Great News!

I had my AOS interview this morning and it went extremely well - I've been approved for my green card! Woo-hoo!!!

I took 2 folders full of stuff - all our documents in one and correspondence (cards, letters, emails) in another, to show proof of our marriage. I also took 3 photo albums and the officer looked through all of them. I was very well prepared and it was easy to find all our documents when they were requested, as I made sure there were easy to read tabs on everything. My appointment was for 8.40 a.m. but we were seen about 5 minutes early, and we left the building at 8.55 a.m. so it was only about 20 minutes. It wasn't very stressful, the officer made us feel at ease and even joked around with us a bit which was nice. When he said he was approving me I was just so happy! No more immigration stuff to do now until 90 days before my conditional 2 year green card expires (we'll have to send in some more forms and evidence that we're still married etc. and then I'll get a 10 year green card). What a huge relief! I can actually relax now. Last night I got a bit upset because I couldn't help but wonder, what if they don't approve me... I couldn't bear to be apart from my lovely hubby and our pug girls! We were long-distance for a long time, about 19 months, before I finally had my visa and came to live here, and I couldn't bear to be in that position again. I knew that the interview would most likely go well, but until the officer said that he was approving me I didn't want to get too carried away! I'm so so happy now. I called my mom and my dad (who said he'll call me next week, so I asked if he really would call me this time!!!) and we also called hubby's mom too - she was really happy for us too! It's just wonderful news, it really is! Tonight hubby and I are going out for a nice meal, it'll be lovely. We don't tend to eat out often so when we do, it's a nice treat!

We got up at 6 this morning and with all that nervous energy I'm pretty tired now - I think I'll take the pugs for a nap, they can sleep with me since it'll only be for an hour or so. :-)

An Introduction

I'm British, and I was engaged to an American. We had a long distance relationship for over a year and a half, including a 6 month wait for my fiancée visa. I finally moved to Arizona in September 2010 and we married in October. Now we're in the process of doing my 'Adjustment of Status' so that I can become a permanent resident.

I never really thought I would emigrate; I'd lived in the UK my entire life, and in one city at that! It was only when I got together with my (now) husband that I ever considered moving to the US, and it was a long road! Lots of money, paperwork and heartache later and we're finally together for good - it's great!

At the moment I'm a housewife, because I don't yet have authorization to work. I'm not sure what I will do when I am allowed to work, it's something I'm thinking about at the moment. In order to do the job I did in the UK, I have to go back to college for 18 months! Needless to say, having already spent 4 years at university I don't exactly relish the thought of that!

The main thing is that my husband and I are together - it's something that we don't take for granted having spent so long apart previously. This will be our first 'proper' Christmas together; we kind of spent last Christmas together, but I spent the majority of the day on 2 planes to get here, so it wasn't really the same!