This is a story of legal immigration to the United States and forced family separation. When a mother took her three children to the USA Consul's office in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to get visas to immigrate to New York City in 1967, it changed their lives forever. The consul advised the mother that she could not immigrate together with her children. First she would have to get a visa for the USA, establish a place of residence, and provide proof of income in order to petition for her children to join her in New York. The three children, two girls and a boy, were left behind in boarding schools for two years. At least, the sisters were together during that time. The family followed the rules and came here legally. However, the separation fractured the family forever and it has never been the same. They are not close even today. In New York, the mother created her own social circle and the sisters made new friends. The boy became detached from the family, but socialized in school and neighborhood. He never became too close to anyone and has no emotional bond until this day. Forced family separation was thrusted upon legal immigrants as well. This is one of the stories.

Javier Mendoza was born on 1959 in Ecuador. He attended six private schools and catholic schools in Guayaquil and Rocafuerte by the time he finished the fifth grade. When he was ten years old he arrived with his two sisters in Manhattan in May of 1970. His mother constantly moved the family; they lived in six different apartments until they bought a house in Queens, NY in 1977. Mr. Mendoza graduated from the High School of Graphic Communication Arts in 1976 and enrolled in four different colleges before he graduated from St. Joseph's College in Patchogue, NY, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Organizational Management in 2001. Mr. Mendoza worked on Wall Street for twenty years and later worked as a Management Consultant for fifteen years.