This is the emotional moment a father is finally reunited with three of his children after being separated for more than a year.
Three of Luis’ children, Wendy, 16, Kemberly, 12 and Dylan aged 9, are from a previous relationship and live north of Sacramento, California, with their mom, while Luis resided in Jalisco, Mexico.
He’s been married to his wife, Sandra, since March 2016, and in October 2017, they began the immigration process so he could legally reside in the U.S. with Sandra and their daughter, Janelly, aged six.
But after many difficulties and delays, they thought they were near the finish line in March 2022, but an expected two-week wait turned into 13 months.
And as Wendy, Kemberly and Dylan didn’t have passports yet, they were unable to travel to see Luis – until a Mandamus lawsuit Sandra filed prompted action on his case and in April 2023, he was approved.
After taking care of everything in Mexico, he later traveled back to California with Sandra on August 27, and they picked up his kids from school, where Luis hid in the back seat to surprise them.
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They knew Sandra had been to Mexico and usually brings them something home, but they had no idea their dad was the surprise gift this time.
Sandra said: “We were all reunited once again, and our family was finally complete – it was such a great feeling and still is that our nightmare is over.
“No more FaceTime calls, phone calls; we’re now together how a family should always be and our hearts are filled.
“I would just like to let everyone know that as tough as this was, it was worth it.
“Immigration is scary due to the unknown – we had a very tough year, and it is even harder hearing your baby girl pray for her daddy to come home, not knowing when that would be.
“The wait was well worth it even if it didn’t feel like it at first.”