Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesica Croci
Hi Jesica, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Since I was very little, I dreamed of living in the city of Miami. I was 8 years old when I first said that I would live in Miami as an adult. Nobody took me seriously. When my parents died when I was 23, I came to Miami for the first time, but I was too young, and I couldn’t do it. It was very difficult for me and I returned, terrified, to Argentina, my country.
I spent many years dreaming of returning to Miami, until 2017, when I came on vacation. One day, enjoying the beach, I looked around and said to myself: “I’m staying here.” I looked at the sky and asked God to help me because I didn’t even know where to start this new life I had just decided on. I was alone and didn’t know anyone.
I began to wander from one place to another, I even slept for a little over a month in a car and “bathed” in public bathrooms. Until I stayed in a hostel and lived there for about 7 months. I did all the jobs that came my way, from cleaning houses, waitressing, dishwasher, saleswoman, everything to get ahead. Nothing and no one were going to stop me or take away my dream.
Little by little I got comfortable and was able to rent a bed in an apartment with 4 other people. From there I went to another and another, until I found a roommate with whom we could rent together and an apartment for ourselves.
There I began to study to be a paralegal, but what I liked most was immigration. In Argentina I always read articles about immigration in the United States because I wanted to find the opportunity to obtain residency in this country. So, when I began to study paralegal, I discovered that I not only liked immigration, but that I loved it.
At that time, I met a man whom I married a year later, and he was the angel who opened the way for me to obtain residency.
When I wanted to do my process I did not have money to pay a lawyer or a preparer, so I decided to do my own process. I made many mistakes, in fact immigration returned my process 3 times… 3 times!!!. There I realized that it was very important to know how to fill out the forms and present all the documents and evidence for the process to be successful.
By researching, I found places where I could study to be an immigration form preparer. With each class and each new topic that I learned, I loved immigration more. I had finally found my passion. I remember taking a break from a class and saying to myself, “First I’m going to work with an immigration attorney to gain experience, and then I’m going to have my own immigration firm.” And so, I did.
First, I worked with a lawyer who didn’t allow me to have the experience I wanted because they wouldn’t give me the job of paralegal in immigration, they gave me administrative tasks. One day I decided to go out and look for what I really wanted. I got a job with another lawyer where I could put all my knowledge to work and get the experience I needed. Every client who achieved residency or citizenship was a wonderful achievement for me and I celebrated it as if it were my own process. I have received a lot of love and hugs from clients who came to the office with a lot of anguish, tears, nerves, questions, and soon they were already residents of the United States.
In parallel to working in this office, I set up my company (JC Immigration Services) and began to have my own clients. Most of my clients have been referred by other clients because until now I never advertised or dedicated myself to social networks.
I must confess that sometimes I couldn’t believe that I was getting clients from other cities, not just Miami, and the comments from my clients. One of them almost made me cry one day because he told me that the best thing that had happened to him since he came to the United States was meeting me and that I helped him get his green card.
Beyond my extensive knowledge of immigration issues, which I study and update all the time, I put a lot of passion and love into my work. When I start working with my clients, I explain to them how everything will be, I answer absolutely everything they want to know, I always answer their calls or messages (even on Sundays). I dedicate myself to being close to them at all times because I know very well what they feel and what they are going through. I know about every anguish, every uncertainty. And what makes me happiest is giving them the news that they have obtained their residency or citizenship.
I call them “my chicks” and I am like a mother hen. And I do it because I do not like them to go through this path alone. I know that it is a very distressing path and that it generates anxiety, that is why I am always there for them, whether it is to answer their questions, encourage them or reassure them.
I am 55 years old and today I can say that I have finally found what I am passionate about doing. That’s why I work in immigration.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have met lawyers who did not want to hire me because I had no experience, but I kept looking for what I wanted. Until one day a lawyer told me “I don’t care that you don’t have experience, that can be done, but what matters to me is your passion and love for this job…that can’t be done, that is carried in the heart.”
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I love to help people, people who are in the same place that I was, and I know what they feel. I am known for my excellent work for any immigration process, and for the love and attention that I give to every client. I am proud of me because I am doing great, and I did a lot from 0 to…the limit is the sky.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Dreams do come true, but you have to go for them.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @jc_immigrationservices
- Facebook: JC Immigration Services
