Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page Z5

Immigration program keeps family united Provision for military isn't widely known role in Place. "This allows people with unlawful presence who have a spouse in active duty military to be granted a legal fiction saying they entered legally, circumventing having to leave and having to get the waiver," Flanagan said. In a August 2010 letter to Congress, former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wrote, "On a case-by-case basis, DHS utilizes parole and deferred action to minimize periods of family separation, and to facilitate adjustment of status within the United States by immigrants who are the spouses, parents and children of military members." Immigration attorney Margaret Stock said that because the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has no official memorandum for Parole in Place, not many attorneys know about it and few have used it. For Maria, the process turned out to be simple.

"All they did was look at my paperwork and approved my residency for one year," she said. "Then, after that, it was only three months until I had my interview" for legal permanent residency. At the November 2011 interview, Maria was approved as a legal permanent resident. Two weeks later, she got her green card. "I call it the military pass," Flanagan said.

"You have a spouse in the military and you get some special benefits. It's totally out of the ordinary. It's like a magic button." The Quiring family feels the same way. "That was probably the best news I had heard in a long time," Jared said. "I leave in a couple months for Korea for a year.

I know she's going to be OK when I return." And his wife feels safe, too, knowing she's lives in the country legally. "I'm at peace and at ease knowing I'm safe and fine here," Maria said. "But I do want to become a U.S. citizen. I'm already studying for my test." Next year, she can apply for citizenship.

"I told my husband it's better they messed up my paperwork the first time," she said. "What people intend for evil, God intends for good." By Kendra Szabo Cronkite News Service Maria Quiring's son was just months old the day the deportation notice arrived at her El Mirage home. Despite her marriage of five years to a U.S. Air Force serviceman, Quiring was ordered back to her native Mexico. "I was so afraid of the door," Maria said.

"My little one was a baby. You see all this on the news, so I thought they would come to my door with guns and take me and leave my kids." "I didn't know if I would lose her," said her husband, Jared, a technical sergeant stationed at Luke Air Force Base. Without a Department of Homeland Security policy called Parole in Place, Maria would not be where she is today, watching her now 5-year-old son, J.J., assemble a Hungry Hungry Hippos game on the floor. Parole in Place, an unofficial policy allowing certain immigrants to adjust their legal status. It began as a way to protect citizens of Cuba, crime victims and battered women.

But in 2008, under the George W. Bush administration, the U.S. government announced military families could qualify. Maria left her home country of Mexico as a 19-year-old in 1999 when her former husband brought her to the United States illegally. After a year and a half, they were divorced.

Three years later, in 2004, she married Jared Quiring. She applied for citizenship. In 2009 she got a letter stating that because she entered the country unlawfully, she would be deported. Maria would barred from returning to the United States for 10 years before she could return and apply for citizenship again. "I was devastated," Maria said.

"My whole world was turned upside down. It meant not getting to be with my kids or husband for up to 10 years. It was chaotic." Military personnel are not allowed to travel to Mexico, which meant Jared would not be able to see her. "The first thing I did was ask my commander for permission to visit her and he pretty much said no," he said. It was Phoenix immigration attorney Judy Flanagan who told Maria about Pa We understand that your mammogram may be abnormal, but your reaction to the news isn't.

At the Breast Program at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, all diagnostic tests are done at your first appointment so you can get the answers you need quickly. And, if treatment is needed, our team of specialists collaborate to customize a plan for you. If you have an abnormal mammogram, call us immediately (480) 256-4584. Banner MD Anderson Quicoe Center Making Cancer History US 60 Higley Road BannerMDAnderson.com Connect with us: AR-0008061989-01.