Amanda Takes Off...

I threw a pile of junk mail in the recycling corner of our kitchen and a plain white envelope slid out from it.

I picked it up and saw that it was addressed to Good Man and from Lee's Summit, MO. It was stiff. I know that Lee's Summit location.

"[Good Man]!" I started jumping up and down.

"Why are you doing like that?" he said.

"I almost threw it away with the recycling!"

Good Man opened the envelope and there was his green card. There was also a little Tyvek envelope.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

We recommend you use this envelope to protect your new card.

Nosotros recomendamos que usted use este sobre para protegar a su tarjeta.

Good Man grinned. "This is good."

The card isn't green. It's white with a terrible photo of Good Man, his thumbprint, and a series of numbers and codes across the front. The back is shiny enough to be used as a mirror and has the presidents (through the last Bush) across the top. Across the bottom it's got the 50 US state flags.

So now we're clear to travel to Stockholm. No need for an Infopass appointment to get a stamp in his passport.

Two weeks ago we found out that Good Man was denied in-state residency because he didn't yet have his green card. We did a second level appeal but the Not Idiot Turned Idiot in the international student office wouldn't accept our letter from USCIS as proof of his residency status. Tuesday when Good Man goes to school, that should change. He should be approved for in-state residency. "Should" being the key word here...

Thursday we received a letter that my bank needs Good Man's SSN before the 21st or they'd close the account. Now that he's got his green card, he can apply for an SSN—one time. (He could've applied with his EAD, but there would've been restrictions that he would've needed lifted when the green card arrived. Since the EAD card arrived so close to the interview date, we decided to wait.)

Today is our six-month anniversary (legal wedding). What a nice gift to receive.

For all of the horror stories I've read and heard about USCIS, from the date we mailed the application to the date we received the green card it was only 96 days. Nothing like the six to twelve months we were expecting. We got no RFEs (request for evidence). He didn't get stuck in name check hell. The interviewer didn't ask any really personal, inappropriate questions. We didn't use a lawyer (just Fiancé & Marriage Visas: A Couple's Guide to U.S. Immigration, which I highly recommend). And just like all of our friends and family said it would—it all worked out fine.

Happy anniversary to us!

* To make this easier to read I will use * for new info.

6/1/2009: Mailed AOS/EAD/AP to Chicago Lockbox
6/3/2009: USPS reports rec'd
6/9/2009: Green registered mail with return receipt postcard rec'd
6/10/2009: I-485 check cashed (with no readable receipt number on the back of the check!)
6/11/2009: I-130 check cashed (with no readable receipt number on the back of the check!)
6/12/2009: NOAs rec'd for petition (130), green card (485), employment authorization (765), and advance parole (131); we now have his A-number; rec'd date 6/3, notice date 6/8
6/13/2009: Biometrics appt rec'd for 7/1
7/1/2009: Biometrics appt, in and out in 15 minutes
7/17/2009: USCIS website says that AP/EAD approval notice sent
7/22/2009: USCIS website says EAD card ordered
7/23/2009: USCIS website says EAD sent
7/24/2009: Rec'd notice for interview on 8/27 (Washington, DC location—which is actually in Fairfax)
7/27/09: Rec'd AP
7/29/2009: EAD rec'd
8/27/2009: Interview, approved on the spot
8/31/2009: Rec'd email notice that green card production was ordered on 8/27
9/1/2009: Rec'd email notice that green card production was ordered on 9/1 (again?)
9/3/2009: I-797 NOAs received for I485 and I130
* 9/4/2009: Rec'd email notice that the NOA for the I485 was sent on 9/4 (um, already got it, USCIS)
* 9/5/2009: Rec'd green card

I walked into the living room waving one of two USCIS letters—the one addressed to Good Man. "[Good Man]! You got your Welcome to America letter!"

"What's that?"

"Open it."

He felt the envelope. "But it's not card... 'WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATE OF AMERICA,'" he read. Good Man looked at me, "Wow! How do you know? You know so much, you are like lawyer."

"That's because I pre-worry! I research!"

He continued, "'This is to notify you that your application for permanent residence has been approved. It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to permanent resident status in the United States.'"

* To make this easier to read I will use * for new info.

6/1/2009: Mailed AOS/EAD/AP to Chicago Lockbox
6/3/2009: USPS reports rec'd
6/9/2009: Green registered mail with return receipt postcard rec'd
6/10/2009: I-485 check cashed (with no readable receipt number on the back of the check!)
6/11/2009: I-130 check cashed (with no readable receipt number on the back of the check!)
6/12/2009: NOAs rec'd for petition (130), green card (485), employment authorization (765), and advance parole (131); we now have his A-number; rec'd date 6/3, notice date 6/8
6/13/2009: Biometrics appt rec'd for 7/1
7/1/2009: Biometrics appt, in and out in 15 minutes
7/17/2009: USCIS website says that AP/EAD approval notice sent
7/22/2009: USCIS website says EAD card ordered
7/23/2009: USCIS website says EAD sent
7/24/2009: Rec'd notice for interview on 8/27 (Washington, DC location—which is actually in Fairfax)
7/27/09: Rec'd AP
7/29/2009: EAD rec'd
* 8/27/2009: Interview, approved on the spot
* 8/31/2009: Rec'd email notice that green card production was ordered on 8/27
* 9/1/2009: Rec'd email notice that green card production was ordered on 9/1 (again?)
* 9/3/2009: I-797 NOAs received for I485 and I130.

We arrived at our interview at 10:00. Got through security and up to the second floor by 10:15 (appointment time). Nobody was waiting at the reception. Woman finally showed and took our appointment notice. We sat until 11:00 before getting called.

Our interviewer was calm and quiet and while we were nervous, it wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it was.

Until...he asked Good Man a really easy question: what is your wife's mother's name?

Good Man froze. Good Man stared. Good Man looked panicked.

I said, "Did you forget my mother's name?" This is one of those stupid "you better know it" questions.

"Yes! But—!"

The interviewer smiled and said, "Do you know where her mother lives?"

"Yes, Minnesota."

"And her father's first name?"

"John."

"And where does he live?"

I thought, Oh, shit, if he doesn't know my mother's name, he'll have no clue where my dad lives. "Arizona." Good job, Good Man!

The interviewer said, "By the way, her mother's name is 'Terri.'"

Good Man smiled. "I knew it started with a T, but I kept thinking 'Ted Kennedy' because of the news."

The interviewer laughed. I suspected at that point there would be a slew of "what's your husband's birthday," "what did you get your wife for her birthday last year" etc questions directed at each of us about the other person. But the interviewer just kept asking Good Man about his G-325 (bio sheet). Luckily, Good Man knew his own birthday and parents' names. I wonder if he didn't go into harsh mode because he could read Good Man's face. You can't fake that sort of horrified "oh no, I don't know my mother-in-law's name" look.

The interviewer asked how we met and we just bounced back and forth with a broad time line of our relationship. He asked for some more supporting documents. I gave him proof of insurance, the phone bill, photocopies of our joint credit cards. Most of it I'd already sent in. He also took the two dozen photos. He stopped at the photo of Good Man's parents throwing the dates and chestnuts at us, so we explained what that was.

The whole time, he made lots of little red check marks all over our files.

And that was it.

Then he went down a few of the questions on the "are you a terrorist, do you plan to spy, have you ever belonged to the Communist party" list. He ran to get a print-out, came back, and we were approved! He took Good Man's I-94 and said that Good Man would get his green card in about 3 weeks. He told us to apply to lift the restrictions in one year and nine months. We thanked him, he congratulated us, and Good Man is now a conditional permanent resident!

Interview was 30 minutes, start to finish.

In addition to a copy of everything we originally sent in, we're bringing the following things (there is some overlap)—originals and copies:

We Are Who We Say We Are Proof
* His passport
* My passport
* His birth certificate, a translation, and a letter from the translator
* My birth certificate

He's Legally Here Proof
* I-797C Request for Applicant to Appear for Initial Interview
* I-512L Authorization for Parole of an Alien Into the United States (2 copies)
* EAD card
* NOAs and receipts for all original applications (I-130, I-484, I-131, I-765, appointment notice for fingerprinting
* I-94 (in his passport)
* I-20 (student visa acceptance letter)

We're Really Married Proof
* Certified copy of the marriage certificate
* Letters of support from Mom, Mark, Diana, and a co-worker
* Two dozen photos of us with and without friends and family from before our legal wedding, our legal wedding, our family wedding, and after our wedding(s)
* Copies of dental and health insurance cards
* A health insurance bill for a visit Good Man made to the doctor
* Wedding invitation
* Wedding announcement
* Wedding program
* Wedding card addressed to both of us from one of the sets of grandparents
* Thank you note from a cousin addressed to both of us for a wedding gift we sent her
* Note that my sister-in-law put in with the quilt she made, explaining that it's inspired by a hanbok
* Receipt for ring engravings
* Envelope addressed to both of us from Good Man's sister (Christmas gifts)
* Wedding registry print out
* Photocopies of our credit cards
* Statement from his bank showing we're joint
* Statement from my bank showing we're joint
* Verizon bill showing we share an account
* Lease
* Copies of our Costco cards
* Copies of the e-tickets for our honeymoon (scheduled in October)

We Won't Go On Welfare Proof
* My last tax return
* 2008 W-2
* Last three months of pay stubs
* Letter from my employer proving I'm employed at my income level

The day after the wedding, waiting for a bus in DC with 10 of our family members, exhausted and cranky, I said to nobody in particular, "This is not how I envisioned spending my honeymoon."

Well, who cares? We're going to Stockholm in October for eight nights!

Wha-hooooooo!

I've been to Sweden once before. It was my first international trip and I went alone in March 2002. I've done every international trip alone, in fact. (Actually, I wasn't alone the whole time. After about a week in Stockholm, I met my pen-pal Stina in Skellefteå (and Umeå) and we spent a week together.)

It should be interesting to go to Sweden a) with Good Man and b) with more travel and life experience under my belt (read: I'm not afraid of the subway).

Now, we're just assuming his interview on the 27th will go well. If it doesn't, we can't go to Stockholm. But if it doesn't, I'm guessing Stockholm will be the last thing on our minds.

At the yarn store, I held up a skein of purple yarn. It has bits of blue and red spun throughout it. "Do you see that? How would this be for a sweater for you?"

Good Man nodded, "OK."

"But the flecks? Are those OK?"

He peered at the skein. "I can't see what you are saying."

I held up a skein of solid purple yarn. "See how this is plain and this one has flecks?"

He peered closer. "Yes, OK."

"You're lying, aren't you?"

He nodded and smiled, "I'm a damn good liar!"

We got our wedding certificate back from the frame shop today. Total Framing did a great job. We put it on the wall across from the door—you can see it as soon as you enter our apartment. It's almost 20 by 20 inches.

We received a crock pot from my aunt and uncle for our wedding. It has interchangeable crocks in two-, four-, and six-quarts. Tonight I used it for the first time to make cranberry-apple chicken. I served it with brown rice and it was delicious. The photo is bad, in large part because I was shooting JPG instead of RAW. Trust me, it was good.