Friday was it, the big day, the one we’d been waiting for.

The day to drive down to San Antonio and face immigration.

I was supposed to be driving us down, but in the end DmentD did, and a good job too. It rained heavily the entire way down. And while he does an admirable job of not getting too controlling when I’m driving usually, he’s not used to me driving in the rain yet and still gets a little on edge. So we saved everyone’s nerves by him driving!

We left really early so we could stop and get an oil change before we left town, leaving Austin not long after 9. We got into San Antonio just after 10 making good time.

We scouted out the building and where we needed to park etc which took a little bit of finding and then tried to find a Starbucks to sit and read for a couple of hours. It was harder to find a Starbucks than to find the immigration building! After searching google maps on our phones we found one (with sofas) and settled in to try and relax!

We headed out to get to the building an hour early, they let you in 45 minutes before your appointment. We had to go though a security check, get bags scanned and go through the metal detector. The guard was friendly, and we chatted a little before he took my appointment letter and we headed into the waiting room.

We sat and waited and read and waited some more, we got called about quarter to two, so only 15 minutes after the appointment time, much better than we expected. The woman took us upstairs and had us sit on a sofa for another fifteen minutes while she did something!

We got called into her office, we had to swear to tell the truth and then we could sit. We had taken a box full of everything we might possibly need with us, ID of every conceivable type, all the forms we sent them initially, all the evidence we sent them, copies of everything to give them if they wanted, the wedding photo album etc. The only thing we took out of there was my ID. She had a huge file, full of everything related to us, all that we sent them, the security checks etc.

She took my passport, work permit and social security card and copied them, along with DmentD’s driving license (at that point I got optimistic as she took my I-94 out of my passport and stapled it to our file – the I-94 is what I would need to hand in at the airport to let them know I had left should they be throwing me out!).

She went through a couple of our forms, asked DmentD his date of birth, full name, address and then my date of birth, had he been married, any children and checked his phone number. Then checked my full name, phone number, had I been married and parents first names. All details they had, but they were verifying. She made a note on my file when I said I was no longer a student and asked where I was working.

Then she started telling us that we would need to file to make the green card permanent in a year and nine months, and in two years and nine months I can start filing for citizenship if I want. It was after that that she told us she was approving it (after about 5 minutes in there).

She took my work permit and my advanced parole and stamped and sealed my passport which will work in the interim until my green card actually comes through (two to three weeks), so I just need to remember to keep it on me at all times.

We then talked a little more, she apologised for us bringing in so very much and then not needing any of it, but she did say that it’s what they like to see as it shows we put effort in and took it seriously, and it looks a lot more legitimate that walking in with a little file (which we did see). We talked about the fact we hadn’t gotten a lawyer to do all the work, we had researched it and figured it out and she praised us for it, said we had done a very good job of it and made it very easy for them as it was all there and they didn’t need anything extra, it was all cut and clear.

And then we left! All done! *grins* When we got back into Austin we celebrated with cheap Thai food *grins*

It’s definitely a whole weight off of our minds, more so than we had realised I think. And thankfully the whole process has gone a lot quicker than we were anticipating, and than research was telling us. A total of four months, not bad at all.