Today was a special day for our family. We went to Metairie for Daniel’s naturalization ceremony. Since the USCIS office has been backed up the last few days due to weather, there were triple the amount of residents there for the naturalization ceremony. It was neat to meet people from all over the world and hear their stories. (27 countries were represented; from Ghana to the Phillipines to France!) It made us reflect on our own story and how the Lord has had his hand upon us the entire way. When Daniel and I met in Mexico, he had less than ONE year left on his tourist visa. If we had not met that year, Daniel says that for whatever reason he most likely wouldn’t have renewed his visa and continued coming to the U.S. on vacation. I know this phrase is often overused, but I will say it because it is so very true- “God’s timing is perfect.” It really is. The embassy had been granting him (and his parents) tourist visas that lasted TEN years! We don’t know why or how they were giving him visas that lasted so long, because his sisters have tried to get visas to come visit and they will not even grant them visas. Oh well, for now we will visit them in Mexico, or… any other country in the world for that matter. I’m wanting to start a Europe fund. Not sure everyone is on board yet but I think it would be awesome if we all vacationed there together one day. Or Israel- that’s on the top of Daniel’s sister’s bucket list. Doesn’t sound bad to me.
So before Daniel and I had even met, he and his parents had been coming to visit friends in the U.S. (Monroe, Louisiana actually) and so they were actually already familiar with Louisiana and its culture. This was so neat because when Daniel first moved here, the culture shock wasn’t too bad on him being that he was already somewhat familiar with Louisiana. After Daniel and I were married, and his tourist visa was about to expire, we were able to then file form I-130 to request a change in his status, from tourist visa to permanent resident/greencard holder. A few interviews at the office in Metairie (yeah, they actually had to interview us to make sure we were legitimately married) and a few years later, (and quite a few dollars!) he received his greencard in 2010. We couldnt have done it without my wonderful parents who sponsored him and also helped us to pay for the initial application and attorney’s fees.
Things we had to bring to our interview to prove our legitimacy included joint bills, insurance, pictures, cards addressed to both of us from the wedding, etc. We had a binder full of stuff that proved that we really lived together and were married. Our immigration attorney came with us to the interview. The interviewer asked us some questions about eachother (“What kind of toothpaste does your spouse use?”, “Is your spouse on any medication”? “What’s the last restaurant that you all went to eat at?”) Questions such as these that only people who are married to eachother would know. We had nothing to hide, and so the interview went well. Still, we were both really nervous. Daniel didn’t speak near as much English at the time.
Once Daniel became a greencard holder he had the option to apply for citizenship. It was important to him for a few reasons, but mostly because he wanted to be able to excercise certain rights such as voting in elections, which he is unable to do as a greencard holder. So he applied for citizenship at the beginning of 2013. This process went much faster than the process for becoming a resident (they requested his biometrics 3 times. Like do peoples’ fingerprints change?!) We received a letter that his application had been received and was being processed and that we had to wait for the appointment notice to come in the mail. It feels like for the last 5 years we have just been waiting on our mailbox! This time he would be interviewed by himself and tested through both an oral and written test on his knowledge of American history, the U.S. constitution, government, etc. He was given 100 questions to study, and he learned all of them. He studied for weeks. I have to admit that I didn’t remember the answers to many of the questions, but after quizzing him every night for about a month I can tell you with confidence that Susan B. Anthony fought for women’s rights, and that there are 435 voting members in the House of Representatives. 😉 He passed his test and was told we would receive a letter in the mail telling us when the ceremony would be, where he would take the Oath of Allegiance. We were kind of nervous being that this was all happening around the time we were about to be leaving to go to Mexico for two weeks. Daniel was afraid they would send us the appointment notice while we were gone and that the ceremony would be while we were out of town. I wasn’t worried- they never hurry with anything. A week ago we received the notice and today was the day.
We have learned so much through the whole immigration process. Many people think that all you have to do is marry an American citizen. If only it were that easy. We now understand why there are so many people who fail to complete their own immigration process or who fail to change their status. (in other words; illegal status) It’s expensive, time consuming, the forms are confusing even for someone who does speak English…The people who work for the USCIS are intimidating and not the friendliest…Did I mention its expensive? We now have a better understanding and respect for other cultures. God has used this experience to teach me to be more compassionate with people who come from different ethnicities and backgrounds. What’s even more interesting is that God has put a desire inside of me to help others with their immigration paperwork. I would love to study immigration law one day. I would like to make an affordable option for those who can’t afford someone (as in, an immigration lawyer) to help with questions on their status and paperwork. It can be a very confusing and difficult process for those who are unfamiliar with it, and especially for those who do not speak English. What makes it difficult is that every case is different and no one family process is the same. I recently helped my neighbor fill out her paperwork. Theirs was also based on marriage to a U.S. citizen, but it was still different than ours. There are also LOTS of loopholes in the whole immigration system, making it even more confusing.
God has demonstrated His sovereignty over and over in not only providing the right people and resources to help us move this process along, but also putting us in the right place at the right time. We knew when we met that we were supposed to get married. Five years later we are still sure of this. If God had never given me the desire to move to Mexico we would have never met. And I’m not the most patriotic of people, but I’m proud of Daniel and his decision to become a citizen and I’m glad that we can officially close this chapter, rather, this BOOK. I’m ready for whatever the next book may be. I pray that we are blank pages in the Great Author’s hand. As for this “next book”, Daniel just informed me that it has to be in the form of a blue passport. LOL. I guess he has to apply for a blue one now….
One day we will tell Ezra the story of how we met. I hope that our story is an example to her and that she too will be obedient in going wherever or whatever God sends her to, no matter how crazy everyone may think she is! (I know there were plenty of people who thought I was crazy for not only going to Mexico, but for coming back with a husband!)
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Counter Culture Chick 