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Getting Legal Status Can be Tough for Immigrants

SALINAS, Calif- Since the announcement of the Arizona Immigration Law, people have left comments and questions on our website wanting to know why it's so difficult for an illegal immigrant to become a legal citizen. It turns out, it's not an easy process.

Abigail Perez' story is similar to that of millions of illegal immigrants.

Looking for a better life for her family, Abigail came to the U.S illegally from El Salvador in 2004, but her struggles didn't end after crossing the border.

"I applied in 2007 but I stopped the process because I was so afraid to go back to El Salvador because i'll need to finish the process at the embassy in El Salvador," said Abigail.

That's because there's a long list of rules and regulations to become a legal resident.

"We have people that have been waiting to become legal residents since 1992. These are people whose parents applied for them to obtain legal residency, the parents are now legal residents but there are other regulations that need to be met and it's a long process," said Ana Aguirre with Catholic Charities.

There are too many rules to list and it's a long process.

Abigail Perez must move back to El Salvador for at least 8 months and apply for a waiver. All in hopes of becoming a legal resident.

"I'm hoping that when I go to El Salvador it will be a short time for me to be there because I have three kids and if I keep my kids over there for too long, they will have to go to school and it will stop the education they started here."

But depending on what happens, Abigail's only chance of moving back to America may be doing it illegally.

Submitted by Lucero Benitez, Central Coast News