in the right direction in the time we needed , '' Soloway told CNN . He made the request to halt deportation based on Alcota 's marriage to Ojeda , who is a U.S. citizen , and on Alcota 's `` strong moral character , family presence , and deep ties to members of the community . '' Alcota lives with Ojeda in Queens , where she restores antiques . Until Monday , life for Alcota and Ojeda had been put on hold for two years . Alcota had been living in the United States for more than 10 years since overstaying her tourist visa , when she was pulled off a Greyhound bus in July of 2009 and taken into a detention center in Elizabeth , New Jersey , Ojeda explained . Ojeda , a social worker in Queens , traveled two expensive hours by subway , bus , train , and sometimes cab -- there and back every day for three months -- to see Alcota . `` Looking back on those days , we have come so far , we have accomplished something really big , '' Ojeda said . The couple was married in Connecticut in
New York -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A New York woman releases a deep sigh of relief as she reflects on a court ruling that her spouse will not be torn from her by the looming threat of deportation . `` Now we can make plans , and we have all the time in the world , '' Cristina Ojeda , 26 , tells CNN . Monday , she received a letter confirming the ruling by Immigration Judge Terry Bain that will allow her wife , Argentina-born Monica Alcota , 36 , to stay in the United States , according to the couple 's attorney , Lavi Soloway . Soloway said this is the first time the government had asked an immigration court to close removal proceedings against a spouse in a same-sex couple since the Department of Homeland Security announced November 17 that a `` working group '' would be reviewing all pending immigration cases . The group began the process of identifying and closing `` low priority '' deportation cases three days after Soloway submitted the request to close Alcota 's immigration case , the attorney said . `` We 're really gratified because we feel that government moved