The drama of family separation continues to strongly affect Hispanic immigrants. A mother went on a trip to her country and now they won’t let her return to the United States. She remains in Peru since 2025 and seeks to reunite with her husband and daughter who live in New York.
Marleny Calcina Huarsaya claims that she traveled for a family emergency while following an immigration regularization process in the United States.
Marleny left US territory on April 25 of last year to accompany her father after a serious accident that occurred in Peru. His return to NY was scheduled for May 11 of that year, but, according to his testimony, he was not allowed to board the plane. Since then she has been separated from her husband and her teenage daughter.
Before the trip, Marleny had lived in the United States for 18 years and 4 months. He started working in cleaning, later in a pizzeria and then opened a security camera company. In New York he established his home and built a life that he now seeks to recover.
As he explained, his family began an immigration regularization process in 2018 with a law firm in Manhattan and received a favorable ruling from an immigration judge.
He assures that they were informed that permanent residence would be notified and issued within a period of between 18 months and 3 years. However, he states that more than 4 years have passed since that resolution without receiving the physical document or a final notification.
The scope of that judicial decision and the current status of its processing require documentary confirmation.
A family emergency motivated the trip
Marleny said that her father suffered an accident while riding a motorcycle during a heavy hailstorm and thunderstorm. According to his version, an electric shock caused a fall that caused injuries to his face, head and other parts of his body.
The man needed 5 stitches near his right eye and 8 on his head, his daughter said. The news led her to make the decision to travel to Peru to accompany him during his recovery.
Before leaving, he assures that he followed the instructions of his legal representation and that his lawyer’s office presented documentation about the medical emergency to request a travel permit, known as “Advance Parole.” The information provided does not allow us to establish whether this request had been approved before his departure.
“My intention in traveling to Peru was none other than to attend to this family emergency and be present with my parents at a particularly difficult time,” said Marleny.
The return that could not be made
On May 11, 2025, when he tried to board a Copa Airlines flight to the United States, the boarding staff told him that he needed a green card, US citizenship or a valid visa, he said.
Since then, she claims that she has repeatedly tried to contact her legal representation to find out the status of her case and receive assistance, without receiving a direct response. In his first statements he indicated that he had only managed to communicate with the office secretary.
While Marleny remains in Peru, her husband takes care of their daughter in New York. He acknowledges that they both contemplated the possibility that difficulties would arise for their return, although they were confident that they could resolve them.
“We thought it would be temporary and that we would soon be able to be together again as a family,” said Guilmar Apaza, Marleny’s husband.
The father noted that his teenage daughter misses her mother and has been more sensitive and sad at times. Try to accompany her, talk to her and maintain the family bond through constant communication with Marleny.
A Hispanic family in search of answers
Marleny requests help to verify the status of her immigration process and find out if there is any authorization that could allow her to return. Among the options that it asks to evaluate, it mentions a consular document to board a flight, the origin of which would depend on the review of your situation and the documents of your case.
Her greatest concern continues to be the separation from her daughter during adolescence. For her husband, distance has also meant taking on daily home life while seeking information and support. “We want to leave this separation behind, recover our peace of mind and continue our life together,” he said.
Marleny knows what an “Advance Parole” is, an advance travel permit that allows certain people who do not have permanent residence to travel abroad and present themselves when they return to request that they be allowed to re-enter the US.
And this is where the confusion of Marleny and her family comes in, they applied for this immigration benefit and only received a receipt from USCIS that they had received this application. Marleny went on a trip thinking that the application had been approved and “practically” deported herself without knowing it.
We sought the opinion of immigration attorney Rosemarie Gonsalves Tindall to clear up this confusion and she explained:
“No person who does not have their immigration status clearly established cannot leave the country, no matter how difficult the situation or emergency may be, no matter how much their heart hurts, they cannot leave the United States, especially in the current circumstances.”
«Much less can you apply for an Advance Parole (advance parole) already being out of ruling, that is, outside the country; “Definitely, the lawyers who represented her legally made a mistake and did not guide her appropriately,” the lawyer maintains.
