retake his medical exam! (He questioned the protocol, being that he had recently taken one in February. Evidently the new results had been forwarded to the U.S. Lagos Consulate, and it was missing some type of identifying serial numbers, thus making the February exam results invalid, and a retest was required.) My husband still refused because he thought this was a scam being used to extract additional money. But, in the end he finally agreed. There was no way around it, and we had come so far (nearly 4 years on the immigration battlefield.

His blood was drawn at 1pm and at 7pm they called him into the office to present the results. My husband immediately saw his name on top of the paperwork lying on the chief medical director's desk. His eyes scanned down the paper to serological test to see the finding………….

HIV NONREACTIVE! !!!!!!!!!

At this point the hematologist and another lab tech entered the room and began congratulating my husband. However, the medical director began questioning whether they had followed the technical instructions etc? "Did you do this? Did you do that?"

He was obviously baffled by the contradictory test results. At this point he boldly stated that yet another confirmatory test (in which my husband will be responsible for the cost) must be ran before he concludes with his findings and send the report to the consulate. My husband then explained to him that the Western Blot is the "Gold Standard" used to confirm HIV positive ELISA test results. (My husband is a practicing microbiologist) Furthermore, the result is medically accepted as valid and over 99% accurate. The Western Blot result is never doubted, especially after seroconversion (typically 6 months after being exposed to the virus the body has formed detectable antibodies against HIV) has taken place.

However, false positives do occur, especially seen when a person takes a HIV test, when he/she is currently infected with a malarial parasite. (Malaria is a common & deadly disease of the Sub Saharan region of Africa. ) So, knowing that his 2005 test result was positive, accepted as accurate, and never questioned for retest. My husband felt that the same protocol should be applied to his newly diagnosed NEGATIVE test result!

However, the medical director was trying to save his own butt; his testing procedures, reputation and credibility were now going to be on the line. He was yet adamant about retesting (For the third time now since Feb. 2007). My husband simply agreed to return in the morning… After my husband exited the building, he noticed the hematologist that had congratulated him, exiting the clinic. He approached him to inquire about his findings. He confirmed that he personally performed the test and the results were NEGATIVE.

My husband left me a voice mail stating, "GOD has done it." He went on to say, "This is going to be the biggest shocker of your life. I wouldn't want to leave the news on your voice mail, as you may faint! I'm dancing, singing, and celebrating. We will be together much sooner than we had anticipated. " I racked my brains trying to figure out what the good news could be. When he called back and told me the news, I began screaming in his ear, "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! " and dropped the phone. I just began praising God!

He returned to the clinic this morning (5/25/07) for the retest, the results came back and the paperwork read:

"CHANGE OF STATUS"

HIV *NEGATIVE*

I wanted to share our story because I wanted it to provide strength and encouragement for anyone whom might be faced with the same scenario. We have struggled to reunite for almost 4 years, and if we had to continue on with the HIV waiver process we could be looking at an additional 17 months… This journey has been so lonely because the only people who knew my husbands health status was God, and my parents. Imagine everyone asking, "What's going on is your husband going to ever come to the U.S.?" Imagine the snickers & jokes endured by me having the "Invisible Mystery Husband" So many people thought that he had dumped me, and I was a fool for wearing the wedding set. Imagine knowing the reason why he hasn't arrived, yet having to keep it undercover in fear of being rejected, humiliated, ostracized to name a few…But I steadfastly held onto the word that God had spoken to me. My aunt said, "Hum, seems like it isn't going to ever happen huh?" I calmly replied, "That's the same thing the people said to Noah when he was building the Ark. Everyone laughed at Noah, and thought he was insane until….many years later….The flood finally came."

So now we can detour the waiver process!!! My husband will receive my Fed Ex on This upcoming Tuesday. He can return to the embassy on Friday.

Although God has blessed me to travel to see my husband, a few times within a nearly 4 year time span, it simply isn't enough. If all goes well (can't see why it wouldn't, but the devil is crafty) they will collect his passport, and have him to come in early June to pick it up with the stamp stating:

VISA APPROVED!!!! !!

[L_n_O 3]

[ladykelia 0]

That is truly amazing. Thanks for sharing your story!

[David-and-Mae 15]

Inspiring story, thanks for sharing it. I, myself is a believer that miracles do happen... Best wishes to you and your husband! May your marriage lasts forever!

Mae

[briccasart 0]

Wow! That really is an amazing story. What a tremendous obstacle with a much better and spectacular victory.

Congratulations to you both.

[Dan J 277]

All I can say is it is a miracle We're happy for you

[Aymerlu 3]

What an amazing story! Thanks for sharing.

[ladybug1 0]

what a wonderful story... congratulations to you both.... wishing you nothing but happiness...

[Ta Ta 1]

We serve an awesome God, thank you for this testimony and for

your willingness to share it here.

I started out with tears in my eyes reading it but then ended up with a smile on

my face and encouraged in my own long wait.

All the best to both of you !

[Zee Bee 61]

Thank you for sharing your inspiring story. This is a true testament to the love and commitment that you and your husband share. God is truely great.

Zee

[Peggy 1]

What a wonderful story

[Nagishkaw 510]

We serve an awesome God, thank you for this testimony and for

your willingness to share it here.

I started out with tears in my eyes reading it but then ended up with a smile on

my face and encouraged in my own long wait.

All the best to both of you !

I posted a similar reply, but apparently some picky people do not like us giving glory to the Almighty and removed my post. Doesn't matter, God is Greater !

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Absolutely wonderful news. Regardless of how one's religious feelings are, this is a really good news story! The two of you deserve every happiness - you have more than earned it. Congratulations.

[JODO 2]

He is always on time..

[sarah and hicham 3]

wowzers! That's great news! Congrats!