Liliana Posada with her brother, José Posada Muñoz: “There is help out there, don’t be afraid to ask for it.”

My name is Liliana Posada and my brother is José Posada Muñoz. We were born in Colombia, South America. We were close growing up; we were just three—two brothers and myself. My brother is a chemical engineer, and I am a marine biologist. Even when we were professionals in Colombia, we were always looking for a better quality of life. 

My brother José came to Philadelphia in 1999, two years before me. The situation in Colombia wasn’t good. I struggled to get jobs. Then my brother invited me to come. I went to school, studied English, married an American, and started a new life here. I am a medical and legal Spanish interpreter. I was the first to become a citizen in 2007.

My brother was a legal permanent resident for 15 years. He started the naturalization process several years ago. But after the pandemic, everything went bad for him. He had a lot of medical problems and he’s been out of work for almost five years. He was a truck driver, driving big trucks for companies, but he had two strokes and he couldn’t get any jobs. Then he was doing all sorts of small things that he could do to survive. It was a big mess, and his naturalization didn’t go through because of various issues related to his health. 

One of his friends recommended he contact Erick Barragan from Catholic Social Services Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Erick is the one who helped this friend become a citizen as well. José went to him in the middle of 2023 to file the N-400. In the beginning of November, he went to the hospital for a stress test. When the doctor saw his heart problems it became a real nightmare: he went into surgery for a triple bypass; he had a brain edema; he had kidney failure; he had lung issues. 

At this point, he got his appointment with immigration and was scheduled for his interview. I told Erick, “José’s in the hospital. He coded three times. I don’t even know if he is going to make it.” Erick immediately asked me for a letter from his cardiologist. He then sent a letter to the immigration officer and requested to reschedule. José was in the hospital for three and a half months. He spent another three and a half months in a nursing home. Erick sent me a letter saying that he was going to request a waiver and he filed the N-648. The Form N-648 exempts naturalization applicants from the English language requirement and/or the civics test due to a medical condition.

When José was discharged from the nursing home, he needed a lot of help. He couldn’t walk. He was supposed to get homecare, but I was never able to get it. I couldn’t take care of him, so I was able to send him to my family in Colombia. While José was away, I got another call from Erick and he said he had rescheduled his interview twice and I better bring him back, because if not he will miss his opportunity to become a U.S. citizen. 

I coordinated with my younger brother to bring José back to Philadelphia. Within a week after José returned, he went to his immigration interview with Erick and my husband. I needed to be in Colombia at the time. A good friend of mine, an interpreter, went with him to interpret for him during the interview. And then my husband phoned me, and said, “You’re not going to believe this—José is a citizen! He just passed!” I couldn’t believe it. We were celebrating down there because I honestly told my family, “I think it’s going to be very difficult. It’s going to be a very hard process.” He had been denied once before. 

José [translated by Liliana]: The day of the interview, I felt that the officer was a very nice person. I was super nervous. He was speaking in English, very slowly. The person that was helping me with the interpretation, was allowed to interpret and I was given the questions in Spanish. Having Erick standing behind me was the biggest support. 

José did an excellent job. He studied for the questions, and he knew the answers. But Erick made it possible. He is a hero for us, he is really an outstanding, good-hearted, great professional. He’s an amazing human being. Really! It would have been impossible for José without the N-648. My understanding is that it is very hard to prove to the government that you are not able to learn the language. Erick helped him prove that my brother was unable to learn the language and to take that test in English. 

I was there when José went back to take his oath on November 1, 2024. I was super happy the day that I took my own naturalization oath, but it was incredible the day I saw José, 20 years after coming to the U.S., becoming a citizen. It was a great moment because a few months before, I thought José was going to die, and there I was, watching him go up to get his little flag and receive his certificate. I was in tears. I was more emotional than the day I became a citizen.

For anyone who is nervous about applying for the N-648, I would say look for an attorney who has the knowledge, who is specialized in the field, who knows what they’re doing. Because it’s not a joke. I know a lot of people who have tried, but they have tried through the wrong channels. They go and they find out that it’s hard, then they get scared, and they don’t try it again. 

If you don’t speak the language, you feel shame, you get scared. That’s when people fall behind. They don’t go out there and ask for help. It’s your life in this country. It’s your American Dream. If you want it, you better be serious about it and find the right professional to help you do it. There is help out there, don’t be afraid to ask for it.