I came to the United States in the end of the year 2000 with roughly my Basic English and a couple of dollars on my pocket, and no idea of what to expect or what I was going to do. My husband's company transferred him to work for at least three years in Washington, D.C. Nevertheless, my Visa Status didn't allow me to work.
As soon as I put my two feet on the ground I started to work hard, as it seemed that everyone around there was basically doing that. I wrote and illustrated more than fifteen picture books and my staying home had me inspired for more three novels.
A law finally arrived that spouses of workers would be allowed to work to help increase the ecomony for the crisis seemed to be there to stay after one year and a half (and what a heck of a year!) I was thrilled that I could finally apply for a work permit. The INS issued my Employment Authorization on July on the day of my birthday (And I wonder if they did it on my behalf…yes, I have a dream!)
I was so thrilled that I could finally work where I really enjoyed the atmosphere and doing what I loved since I was a little girl (and earn money for that!) So I started to give Ballet classes the same day I got my card.
Three months later I was invited to perform and choreograph. I started to realize that my English was actually improving, as well as my brave new life there. I had the pleasure to see the incredibly rapid development of the number and work of my own students, and of all the home improvement we did, my husband and I, with our own hands, in our apartment. My books were miraculously getting in shape as well. And I could finally call America home.
Everything sounded to be going perfectly well for me in my newly-adopted home when, without any notice, they kicked me out of the country, for my Visa depended on my husband's and he got laid off. Although deportation never came that near me, I had to leave the country before he did. We stayed more than five months without seeing each other, just trying to get our basis settled somewhere else, as we had to start from scratch (and when you start to scratch you cannot stop it!) We had to restart our lives from ground zero, the right beginning from where we left it, just once again... Now he wants me to write a book he insists me that I should promote with already a title:
“Lay-Off”
But I told him instead, with a peculiar good mood, in spite of all the changes we quickly had to go through:
“I just wrote a book about taking off...You should be the one to write a book about being laid off. For I was a mere collateral damage. I felt this as a third person not as my own. So the impact of my writings wouldn't be as strong as your talking about what happened to you. Besides writing about that will make you feel better.” As well as writing about my personal experiences make me feel so great that I decided to devote a lifetime on being a writer since I was a little girl.
So here is my new book entitled to help many people who think about moving to another country. It's also about the immigration policies:
