PITTSBURGH -- Maria Patricia Corrales, 20, of Colombia, is back in the U.S. with her host family, but she said she is unsure for how much longer.

On April 11, she said she was trying to fly from the Pittsburgh airport to New Jersey to visit family when she was detained by immigration authorities for exceeding her visa. She said that she thought she had extended it.

"When they said, 'We have to take you to Allegheny County Jail,' I was like, 'What?' Yeah, I was scared," Corrales said.

Corrales said that immigration told her that she could marry President George W. Bush and she would still have to go back to Colombia.

Although she said that she has what's called a voluntary deportation, she was told that she will have to leave within 30 days.

Corrales was told that she is to spend the next 26 days in jail.

Most of the other detainees in jail with Corrales had come to the U.S. illegally, officials said.

Corrales boyfriend, Bob Chatlak, said that for days after she was detained, no one knew where she was or how she could get a bond hearing,

"I couldn't talk to anyone, so nobody knew what was going on with me," she said.

Corrales said she was transferred to the Cambria County Jail, where she found the staff didn't speak Spanish and many of the inmates couldn't speak English, so, despite her unhappiness, she said she became a translator.

"I saw other cases that were even worse than mine -- like a lot worse, so I tried to help as much as I can," Corrales said.

"Even though she knew she was being treated unfairly, she still felt the need to help out the employees at the prison with translation, and that to me is such an example of the type of person she is," Chatlak said.

Corrales said she still loves it in the U.S. and hopes to live here with Chatlak and would still tell other Colombians to come here.

Officials said Corrales would have spent more time in jail if she did not get help from an attorney from the Colombia En Pittsburgh organization, who said it saw WTAE Action News' first report last week. They said they will help Corrales for free.

Though Corrales must leave the U.S. within 30 days, she can reapply for a visa, though officials said they are not sure how long that will take.