Ángela Muñoz was born in Zacatecas and raised in Ciudad Juárez. She came to the United States with her husband and spent the next 23 years without leaving — no trips home, no funerals, no hugging her mother.
This year, that ended. She has her green card. Her husband’s is pending. She’s booking a flight to see her mom.
On this episode of the Alejandra Campos Podcast, she talks about the cost of those years, and attorney Alejandra Campos lays out the legal options most people in her situation have never been told about.
“Work, home, work, home”
Ángela is direct about what she gave up. “If they asked me to do it again, I’d think twice,” she says.
Parents get sick and you can’t go. They die and you can’t go. The years become a routine — work, home, work, home — and the friends you make here slowly become the family you have.
There were smaller costs too. When her daughter had to appear in court, Ángela was too afraid to go with her.
She found the firm from a flyer posted at the warehouse where she worked, and she hesitated before calling. Immigration fraud is everywhere, and she wasn’t sure the flyer was real. She called anyway.
What Most People Get Wrong About “Fixing” Their Status
The core message of the episode: a family petition is not the only door.
Attorney Campos points to a pattern she sees constantly — someone asks one attorney one narrow question, hears “that’s not possible,” and concludes nothing is possible. “You weren’t told it’s impossible,” she says. “You were told it’s impossible in that category.”
Here are the routes she walks through.
If you were the victim of a crime in the U.S.
This is the one most people don’t know. If you were the victim of a qualifying crime in the United States and you reported it and cooperated with law enforcement, you may be able to obtain status — regardless of how you entered the country, and even if the crime happened years ago.
In 2023, someone broke into Ángela’s apartment while she and her husband were sleeping. Their dog barked, her husband got up, and the intruder ran. They filed a police report. That report matters.
Attorney Campos urges people not to pre-judge what “counts.” Armed robberies of delivery drivers, home invasions, assaults, domestic violence — and, she says, even incidents like a serious dog attack are worth having reviewed, because the list of qualifying crimes is broader than most people assume. The police report number is what makes the case buildable.
If a petition was filed for you before April 30, 2001
Under Section 245(i), a family or employment petition filed on or before April 30, 2001 can “grandfather” you — meaning that even if you entered without inspection, you may be able to adjust status inside the United States rather than leaving and risking a bar. A penalty fee applies. Many Mexican families have an old petition sitting in a drawer and don’t know what it’s worth.
If you were exploited at work or forced to come here
Labor exploitation is common and under-reported: being told to get false papers, being underpaid, never being paid overtime. Human trafficking cases also qualify — Campos describes a client who was pushed across the border against her will to distract law enforcement while others crossed. Both can lead to lawful status.
If you have a child or teenager here without status
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status is, in Campos’s words, better than DACA, because it leads to permanent residence. A minor — in Colorado, under 21 — who has experienced abandonment, abuse, or lack of financial support may qualify. The process runs through family court, where guardianship is formalized with the aunt, uncle, or family friend the child was sent to live with.
Parents often assume this doesn’t apply because they’re good parents who sent their child here for safety. Campos’s point: a parent living in another country who can send $50 a month is, legally speaking, unable to provide support — and that can be enough. The filing must happen before the child turns 21.
If you’re losing TPS
TPS for El Salvador ended on September 9, 2026, after roughly 25 years, affecting hundreds of thousands of people who built entire lives here.
Campos’s advice to anyone losing a temporary status: don’t assume the door is closed. Over twenty-plus years in this country, many people have experienced something — a crime, domestic violence, workplace exploitation — that opens a different route. Get it reviewed before you accept a 30-day departure.
“Don’t Wait Out of Fear”
Ángela filed in 2025 and received approval about a year later — longer than the six months it might once have taken.
Attorney Campos’s read on the delay is worth hearing: yes, scrutiny is tighter and processing is slower. But immigration is still working, and cases still get approved. “Imagine if you hadn’t filed anything out of fear,” she tells Ángela. “You still wouldn’t be able to leave the country.”
Ángela’s own message to people still sitting on the fence: ask. Ask again. Get convinced.
👉 If you need legal support, contact us at +1 (844) 922-6767. At Campos Law Firm, consultations are FREE.
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