What’s that, you ask? It’s the sound of things finally clicking into place for my family.
January 23, 2009: The company I was working for laid off several hundred employees, myself included. Although I was frightened and uncertain about what the future might hold, there was one thing I was absolutely sure about: I wanted out of Texas!
I considered a few places and was almost settled on Portland, Oregon. I asked my best friend and chosen sister, Bonnie, if she would store some personal things for me until I was settled in someplace. She agreed and said that she would also “store” my son and me. Her offer came right after I had learned that Oregon’s unemployment was among the highest in the country at the time. The cost of living was also quite high. I didn’t know anyone there; I was just going to wing it, relying on a severance package, a tax refund and some unemployment benefits.
Shortly after I accepted Bonnie’s offer, she emailed me to say that her husband, Dale, had an idea: He would fly down to Texas, rent a truck, help us load our things, and drive us and our belongings to Minnesota. I was beside myself with gratitude! I had originally planned to take what I could fit into allowable luggage and leave the rest behind. We didn’t have much, but it was ours, and keeping it meant that we didn’t have to start from scratch once we were in our own place.
February 23, 2009: Dale arrived in a Penske truck, right on schedule. By 8:00 or so the next morning, we had finished loading everything we wanted to take, and were on the road. The trip took nearly two full days, and we arrived at the lovely home of Bonnie and Dale one year ago today. We were made to feel comfortable and welcome, and that has been the case ever since.
I had no idea how long I would be unemployed. I suppose the reality of how bad the economy was hadn’t registered with me. I thought I’d be working again in a month, maybe two, but certainly by summer. Boy, was I in for a shock!
Despite my diligence, I was still unemployed when New Year’s Eve rolled around, and I had a minor melt-down. I was beginning to feel defeated and hopeless, like I had let everyone down. I couldn’t find work, my husband and I couldn’t live on the same continent, and even if we could, I didn’t have our own place for him to move to. Our son, fast approaching adolescence, needed his dad around and was missing him more than ever.
Everything was coming down on me and I felt like I was being crushed by it.
I cried and poured my heart out to Bonnie and Dale. They were patient and reassuring, and I was able to pull myself together and get on with the day.
Later that afternoon, I worked up the courage to ask Bonnie about something that had been heavy on my mind: What if there was a way they could help get Mike here for good? This is something I struggled with; asking seemed so huge and I didn’t want to presume on our friendship. On the other hand, I wanted to trust our friendship enough to ask, and to know that even if she couldn’t help for some reason, she and I would be OK. So I asked Bonnie if she and Dale might consider being joint sponsors to Mike.
Anyone filing an immigrant visa petition must also be willing and able to sponsor the immigrant. To do so, the petitioner (me, in this case) must meet certain income requirements. Since I could not meet the income requirements, I would need to have a joint sponsor who could. Until Bonnie and Dale came along, I knew absolutely no-one that I could ask to do that.
Sponsorship of an immigrant to the U.S. is a contract with the government, and not something to be entered into lightly. Bonnie and Dale slept on it, gathered some information and had a few questions answered. Before the following working day had ended, Bonnie emailed me saying that they were on board, and asked what we should do next.
The following few weeks were spent gathering the documents and information needed to file the petition. We finally got everything together and mailed it to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service on the 13th of February. Bonnie and Dale even loaned me the $355 filing fee, which I agreed to repay as soon as I received my tax refund.
Earlier that week, I had attended several job interviews, one of which resulted in a second interview being scheduled for the following day. The interview was with a stable company that could provide multiple opportunities for growth and advancement. That’s the one I wanted! My second interview was on Wednesday, February 10th, and I was told that they would make a decision by the end of the week and contact me the following Monday.
It didn’t even take that long! At around 4:00 Friday afternoon, I received a call from the HR department. I got the job! The one I had wanted more than any other job I had recently applied for! I only needed to pass a drug screen and criminal background check, and the job was mine!
I start working on Monday, March 1.
Things are clicking, right? Click, click, click… But wait, there’s more: Yesterday, Bonnie came in from work with the mail, and handed a couple of items to me. I froze when I saw the return address on one of them. It was from USCIS! Already? It hasn’t even been two full weeks! But there it was — the official Notice of Action, Form I-797C from the Department of Homeland Security! This is the document that I file along with the next petition for Mike’s K-3 visa, which will allow him to come live and work here while we work through the rest of the immigration process.
Yes, that’s right! After nine years of being in love and living an ocean apart, my darling husband could actually be here by this summer. I’m not holding my breath, of course. These things take time, but everything seems to be clicking right into place, so why not hope a little? One thing I know for sure is that the next time we see each other, it will be for keeps. This is it — no more goodbyes!
None of this would be possible, mind you, without Bonnie and Dale. They have gone above and beyond the call of friendship, sharing their home with us for over a year and agreeing to co-sponsor Mike so that we can finally be together, once and for all. Their patience and generosity still amazes me because it exceeds that of anyone else I have ever known. I could go on about how wonderful they both have been, and continue to be, but even if I had the vocabulary, mere words would be completely inadequate. It is through these two amazing people that Mike, Sam and I have come to know what it’s like to be part of a loving and supportive family: one that genuinely cares about our happiness and well-being
Bonnie told me, shortly after we arrived here this time last year, that she wanted our lives to be better than they’ve ever been. Well, that has certainly come to pass. I have a nice, secure job with a stable company, we’ll be moving to our own apartment in June and my husband can finally come and live with me! All that aside, though, I have found friendship that I never knew existed, and the unconditional love of a family that I know I can trust — something that has never come easy to me.
I’m having difficulty wrapping this up, so I will close by simply thanking Bonnie and Dale for everything they have done for our family and for welcoming us into their own. I am confident that our friendship will continue to grow and strengthen throughout the coming years, and I will do everything in my power to make it happen.
People like Bonnie and Dale make the world a better place, and I am better off for having them in my life.
Filed under: Family Matters, Love, Relationships Tagged: employment, friendship, immigration, K-3 visa, marriage visa, spousal visa, unemployment
