Yosselin is a young woman from Guatemala who was abandoned by her father as an infant. Yosselin’s uncle was registered as her father on her birth certificate because it was improper for a child to not have a father in her culture. Yosselin never knew her real father and grew up living in extreme poverty with a mother who barely made enough to survive. As she got older, gang members started threatening Yosselin so that she would become “their woman.” Yosselin refused, both because of her Christian values and because she knew that young women who become romantic partners of gang members are often forced to commit crimes and are often raped and murdered. She fled to the United States to escape this violence and extreme poverty and to pursue her dream of continuing her studies.
With the help of New England Justice for Our Neighbors and the Northeast Justice Center, Yosselin was able to work with the Probate and Family Court and untangle her complex family history. The
official finding that she had been abandoned by her true father made her eligible for a Special Immigrant Juvenile Visa. Now Yosselin has obtained Special Immigrant Juvenile status and is awaiting the availability of the corresponding visa that will allow her to become a permanent resident of the United States and obtain the security and educational opportunities she deserves.