...Approved!

On Monday morning, Mike & I had our interview for his application for permanent residency in the US. We left the house by 6, took Miss Marley to doggy daycare, and began our 2hour journey to our assigned USCIS office. We both sat in the car, nervous and apprehensive about what would happen during our interview. We had heard some horrible things; sometimes the agent will grill you on your relationship, asking specific questions about family or friends or your past (not a problem for us, but the thought was still intimidating), and then ask you questions alone about one another and about finances and future plans and all other crazy things.

 Our biggest concern was the fact that I'm his primary financial sponsor. Me. Miss Medical-School-Debt-Will-Be-Over-A-Quarter-Of-A-Million-Dollars; Miss I-Haven't-Seen-A-Paycheck-In-Over-Two-Years; Miss I-Work-Eighty-Hours-A-Week-Yet-Actually-Pay-$10-An-Hour-To-Do-So. Thankfully, my parents have agreed to be the secondary sponsor, or we would have never even had a case. We probably wouldn't have had an interview; it would have been flat out denied. No amount of love any two people have for each other matters to immigration if you don't have the money. So we were concerned about how we could possibly prove to them that we won't be a financial burden on the US, won't ever claim benefits, and will be hard-working, tax-paying residents.

We gathered together huge amounts of documentation and evidence to support our application, and I added a lot of extras in regards to being in medical school rather than earning money (added my transcripts, letters from clerkship directors, letter from the college of medicine stating that I am in good standing, loan documents, job prospects with predicted associated earnings, etc.). After sitting in the waiting room for over an hour (we arrived far too early for fear of missing the appointment and being automatically denied), we were finally called in to the office of a middle-aged woman. We sat down, swore to tell the truth, and were video-recorded for our interview. We stated our names, address, date of birth, social security number, parents' names, and places of birth. Then she asked us how we met, which Mike told her, and asked us other questions about one another. All simple stuff, really. Then she asked to look at any prepared evidence regarding our relationship, so we handed her our photobook, bills, leases, credit cards, bank statements, other photos, printouts of our Facebook pages which showed our engagement photos and our friends congratulations, and other things like that. When she opened the photobook and asked us about Marley, we went on to have a long conversation about our dog. She's our daughter, really, so of course when her name is brought up in conversation we can go on about her forever! Then we talked about soccer (of course, can't have a 5-minute conversation with Mike without soccer being brought up), and she handed us a piece of paper while she said "I'll be recommending your application for approval. You should receive the official notice in the mail within the next 30 days." 


In the office, there were no congratulations, no smiles, no celebration whatsoever. The officer walked us to the door and we thanked her for the interview. Finally, we walked outside of the building, holding hands, and we just looked at each other and smiled. We did it. It's been a long road, and we've been through so many visas, but now it's finally over. No more visa troubles. No more immigration hassles. No more worry of deportation or fierce questioning in the airport. The people we have talked with that have been through immigration and green card applications thought we were absolutely crazy for doing this on our own, without a lawyer or a law firm or an immigration law team helping us. They didn't think we could possibly be able to take on so many forms, so much documentation, so much supporting evidence. And if we messed it up, we would be out a whole lot of money on top of everything else. But we did it. We've done it before, we've been through loads of immigration paperwork and changing statuses and proving this and justifying that, and we've always come through with approval. But to do this and do it properly, to have done all of this work on our own without so much as advice from anyone, and to be accepted so quickly is something I am so proud of.

We went for a little stroll around the city (Mike had never been there before), drove through the business district, walked through the markets, and grabbed a delicious gyro from a place made famous on "Man Vs. Food" before we headed home to celebrate with each other over some cake a few glasses of wine. (The Champagne is waiting to be popped when we receive the Green Card in the mail!) What a journey! So happy to see it end! ;)

Relieved!

 The Status has Officially Been Updated!!!

Little celebration drinks

Celebration Cake (it's a rare event to have a sweet in our house, must be a celebration!)

Man Vs Food famous kebabs!

I'm overly excited!

Yummmm, a Liverpool end-of-a-night-out staple food:

 Market:

Marley had a great time socializing with the other doggies at daycare. She was in a large play area with dogs that are her size, and she played with them and the people working there all day. She came home with her tail wagging!...until we mentioned "bath time"!