Typing with one cat on my lap and another on the keyboard

We are cat sitting for a friend and one of the babies is on my lap (Pippen) and the other (Merry) is on and off the keyboard, so this post is quite a chore!

The last week of July has been totally uplifting - I received a notice that my work permit was approved and that the card was to be produced in the coming 30 days. Literally, less than a week later, the card was in my mailbox!! woo hoo!! Except of course, I haven't actually really started looking for jobs and now I have to do so and pronto! Granted, the card is only 5 days old, but I feel the need to apply, apply, apply!!! And to get any job for the moment - like even licking envelopes at home:-)

A day after us doing a dance around the apt with the permit in hand, we received a notice that our GC interview has been scheduled for the 21st of September! woo hoo! Of course, having woo hooed, I have to say that I'm so nervous about the interview - though the boy and I are obviously an authentic couple. Still...

I promised myself that I'd send out one job application a day, but what with reading Harry and the volunteer stuff (which kicked in late) I've actually been really busy. Ok, that isn't a real excuse... the cats have kept me busy...ok, that isn't a real excuse either.

Anyway, on top of all this good news, we heard more (makes a pessimist like me worry - are we using up our quota of good luck? What about the 21st of September then?) - the boy passed both his comprehensives!!! He is thrilled, I'm relieved, and it means that we should be ok next year for his tuition/fellowship.

Wow, I'm not really sure how I can process this much good news really. And in two weeks I'm off to Portland to see girlfriends, then we jet off for our East Coast, three state, parental and sibling visit. I get to see a good friend (B) in Virginia as well. Then E visits LA in mid-Sept and maybe even S (all my Brussels' buddies), who may move to NY in a few weeks time. Crazy huh? Life in LA is finally settling in and becoming home.

Oh, and I have a great tan - really great actually - in time for the brother's wedding.

Oh, and our car has died -- finally some bad news to balance out all this good. Phew, now I can relax!

The cats are still all around me, so I should stop typing. They are both loveable and I'm not sure how our friend expects us to hand them back to her -- I tried to bargain and offer her back Pippen and the boy, in place of Merry (who I love dearly). But, the boy, though cute, just isn't THAT cute!!! Sigh.

Summer is really, truly here!!!

Playing the waiting game...

As I finally really settle into LA, the work permit/Green Card hangs over us like a malevolent shadow. There is a whole sub-community dealing with the Adjustment of Status (the GC process) and I belong to two boards that deal with this issue.

Basically, I know deep down we just have to wait. The first timeline on the right bar shows how long we've waited for our AoS since filing (1month, 2 weeks, 3 days). In the grand scheme this isn't a lot, but there are the additional first three months (Feb-April) of waiting, gathering info etc as well and the possible 3-4 month coming wait (July-Oct) before we even get an interview date.

I'm hoping for a late September/early October interview!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!

The first step is getting the EAD/work permit - that should be delivered to us by the end of August. Technically, the EAD has to be given to us within 90 days of filing for it (so by Aug 9/07). If not, on the 91st day, we can go to our local USCIS office and ask for it/push them to produce it. Hopefully, we won't get an RFE - Request for Further Evidence, which slows the process down, and breaks the chain of the 90 days rule for the EAD.

After receiving the EAD, we wait again - this time for an interview date, usually scheduled 1-2 months earlier. Then, if we are VERY VERY VERY lucky, my FBI name check will have already been finalised and we get approved immediately at our interview, my passport is stamped and production of the actual, physical GC starts. If we aren't so lucky, we get approved by the officer, but pending the name check, still have to wait for the official approval letter and the physical GC. I don't want to even say out loud what the "unlucky" case could be...I'll say this though, an approval, official or from the officer means NADA, until you have that little piece of plastic in hand.

A recent article in the Washington Post details how delayed FBI name checks are - we could end up waiting anywhere from 1 month to 2 years after our approved interview, before we get the physical GC. In this limbo period - really the worst of all feelings - we'd just keep renewing my EAD (around $200 each time, not sure what the cost will be in the new fee system) and hoping that the name check goes through. Some people contact their Senator for help; others have taken class action lawsuits against USCIS and the FBI for the delays. Randomness and baaaaaaaad luck are the name of the game. Without the GC I cannot leave the US - not even to Canada.

If I'm caught in the name check brouhaha, I'm going to pack my bags and move to NY, find a small job, rent an apartment in Brooklyn and wait it out. I will not and cannot wait it out in LA, the all American of cities - I'll need to have at least some foreign-ness around me. Oh yeah, and my first GC is only for 2 years and is conditional, dependent on my marriage to the boy. So in 2 years, we have to go through this damned process of changing to a fully GC AGAIN!!!

In all this mental mess, the boy is busy with school and is somewhat unsympathetic about my worries. Of course, he has very little to actually worry about...any outcome is borne purely by me - he is the US citizen (USC for short) after all. [Ok, that is me just being snarky at him] In truth, we "spousal applicants" are luckier than other immigrants, because we have the power of the USC behind us - hence the ability to contact Senators, the press etc, the USCIS ombudsman etc. And our spouses, the USC, obviously want us here --- I think:-)

This is what I instinctively feel: that the process will go smoothly, I don't see us having a problem. What I do see, is that we will have a long timeline --nothing horrendous, but we won't end up with a quickly processed GC I really would love. It'll go according to the slowest estimated timeline/normal schedule:

Filed AoS [MAY]
1 month later Biometrics [JUNE]
3 months later EAD [AUG]
5-6 months later interview date [OCT -NOV]
7-12 months later GC received in mail [DEC-MAY 08]

Actually, I have nothing to really complain about...I know that...I know that...aaah!!! I just HATE waiting without knowing...always a thorn with me.

My first real "I'm part of LA" experience...Ozomatli...

In concert...for free... part of the opening of Grand Performances...downtown LA... and me (waving)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG5y20rIzmA



We also saw Dengue Fever (fabulous!!! Listen to them at http://www.myspace.com/denguefevermusic) and Yohimbe Brothers (from NYC). And then went to Chinatown for dinner. This is all thanks to Adnan (for the lift, the info on the performances and for use of his camera!) really. And Taz for introducing us all!

And for much clearer sounds of Ozomatli: http://www.myspace.com/ozomatli