Mao first came to New Zealand as a tourist in 2014 while she was working as a sales manager in Italy. While on holiday here, she met and fell in love with her now husband Tang Liang, 38, a plumber and gas fitter from Auckland.
"We are both originally from Dalian and had so much in common, everything wasn't planned but he proposed and we decided to get married," Mao said.
The couple married in July 2014, and had their first child, Aries, in March 2015 and their second, Aria, in 2017.
"I applied for a visa after the birth of my first child, but when that was declined I just didn't know what to do," she said.
"I did not plan to overstay, I had a job back in Italy, but because of my medical condition I couldn't travel so decided to stay on."
Mao said her pregnancies had always been "complicated and unstable", and she had two miscarriages before the birth of her second child.
According to a North Shore Hospital note seen by the Herald, Mao had bleeding and pain in early pregnancy. Its diagnosis was "miscarriage/ante partum haemorrhage suspected".
A note dated May 28 from her midwife Colleen Chu said Mao was 14 weeks' pregnant, and a scan on May 20 showed "baby still alive".
"She is bleeding and low and sore ... needs to be very careful about stress," the note said.
Chu recommended bed rest and not to travel at all because of her history of miscarriages.
"I am so worried I will lose my baby again," Mao said.
Liang said the family would be "ripped apart" if Mao was deported.
"Amy has no one back in China anymore, and our children are both New Zealand citizens who will not be able to adjust back there," Liang said.
"I have lived in New Zealand for 20 years now, and everything I have is here, so I too will not be able to go back to China."
Liang said they did not contact INZ because it had made it clear that Mao did not have any other pathway for appeal and deportation was the only option.
INZ manager Dave Campbell said Mao's visa expired on June 25, 2015. She had applied for a further visitor visa on December 10 that year, but this was declined.
"No further visa applications have been received by Ms Mao and she has remained in New Zealand unlawfully since," Campbell said.
Although Mao has yet to be served a deportation order - meaning the agency was not currently undertaking deportation action - he said it had contacted her "in writing".
"On 16 May 2019, INZ contacted Ms Mao in writing to advise her of her unlawful immigration status and that she was required to leave New Zealand or may be at risk of INZ taking deportation action against her," Campbell said.
Mao was told in the letter she must leave NZ immediately, and she did not have any further right of appeal against deportation.
It also gave her three options - a self deportation, non-custodial deportation or a custodial deportation where she would be served a deportation order, taken into custody and be deported from the country.
"Ms Mao was informed that she had 14 days to contact INZ to discuss her case or if she had any questions," Campbell added.
"To date, INZ has not received any response from Ms Mao regarding the requirement for her to leave New Zealand or any information relating to her medical condition."
Campbell said Mao should contact INZ directly to discuss her situation.
