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Before you arrive in America: "hope for the best, prepare for the worst" In November 2002 my husband and I got engaged. We were all excited and started planning our future together. In May 2003 my husband applied for a Fiancee K-1 visa at the American Embassy. We were told the procedure would take about 6 months. Let me see 6 months ... May, June, July, August, September, October... yes, a November wedding would be perfect! We started planning the wedding, booked a chapel and sent out invitations. Big mistake! Rule number one: when you apply for a Fiancee K-1 visa, do not make any wedding or travel arrangements until you actually get the visa. My husband and I learned it the hard way: our application did not take 6 months but a total of 9 months. We ended up having to postpone the wedding until January 2004. In the end, everything worked out well, but we could have avoided a lot of frustration and unnecessary expenses. |
Welcome to America |
After you arrived in America: "hope for the best, prepare for the worst" When you receive your Fiancee K-1 visa at the American Embassy, you have 90 days to get married in the U.S. Once the honeymoon is over, it's back to reality. Now you have to submit your application for lawful permanent residence ("Green Card") at the USCIS. You should get a temporary work permit (EAD - Employment Authorization Document) within 90 days. While you wait for your EAD, your life is literally in limbo. You are not allowed to work legally, you can not open a bank account or apply for a U.S. driver's license until you get your temporary work permit and social security number. At first I felt very frustrated not being able to do anything. Eventually I learned to embrace the key to success: patience. I decided to make the most of the situation, and to learn one or two new things. I signed up for few courses, including a real estate course, a book keeping course and last but not least an income tax course. Later on I only captured the true importance of all those courses. I not only made new friends or acquired new skills, but I also started to understand the ins and outs of my new country, my new home. |