To whom it may concern,

I am a colombian citizen, an attorney, currently living in Bogota, Colombia. I have been a legal alien with social security and authorization to work since 2000, while my asylum application was pending. On January 2007 my application for asylum, based on political persecution by the FARC guerrilla, was denied by the Board of Immigration Appeals and I was deported on February 2007. I appealed the decision before the 11th Circuit Court and won the appeal on January 2008. The case was remanded to the immigration judge for further proceedings consistent with this decision.

My attorney told me I am now able to come back to the States as a legal alien in order to appear before an immigration judge probably within a year to be granted the asylum status. In the meantime, while I was deported, the condo I bought in Aventura, Florida is now in PREFORECLOSURE, and I was not able to make any payments to other creditors such as credit cards, a personal loan and my car, since I have not been able to work while I am here. I had never ever missed a payment before in my life and have always been very responsible with my credit.

After doing lots of research on the status of my credit obligations and trying to find possible solutions to the problem, I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible for me to come back to the United States. My financial situation, as a consequence of my deportation, is very bad, my credit is absolutely wrecked and I cannot afford living in the United States while I find a job. Even if I found a job, I owe a disproportionate amount of money that I will not be able to pay back and I am not eligible for bankruptcy.

My deportation caused an enormous wreck in my credit due to my inability to comply with my obligations with creditors ,since I have not been able to work while I am here. Moreover, I learned through my findings, that I am not able to protect my assets by filing bankruptcy, since I will come back as a legal alien, without a status, and not as a permanent resident of the United States. Florida bankruptcy courts have held that an alien debtor can file bankruptcy if he can demonstrate the intent and ability to be a permanent Florida resident. In order to even be able to argue intent of permanent residency a person must have a permanent visa or “green card.” My condo is in PREFORECLOSURE and most likely will reach FORECLOSURE soon, since at this time it is very tough to find an investor to do a 'short sale'. I am trying hard to locate an investor, but it is not easy. Besides, it is not proper to fight the FORECLOSURE at the end since there is not enough equity.

For all these reasons, I definitely have to realize that after all the efforts made, I will have to remain here in Colombia. I would like to know if there is a legal way for immigration to respond for the economic damages I suffered. I had never missed a payment during all the years I lived and worked in the States and now I lost everything and could not even afford to come back and survive while I appear at the next hearing where my asylum status will be decided.

Sincerely,

Ximena Sanz de Santamaria

Pd: Please contact me via email at xsanzebra@hotmail.com since I am out of the country.