Wake Me When the Drama is Over

If only I could sleep through this wonderful process of getting a visa. We started the process back when I first entered the country, and would you know it, it's still going on. I just want to share a little bit of the frustrations discovered. Not so much for pity, but perhaps to vent a little steam and convince you all to never move to another country. :) It makes perfect sense to leave your family when first married (although across an ocean is a little extreme), but to leave your friends, freedoms, interests, money... It's not an easy thing to wrap your brain around. So, here begins my visa saga.

Step 1. Print and fill out 23 pages of 100 questions about my personal life, my family's personal life, and Blake's personal life.

Step 2. Convince Blake to fill out his own 15 pages of questions about his personal life, his family's personal life, and his financial security.

Step 3. Sigh at relief in completion of above book.

Step 4. Contact immigration to see what else needs to be included. Received checklist.

Step 5. Groan.

Step 6. Contact Mom for birth certificate. Received.

Step 7. Call immigration to find out if the "if applicable" items are required or not. They are.

Step 8. Figure out where the closest approved health clinic is for my Health Check. Thirty minutes north. (btw, I do drive around now. Thank goodness.)

Step 9. Take $310, fill out 2 more required applications, head north, miss turn (lots of construction makes it near impossible to see, lack of street signs makes it completely impossible), drive around 20 minutes or so, find a familiar street sign and figure out my way to the clinic after about 1 hour.

Step 10. The clinic takes above mentioned money and applications, takes my picture, attempts to take some blood, tests my vision, checks height and weight, tells me to go to another location for an x-ray the next day and come back in a week for a full physical.

Step 11. Attempts to find uniradiology center, does a few u-turns, goes inside, gets x-rayed, walks out 15 minutes later to drive the 30 minutes home again.

Step 12. Prints out all necessary information to get my Criminal Check. Finds police station (luckily across the street) to finger print me. They steal $24.95 and 45 minutes of my life.

Step 13. Cringe at the $18 the FBI charges to process prints. Call FBI office at 11:30 pm here and asks how to expedite or send fingerprints. Tells me it will take 3-4 weeks from time received. Also tells me the fingerprint sheet won't be accepted. Panic... They talk to supervisor, it will be okay. They ask for FedEx packaging and account number for return.

Step 14. Sign up for FedEx, look up rates. Blake does CPR, discuss rates again. Succumb to the $80 there, $80 back fees. Breathe deeply, take sheets to shipping office. Get charged $12 for the "drop off" of the package.

Step 15. Sigh at the amount of work still left to do.

We have to make photocopies -and have them notarized (costs around $50 for the Justice of the Peace's time)- of all our important documents: passports, birth certificates, Blake's tax information, wedding certificate, etc

We have to have 2 Australian Citizens who know us well make a statutory declaration (also JP signed) about our relationship.

We each have to write our own declaration about our relationship, from start to current.

We also have to include documents that "prove" that we are committed. (an insane asylum certificate may come in handy at this point) For example, bills with both our names, proof of joint bank accounts, joint loans, etc.

We then have to hope my FBI returned fingerprints with the stamped "no record" comes sooner than September 3rd.

Once we send everything in, we get to wait with baited breath and crossed fingers in hopes that they don't deny the application and kick me out of the country. Without refunding the $2500 application fee I might add.

If I get this visa, I think Blake's going to put me back to work to earn all the money this visa process took from our savings. It sure has made a dent. But until that visa is approved, I'm not allowed to work, so hopefully it won't take up to the possible 1 year to go through.

All this in the effort to live in a socialist country... I do love it here though and really hope that everything works out smoothly and quickly so I won't be making a quick trip back to the US in early September to renew my temporary visa. At least when we make our move to the states it won't be quite a hassle as Blake is a dual citizen and will only cost us the fee to get a social security number.

:D