You might have thought that getting my K-1 finance visa was the end of the story, as far as my entanglement with bureaucracy goes, but you’d be wrong. Now that I’m here in the USA
It’s actually the collection of evidence that’s the major pain, however rather than the adjustment of status application itself. As well as the proof that we were are married, Abby has to present proof that she is financially solvent and can support me. That means piles of tax returns that have to be sorted through and copied, as well as letters from her boss and months and months of bank statements, amongst other things. As well as the green card application, I’ve also had to apply for temporary travel documents and temporary employment permission, so that I have the option of traveling and working while we wait for the adjustment of status application to be processed. The whole package of five application forms and status adjustment evidence that I needed for seeking permanent residence was so big and heavy it cost $14 for the postage! (That’s on top of the $980 we had to pay for the processing of the application!)
As we were married in February, we could have applied for my permanent residence earlier, in theory, but getting a joint bank account to use as evidence of our partnership turned out to be more trouble than we anticipated and stalled us. Plus, it’s especially tough for Abby having to spend what little spare time that she has in the evenings and weekends on collecting and sorting all the financial documents for my status adjustment.
Anyway, the forms are all in and we’re there now hopefully. I will have to go for a USCIS biometrics appointment at some point, but that shouldn’t be too much of a problem hopefully (though I wish they could just use the existing collection of iris scans and fingerprints that have been collected from me at customs on my regular trips to the USA, rather than me going through it all again). The USCIS adjustment of status interview is discretionary, so I hope they won’t call us in for one of those.
It will be such a relief when my permanent residence is finally granted (assuming it is!) and I get my green card!
Gator and snake update
Its not too late to join the linky party - it will be open all week :)
ReplyDeleteG'day Paul, thanks for visiting my blog...interesting story about the gator and the snake. I'm sure it's very challenging for you as I realise here in U.K. there's nothing too harmful or scary in the undergrowth. In fact it's a nice change as we did live briefly in QLD which is in the tropics up north in Australia. Apparently there were taipans everywhere (although we didn't see any) and bird eating spiders, which I was particularly loathe to meet! My husband has played golf with crocodiles asleep on the course, a story we love to tell the Brits! Enjoy your adventure. Rob
ReplyDeleteOh I feel for you with all that application / proof of relationship stuff. We went through that when my Belgian husband was applying for permanent residence in Australia, it was soooo much work - we had to submit candid family photos; letters; declarations; bank stuff; travel itineries.. blah, it was horrible. And everything had to be photocopied and witnessed by a JP. Such a waste of time. We created a "love file" and kept every little thing we could, and in the end it was all OK and I doubt they even looked at it all :/
ReplyDeleteGood luck with yours!! And with those 'gators too ;)
@Happy Homemaker UK - I've joined now, thank you very much for the invite, there are some great expat blogs on there! I've been reading through some of them this aft! :-)
ReplyDelete@Robynne's nest - Well, Australia has the worst when it comes to dangerous spiders, snakes etc. Plus Crocs are more aggressive than gators. There's very little that's threatening in the UK, unless you live on a rough inner city estate and have to cope with the vicious dogs that roam around!
ReplyDelete@Rhi - yes, I agree, they probably just glance at most of the "evidence", tick a box, and shove it in a drawer never to be seen again! There's not much that can be done, however, except follow the rules and toe the line!
ReplyDeleteOh that sucks. Although, often the things that are worth the effort are those that take a little sweat. Soon enough it will be a distant memory and all of your efforts will be concentrated on keeping away from that scary gator!!
ReplyDeleteNeverending fun, the paperwork! If only those alligators could eat red tape.
ReplyDeleteClearly America dose everything bigger and better - including bureaucracy!!!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with that Paul.
As for gators and snakes and spiders, it must be quite scarey as over here we are totally unused to that sort of thing
@Romina - that's what I keep telling myself! :-)
ReplyDelete@ Angus - that would be the perfect solution! haha!
ReplyDelete@David Agnew - Yes, I am certainly not used to the strange beasties here! I suspect that the UK has its own version of red tape that it uses for foreigners who move there!
And we wonder why we have so many illegal aliens in America!
ReplyDeleteIt does seem like a lot of fuss and bother, but well worth the effort in the long run. Keep looking ahead.
As for beasties--you still haven't experienced fire ants and mosquitoes--not to mention gnats, chiggers, and ticks.
But, like the paperwork, encountering wildlife is all worth the bother. The Southern US is one of the most beautiful regions on Earth. Of course, I'm biased, having lived in Northeast GA (one of the most beautiful places in the Southern US) all my life.
I have enjoyed all your posts. It’s enlightening to see America through the eyes of another culture. Tell us some of the things you love about living here.
And, I know for a fact that Mr. Agnew has a friendly spider living behind the cistern in his bathroom. *grin* Of course, a couple of ours are poisonous.
Shirley
It might have been better to skip all that and form your own country on a boat or something, isnt the US government a hoot, good luck, Kevin
ReplyDeleteGood luck! Few things are as frustrating as red tape. On the other end over here, I'm trying to pass the UK driving test this week :) It's a toughy
ReplyDeleteFun to read your posts/comments! Hope things ease up for you and you start settling in, back in the good 'ole US of A! The gators are a bit scary! Think you'd find me on a treadmill instead! :) Safer! :) Thanks for following! Best of luck to you!
ReplyDelete@Shirley I'm certainly not an anti-immigrant sort of person, but it is a little annoying that I am going through all the expense and strain of doing it properly, and an illegal might be able to get away with it for free! :-)
ReplyDelete@Kevin - I did consider the "stowaway option" but decided that I was probably too fat to hide anywhere on a boat! :-)
ReplyDeleteHappy Homemaker - yes, the UK driving test is tough! Good luck with it! (It took me 2 attempts!)
ReplyDelete@MNUKGIRL - I have to keep reminding myself that the alligators only kill one person/year on average, so you'd have to be very unlucky! ;-)
ReplyDeleteHi, Glad to discover your blog and to see everything from the opposite end of the spectrum--UK to US, and Florida no less. The differences couldn't really be more extreme.
ReplyDeleteI had to go through the same process to get my visa to come to the UK, and we didn't have much time. My husband created a mammoth document, with "proof" of our relationship that included photos (as requested) in sequence, phone and Skype records, and receipts of plane tickets. Same here--it cost about thirty dollars to Fed Ex, and when the visa finally went through, my husband's credit card statement sported a charge of about $1,000.00 which was listed as "Wife." Honeymoon phase over...? ;)
I look forward to reading your blog and hope that you find a way to navigate all the, ahem, nature. The South is indeed quite alive. I'm from Chicago and the idea of alligators hanging out everywhere terrifies me. Carry a large stick and watch your step!
Congrats on the cross-Atlantic romance--I know it's not easy!
Tara
ack, I wrote a post and as I hit post, the darn ad at the bottom popped up and I clicked that instead & lost everything.
ReplyDeleteSo I'll leave it at Good luck!
Thanks for making the effort, Danielle. I too can find Blogspot very glitchy at times. It's frustrating.
ReplyDelete@taramoyle - thanks for your comment. Interesting to hear about the British version of the visa hassles! We Brits have got it easier in recent years with the European Union making it much easier to move around Europe. When you go outside Europe things get tougher though! :-)
ReplyDelete