Today is a very strange day - it is 10 years to the day since we moved to the US. I always thought we'd have a big party at this point but of course - the
best laid plans.......
My design business is doing Ok with designs available from Camus International and online with Annie's Attic. Please check out my new ones if you get chance at my web site. I am still working at the local theatre and I just costumed Pride and Prejudice for the High school. I have been so busy and haven't been able to keep up with bulletin boards etc though I do try to check in once in a while.
So back to the party - Instead of celebrating we are filing our final appeal to be granted a green card.
If it fails we will have to sell our home, quit our jobs and leave the US immediately. Our daughter is trying to get a visa by herself as she turns 21 on Thursday and that puts her out on her own. She is now a triple major soon to be senior at FSU about to enter her final year. She is a volunteer crisis counselor. If they give her a visa she can at least finish school. Our son will leave FIU after his freshman year ends in a couple of weeks. We don't know what he will do come August. We are also in final appeal for a new visa - we know we won't win that one but we have to try as it keeps us on status while we appeal the green card.
They denied our green card it after 5 years of waiting and we had to eventually file a law suit to force them to act before DD turned 21- she was 10 when we came here! Their grounds are that DH was not sufficiently "managerial" in the 3 years BEFORE we came to the US. Oddly enough our visa is only granted to managers! So by their own determination he was sufficiently 'managerial' 10 years ago so ..... we don't really get their reasoning and it seems like a knee jerk reaction to us sueing them. Of course our lawyer is thinking that we will win the appeal - but with each day that passes I get more depressed and more disbelieving. We are paying out thousands of dollars in filing fees, lawyers fees etc and all the time trying to pay for our kids to stay in school and try live a normal life under massive amounts of pressure. Some days I think I will explode.
So right now we are trying to decide where we want to live later in the year! I Don't know if my kids will be with me or on another continent. Sounds exciting but the whole situation is totally soul destroying.
In the next few weeks we will know what the decision is - so I will let you know where I will be! I don't expect any of you to solve my problems or even to understand them really - venting is all I can do at this point!
Hugs to all!
My design business is doing Ok with designs available from Camus International and online with Annie's Attic. Please check out my new ones if you get chance at my web site. I am still working at the local theatre and I just costumed Pride and Prejudice for the High school. I have been so busy and haven't been able to keep up with bulletin boards etc though I do try to check in once in a while.
So back to the party - Instead of celebrating we are filing our final appeal to be granted a green card.
If it fails we will have to sell our home, quit our jobs and leave the US immediately. Our daughter is trying to get a visa by herself as she turns 21 on Thursday and that puts her out on her own. She is now a triple major soon to be senior at FSU about to enter her final year. She is a volunteer crisis counselor. If they give her a visa she can at least finish school. Our son will leave FIU after his freshman year ends in a couple of weeks. We don't know what he will do come August. We are also in final appeal for a new visa - we know we won't win that one but we have to try as it keeps us on status while we appeal the green card.
They denied our green card it after 5 years of waiting and we had to eventually file a law suit to force them to act before DD turned 21- she was 10 when we came here! Their grounds are that DH was not sufficiently "managerial" in the 3 years BEFORE we came to the US. Oddly enough our visa is only granted to managers! So by their own determination he was sufficiently 'managerial' 10 years ago so ..... we don't really get their reasoning and it seems like a knee jerk reaction to us sueing them. Of course our lawyer is thinking that we will win the appeal - but with each day that passes I get more depressed and more disbelieving. We are paying out thousands of dollars in filing fees, lawyers fees etc and all the time trying to pay for our kids to stay in school and try live a normal life under massive amounts of pressure. Some days I think I will explode.
So right now we are trying to decide where we want to live later in the year! I Don't know if my kids will be with me or on another continent. Sounds exciting but the whole situation is totally soul destroying.
In the next few weeks we will know what the decision is - so I will let you know where I will be! I don't expect any of you to solve my problems or even to understand them really - venting is all I can do at this point!
Hugs to all!
-Kathy 
