It’s been a long journey but i think we’ve finally made it far enough to say we can feel relief. I know i don’t usually talk about my husband, it’s a long story. But regardless… My husband and I will be married for about 4 years, come March 14, and have a son who in Sep 2011 turned 2 years old. Now how exciting is that!! We’re at a stage in our family where it’s time to expand. But i think I've mentioned before that we’re trying to have another baby but have had a very difficult time, we lost a baby in November and have yet to get pregnant again. I know what you’re thinking… She’s pregnant!! I wish with all my heart that i was, BUT we’re struggling in other areas that need more attention at the moment.
Which brings me to the topic of the day. When i met my husband, there was something about him that i couldn’t quite put my finger on right away. I met his parents and then i knew what it was. See my husband isn’t from the U.S…. He’s not a citizen if you will… I know a lot of people at this time will probably think we just married because i am a born citizen and wanted to give him a hand with his legality or even the age old question got married because i was pregnant. WRONG! Yes i knew he was in technical terms illegal… But i loved him no matter what everyone (namely my family) thought or said. Not to mention we got married after only “dating” for 3 months. Talk about knowing right away, right! Anywho… So we get married in March of 2008 and started our lives together from then.
Flash forward a few months, come September of 2008 i found out i was pregnant with our first child. All the joy in the world couldn’t describe what we felt when we found out. But joy came and went so fast it’s hard to remember what life was like before we it happened. We miscarried at only 8 weeks… Saddened by the loss we spent our first Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years just us with our families, but no baby bump.
Now, some of you might ask why was that such a terrible time when it should have been happy times. Well because we had bought shirts that read “voy a ser Mommy, or Daddy” just for the occasion, and only wore them for a few short weeks. But our first holidays were still not the best times.
So of course after all the holiday buzz and bruising (emotional rather) we started trying again. This time it didn’t take much time and became pregnant the first attempt. Baby boy born September 22 2009. Didn’t want to bore anyone with pregnancy drama. Not my best times either but totally worth it in the end.
Which now brings me to 2010… In the summer of 2010 we finally had enough saved up and adding our first tax return, we were able to apply for my husband’s application to become a permanent resident. Lots of legal mumbo jumbo if you ask me, but regardless of all that we started the process. The questions that got asked and all the information we had to give just so he can be here legally is tiresome and boring but we did it.
Some of the details that our attorney had mentioned to us was that his grandmother from his father’s side had already tried putting in a petition for his dad years prior to our application. Which in this case helped a lot because it means he won’t be punished as harshly, plus because he’s been here since he was 4 yrs old. Now of course they had to ask about our marriage. Our attorney made it pretty clear that because we were already married for 2 years legally and also had a child, that when it came time for the decision to become a resident it would automatically be permanent and not temporary. Which to our surprise is a huge difference!!!
There are so many more details that well they become more difficult to explain but i think you get the gist of it. So now it’s just a matter of waiting for all the important appointments required to complete the process.
Coming back to modern times!!! In November of 2011 he received his first indication that the process was nearing an end. In the mail was his work authorization card, with his picture and everything!! Oh what a happy day that was indeed. Sadly at the same time is when we also found out we were pregnant again but lost that baby at only 5 weeks. With the pressures of all the legal issues and documentation we were already going through i knew it wasn’t our time to bring another baby into this world. It’s only a matter of time now that we will be blessed with our second child. In December i turned 23 and spent my birthday with my husband and awesome sister Ericka, forgetting all the bad things that were happening to me at the time.
Happy new year 2012!!! January brought us a lot of great things to look forward to, as well as many more challenges to face. But one of the great things was that we were stronger for them all. My honey turned 25 in that month and couldn’t really celebrate like i had hoped, but we still managed to make it memorable. Then we started receiving letters in the mail that he would have his last few appointments in February for his application. Oh the joy that was building up.
Those appointments have come and gone. During our interview, questions that asked just like our attorney had anticipated, were asked. Much of it had already been declared, and needless to say hadn’t really been overlooked. She wished us luck and said that in 30 days we should get a letter stating the status of his application and wait 6 more weeks to get any cards (in this case “green card). It’s March now and we are in better moods and count down the days. To our surprise and astonishment… the letter did come first! The letter reads, WELCOME TO THE US!!! Wow, his application approved… You have no idea the excitement on his face when he got a call from his parents. Tears of joy!!
So this was on a Thursday… Still waiting… Then Saturday arrives… Another phone call. Some excuse to go over to their house. I get a phone call from him, he sounds joyous can’t keep a straight face, too big of a smile in his voice. A picture is worth a thousand words!!!
He had received his green card in the mail… Permanent Resident!!! We did it. Words can not describe the feeling of accomplishment from both of us, not to mention our parents, who with loving hearts have tried to help in anyway possible! WE LOVE THEM DEARLY!!!
That brings me to our next mission. Getting a bigger place… to grow our family just a little more!!! Wish us luck…
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