It is 2007 and Julissa Arce is troubled because his father is ill and she cannot go to visit him. He lives in Mexico, she lives in New York. Why Julissa cannot go see her dad? Despite a successful career at Goldman Sachs during seven years of hard in which she kept on escalading positions from intern to vice president, Julissa at that point was an illegal immigrant in the United States.
No one knew of her 27 years as an illegal immigrant. No one suspected that while she was performing her work with complete professionalism and safety, she was terrified that someone discovered that her green card and Social Security number were fake.
Julissa Arce came to live in Texas when she was 11. His parents regularly traveled to that city to sell jewelry and got Julissa a tourist visa. In one of those travels to Texas the family decided to stay and live in San Antonio permanently. Julissa showed great intelligence and was quickly placed in the top of the top. When her visa expired she was afraid to leave it all behind.
Despite being an immigrant she continued going to school and living a normal life. In 2001, a new law made it probable for undocumented Texas students to go to college. That was how Julissa began studying Finance at the University of Texas and fueling her talents.
It was after the death of his father in 2007, when Julissa considered the possibility of returning to Mexico leaving all her worries behind. Her boyfriend dissuaded her from such a drastic plan and proposed to her to help her obtain citizenship. Julissa had everything, a green card, great salary and was a really successful woman in her work, but she felt emptier than ever.
Arce decided to leave her job at Goldman Sachs and became the director of Define American, a non-profit organization that seeks to defend the rights of immigrants in the United States and allege their stories, because like herself, many undocumented immigrants could achieve amazing things if they are only given the chance.