'You only get as far as your efforts': This man from Peru was detained in 2010 and received asylum shortly after — he's now a US citizen who makes $420,000 a year with his wife. Here's how

Here’s how Nuñez and his wife made their American dream a reality.

From Peru to Virginia

At the age of 14, Nuñez says he left Lima, Peru, with his mother and traveled north to cross into the U.S. via Mexico.

“Our life was very difficult back in Peru,” he said. “My mom really struggled. She saw the assassination of her parents right in front of her. She suffered domestic violence.”

For a while, Nuñez and his mom lived as undocumented immigrants in Ashburn, Virginia. He eventually enrolled in a nursing college, where he met his wife, Stefani Nicole Penaranda. But when Penaranda’s parents, who didn’t approve of Nuñez, threatened to have him deported if he didn’t annul the marriage, he tried to cross into Canada to seek asylum in 2010. Unable to lawfully gain asylum north of the border, Nuñez was sent back to America, where he says he was detained for two months before he was able to argue his case in court and convince a judge to grant him asylum in the U.S.

This allowed him to return to his wife in Virginia in 2011. In the years that followed, Nuñez and Penaranda set up multiple businesses, acquired assets for passive income and gave birth to two sons. Nuñez also became a U.S. citizen.

Multiple income streams

Nuñez ditched nursing school, citing the high cost, and instead obtained a degree in cybersecurity. This allowed him to get a job as a government IT contractor, which brings in $113,000 annually. He supplements this income by working as a freelance consultant, last year earning over $3,500 from this side gig.

Penaranda operates a daycare center from the couple’s home, looking after 12 kids. That adds another $168,000 a year to the family income.