MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Harvard University student who was stuck for months in Mexico after crossing the border without permission said Wednesday he hopes to be back in the United States in less than a week after being granted a humanitarian visa.

Dario Guerrero Meneses, who was taken from Mexico to California by his parents at age 2 and only learned of his illegal status as a young adult, left the U.S. to accompany his dying mother who was seeking alternative cancer treatments. The 21-year-old told The Associated Press he will fulfill her last request and carry her ashes to the family’s home in Los Angeles.