Oh, hi!

It would seem as though I completely forgot about this blog. Because I did. Oops. It's not as though it's an entertaining blog so I doubt anyone would notice my lack of updates but I do like to keep it up for whatever reason.

Since my last update, my life has been kind of busy.

Isaac and I went to Portland in August for his biometrics which is really just a picture and fingerprints. Why we had to drive all the way to Portland for that, I don't know. We even had to get a hotel and everything since we were scheduled pretty early in the day and I wasn't willing to try to drive there after midnight. Such a waste of money. We then went again in October for the adjustment of status interview. Another hotel, another long drive, another chunk of money out of our bank accounts. The interview went alright, even though I was so stressed out I started crying at one point :S. The only problem was we didn't have enough evidence of our co-sponsor's income and we were given a month to send it in. Just one month, just one chance. If we didn't send in the right evidence the ONE time, we wouldn't get another chance (unless we started all over again, payments and everything) and that would mean we wouldn't get the $1,000+ sent in for the adjustment of status back, not to mention the money for the HOTELS and DRIVES. We sent in the evidence in November but have yet to hear back from them. This is really stressing me out! How are we supposed to know where we stand?? Or if they even GOT it?????

I HATE THIS PROCESS, IT NEVER ENDS!

I love Isaac, though. At least he's here with me now instead of having to do all this while in different countries like with the k1 visa process.

In September we finally moved out of my parents' house. We are now renting a small house and we are enjoying being alone. The reason it took so long is because Isaac didn't receive his work permit until that month and I don't earn nearly enough at my job to feel comfortable. As soon as he got his work permit, we felt more comfortable even though it's hard to find a job anywhere.

In the end of October we also adopted a miniature dachshund from the pound. We named her Penny. We love her! We went to the pound one day just for fun and I kept thinking about her afterward, so after another visit and taking her out of the cage to play, we put in an application. She can be a pain in the butt sometimes but other then that she is perfect for us.



In November, Isaac finally got a job. He kept putting in application after application but nobody was hiring. It may just be a temporary job but it's something for now.
Our Thanksgiving was wonderful. It may not have been a traditional Thanksgiving with family and turkey but we enjoyed it anyways. It was just the two of us in PJs all day. We had chicken, instead of turkey, but we had stuffing and mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. It was a totally relaxing day which was great since we both worked at 6 AM the next morning.
I HATE BLACK FRIDAY.

It's now December and our house is cold. I mean we wear layers all the time and we can see our breath in here - cold. It's snuggle weather, even my birds are snuggling more.


We got a nice cheap space heater to help with that, and it's probably the best purchase we have made in a long time. Penny loves to sleep in front of it.

We bought a small (about 3.5') Christmas tree and are preparing for Christmas. It will probably be just another day with the two of us being lazy but I love that.


I feel like my life has been just surrounding work, which isn't nice when you don't really like your job that much. Ugh. I need to have some days where all I do is create stuff I've been wanting to make and listen to music.

Hopefully I will be updating more than every few months and I plan to make more videos again (another thing neglected). Thank you all for sticking around!

Immigration is so FUNNNNNN

Everyone seems to think that as soon as a non-US citizen gets married to a US citizen, they are suddenly allowed all the rights of the US citizen. I am here to say that is not true. I wish.

Let's start at the beginning of this process.
First, you have to petition with the government that your fiance should be allowed to come to the US to marry you. This is where you pay your first chunk of money, which is currently $455. This petition is a huge packet of confusing forms to fill out which most people screw up and get a notice that they need to re-do something. Luckily, we were able to figure it out with the help of this website (which is the best website EVARR!)
Next, you wait to get a notice that they actually approved it. If they suspect that you are trying to get them to the US for the wrong reasons, they can deny it. And yes, they keep that money. Jerks.

After it is approved, you fill out more confusing forms. This is also where you prove that you have enough money to bring them in or know someone who does that is willing to co-sponsor. What is "enough money"? 125% over the poverty line. I am not even close but luckily I have parents that kind of are. They also look into your assets so it helps if they own a house or something.
The non-US citizen then sets up a medical and an interview. The medical can't be done by just any doctor, it is chosen for them. Sometimes people have to travel by plane to get to where their medical and interview is done (equaling MORE MONEY!) but if they are lucky, they can get there easier. The interview may be difficult or easy, depending on what country it is in. They may hound you with questions or just ask basic ones.
At this stage, they can deny them the visa. Wouldn't that be fun?

If things go well, they are approved and will get their visa.
The k-1 fiance visa allows for 3 months from their arrival to the US to marry the US citizen. If they do not marry before the 3 months is up, they will be kicked out of the US and not allowed in for quite some time. So just get married, dang it!

Ok, you're married. It's over.

NOTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Now you have to apply for the Adjustment of Status (AoS) and the Employment Authorization Document (EAD). If you do the EAD first, you have to pay something like $325 but if you apply with or after the AoS, they drop the fees for that but you still have to pay the $1,010 (!!!!!!!!!!!!) for the AoS. What is the AoS? Basically a green card, I believe. If you need to leave the US before getting the AoS, you may not be allowed back in. You are pretty much in a limbo state before having this. The AoS can take anywhere from a few months to a COUPLE YEARS to process. And yes, it's another huge packet of forms to fill out. And yes, they can deny you can keep your money.

It's pretty much a never ending process. We are not allowed to have a "normal" marriage, we have to worry about all of this on top of every thing else. But I never question whether it's worth it. It's totally worth it.