A day after she was granted a two-year waiver to stay in the United States, the North Miami Senior High School valedictorian facing deportation boarded a plane Wednesday to head to Washington for a meeting with Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
Daniela Pelaez said she was excited to be heading to the nation's capital to meet with Rubio, who invited the Pelaez family for a meeting.
"I'm excited because I've never been to Washington," Pelaez said before boarding an early morning flight, adding she expects "a great deal of support, otherwise they wouldn't have invited us."
Last week, an immigration judge ordered the deportation of the 18-year-old, who was brought illegally to the United States by her parents when she was 4 years old.
After receiving massive support from classmates, the community and lawmakers, she was granted a waiver on Tuesday that will allow her to stay in the country.
"[I'm] very happy and relieved that there's gonna be some help," Pelaez said Wednesday. "I never expected this at all, it's been a rollercoaster."
Pelaez has offers from several Ivy League schools, and is hoping the waiver can be extended to four years.
"My attorney is also going to petition for two more years, so four years in total, for us to be able to have time for my dad or someone else to petition for us as residents," Pelaez said.
The teen, who remains at the top of her class academically, said she wouldn't be taking much time off from her studies on the Washington trip.
"I actually have Hamlet in my bag, which I have to read for English class," she said.
