Wife of missing soldier receives green card

June 30, 2007

Yaderlin (Hiraldo) Jimenez, the wife of missing US soldier Spc. Alex Jimenez, who was due to be deported has been granted a Green Card by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Mrs. Jimenez's Immigration troubles began shortly after her wedding to Spc. Jimenez on June 14, 2004, at Fort Drum, NY where his U.S. Army unit was stationed. When the couple attempted to cross the border between the U.S. and Canada on their honeymoon, the newlyweds were detained, held for several hours and released.

In 2006, the couple were granted a deferment of immigration proceedings until Spc. Jimenez returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq. However on June 20 the government announced its intent to deport Yaderlin Jimenez, despite the  fact that her husband was declared missing along with two other soldiers, last month.

The case quickly received national attention and the involvement of influential U.S. Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry. Two days later, Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff announced that he had instructed immigration authorities to take immediate action to resolve the case of Yaderlin Jimenez.

Yesterday, while standing victorious with his client on the steps of Citizenship and Naturalization Services building in downtown Buffalo, NY, Jimenez's attorney Matthew Kolken said now that this ordeal is behind her, she can return to "using all of her focus and energies to hope and pray that her husband's going to come home alive."