Artist Makes Her Immigration Process the Subject of Her Art

Isadora Machado Lecuona, a 29-year-old artist, emigrated from Spain with her family at the age of nine.  Delays in her green card application have forced her to live from year to year on temporary visas that limit her ability to work and travel. 

However, Ms. Lecuona’s story differs from others who have had to wait long periods for the permanent residence to be approved, as she uses her artwork to communicate her immigration experience.  She incorporates the names of immigration forms she has filed over the years and uses her alien number, or A number, in place of a signature on her artwork. Ms. Lecuona’s portraits have won awards, most recently the grand prize in an exhibit at the Carriage Barn Art Center in New Canaan , Connecticut .

When she was four-years-old, Ms. Lecuona's family moved from Spain to Guadalajara , Mexico . At age nine, her family moved first to New York and then to Connecticut one-and-a-half years later.  In 1999, Ms. Lecuona’s mother and brother received their green cards.  However, Ms. Lecuona’s application as denied and she was threatened with deportation. During the six years it took to process the family's case, she had "aged-out" and could not longer be included as a minor child on her mother's application. At age 21, as an art and business student at Albany University , SUNY, Ms. Lecuona had to start her green card process all over again.

Immigrants now have recourse in such situations under the Child Status Protection Act, which freezes an applicant's age earlier in the process, so that they do not lose their immigration benefits when they turn 21.  However, the law, which was passed in 2002, was passed to late to benefit Ms. Lecuona.

Ms. Lecuona, who went through periods of not working since she could not obtain work authorization, now has an H-1B visa, and teaches Spanish at the New Canaan Country School in Connecticut , which is sponsoring her in her green card petition.

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