“Yes!” … but where?

When Saul and I got engaged, we had been dating for more than two years, and we couldn’t wait to “close the gap” in our long-distance relationship. We knew that one of us would need to immigrate to another country to make this possible, but which country would we chose? Between the two of us, we have three passports. I am a US citizen; Saul has Spanish and Mexican citizenship. We weighed the pros and cons of living together in Mexico, Spain, or the United States, and ultimately decided that the US would be the best place for us to start our lives together. 

In order for Saul to legally live and work in the United States, he would need to become a Legal Permanent Resident, oftentimes known as a “Green Card Holder.” I always knew that the immigration system in our country was in need of reform, but I hadn’t ever truly experienced the burdensome process firsthand until I petitioned for Saul to become a Legal Permanent Resident (“LPR”). This post is about our experience with the timeline of getting a green card through marriage.

A tale of two weddings

Saul and I were engaged in December 2018, and we planned to hold a wedding ceremony and reception for our family and friends from around the world a year later, in Mexico. We knew that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, and hoped that we would be able to begin living together immediately after the celebration. We quickly realized that green card timeline for Saul would easily take more than a year. We decided to get married as soon as possible, so that we could begin the process, and then celebrate with a larger group later. I was initially hesitant to do so, because I felt that our grand wedding ceremony would somehow feel less special or important, and I resented the system that was “forcing” this wedding date forward. I couldn’t have been more wrong! In fact, I was able to be more present and in the moment for the smaller ceremony than I was for our large one, and I have memories from each of the ceremonies that I will treasure for years to come. 

In January 2019, Saul and I quietly wed at a municipal center in Orlando, Florida – a city that held special meaning for each of us. The “ceremony” took all of 45 seconds (literally!), and was witnessed by my sister and Saul’s brother (our Maid of Honor and Best Man). Afterward, the four of us spent the rest of the day at Epcot in the Walt Disney World Resort. Beginning the day by marrying the love of my life and ending it at the Most Magical Place on Earth was as incredible as it sounds.

Hiring an attorney

Now that we were legally married, we reached out to a couple of law firms to find the right lawyer for us. Prior to and during law school, I was active in immigration policy organizations in Miami. I volunteered at the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (now Americans for Immigrant Justice) and participated in the Immigration Clinic at the University of Miami School of Law. Still, when it came to my personal family experience with immigration, Saul and I decided to hire a lawyer who focuses on immigration casework, since I haven’t worked in the arena in almost a decade. We were very pleased with our attorney’s services, and I would be glad to provide a recommendation if any readers are interested (DM me)!

Although we could have done the application on our own, we are both extremely glad that we hired an attorney to guide us through the process. We read horror stories of people who forgot one form or filled something out incorrectly, which added additional months to their wait. Having an attorney made us feel more at ease, because it allowed us to trust that we weren’t accidentally skipping any steps, and ensured an additional set of eyes was looking over every piece of paper we submitted. Being able to ask questions of someone with familiarity with the process was also comforting as the months dragged on.

Options

We learned a lot from our attorney. For example, there were a few different ways Saul could have applied as an immigrant. Some people decide to apply from within the US, but our attorney explained that this is a risky way to do it, because this means entering the US on a visa for another purpose (such as tourism) and then trying to change your status after, which could be considered by the government to be untruthful. In this case, you risk being expelled from the country. I will add here that some people are fortunate enough to be in the US on a work or student visa, and in that case, this process could work; it just wasn’t the safest choice for us. Another major obstacle in this method is that you are unable to travel outside of the United States during the time your immigration paperwork is in process. Ultimately, we went with the safest bet, which was for Saul to apply from outside of the United States.

Application timeline

The first step involved me filing out a form called an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative. In addition to providing personal information to prove my citizenship, residence, and income, I also provided documentation to substantiate our marriage. These documents included plane tickets, photos, wedding invitations, and cards we’d written to each other. We submitted this form in mid-February 2019 and received confirmation that it had been received by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) about two weeks later.

In late August 2019, we received an approval letter from USCIS called an I-797 Notice of Action. The letter stated that USCIS would transfer our case to the National Visa Center (NVC), and that we must allow the NVC a “”minimum of 30 days” to receive the case and produce a fee bill. After more than 30 days without hearing anything new, our attorney contacted the NVC and learned that they not yet received a record of our case. I called my Member of Congress’ office and asked to speak to the constituent services representative for immigration matters. The young woman there was extremely helpful, and had me fill out a form which allowed her to make inquiries with the NVC on our behalf. 

On October 31, Saul received his NVC case number, and immediately paid the associated fee bills. In early November, I completed another payment and another form called an I-864 form, which was an affidavit of support & financial evidence. In late November, we submitted a form called a DS-260, an Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application form. Our attorney submitted the forms and told us that we would need to wait for the NVC to review the application and documentation and let us know if anything is missing, If not, the next step would be an interview notice. We asked our law firm how long this part “usually” takes, and our attorney told us that he had recently read that the US Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico had lengthly backlog of more than 6 months. However, wait times for an interview in Madrid, Spain seemed more like 2-3 months. Because of Saul’s dual citizenship, we asked our attorney to petition to transfer his case file to Spain. Incredibly, it worked, and we received confirmation of the case transfer that same day!

“I do” … again!

Although the plan had been to get married and live together immediately thereafter, by the time our mid-December 2019 nuptials rolled around, that still was not in the cards. We tried to be patient, and we were so busy with wedding activities during this time, December seemed to fly by. We were also lucky to be together for Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s Eve. 

Almost there

About halfway through our honeymoon in early January 2020, we awoke one morning to an email stating that Saul had been “conditionally approved,” meaning that we just had to clear the last hurdle of his medical exam and in-person interview. Just as with each notification we received prior, we were overjoyed at reaching the next step. We knew that we were moving closer to the finish line, but we didn’t know when it would come into view. Some research Saul conducted on message boards and forums from fellow applicants led us to conclude that he would receive an interview date in the next month or so.

On February 12, 2020 we received notification that Saul’s in-person interview had been scheduled at the US Embassy in Madrid on March 5. That gave us very little time to organize our work and travel schedules, but that was the date we were given, so that was the date we would make work. The USCIS website was unclear about whether, as his sponsor, I would be allowed into the interview with him. However, our attorney recommended that my presence would likely curry good favor with the consular officials.

Madrid

Saul flew to Spain a week before I did, in order to complete his medical evaluation. This medical evaluation was required to be completed by the embassy’s recommended doctor, in person, and results took a week to process. He said that the evaluation went well, was quick and easy. The medical office staff had promised him that the documents would be electronically transmitted to the embassy. Sure enough, a few days later, Saul received an email that the records had been transferred to the embassy.

The morning of March 5 was gray and rainy. We woke up early and took an Uber to the US Embassy. Saul held a thick folder in his hand, full of important documents that our attorney had told us would be requested by the consular officer conducting the interview. To our delight, I was allowed into the embassy with him. We placed our electronics into a lock box with embassy security and then climbed the stairs into the embassy to check in. We were given a number and settled into the waiting room. The room looked like any Department of Motor Vehicles; it was open and full of rows of chairs, and there were several little glass windows with consular officials sitting behind them. On the walls were some patriotic photos and cheesy quotes. A lit board overhead announced which number was currently being served. 

The interview

When Saul’s number blinked across the screen, we both walked up to the window, and a Spanish woman asked (in Spanish) for several documents to copy. She also handed us a blank public charge form. The week before Saul’s appointment, an executive order brought sweeping change to US immigration policy by way of the “public charge rule,” which declared that immigrants need to prove that they would not become reliant on government benefits for basic survival upon arrival to the US. It was so new, and implemented without much guidance, that our attorney was unsure if we needed to complete the DS-5540 Public Charge Questionnaire form and have it available to present at the interview. Luckily, we decided it was better to be over-prepared, and completed the form. I am so glad that we did! It was requested at the embassy, and since our phones had been placed in a lock box upon entry, it would have been nearly impossible to fill out the form, because it required financial and other information that may have required us to reschedule our appointment. The clerk was visibly surprised when we produced a completed form. All seemed to be going well, until she told us that the embassy had not yet received the medical documents. Still, she told us not to worry, and sent us back to the chairs in the waiting area until the consular officer could conduct the official interview.

Soon, it was Saul’s turn to be interviewed. I walked up to the window with him, but hung back a bit, unsure if I was permitted to participate in the interview. The consular officer, a young blonde woman who reminded me of Julia Stiles, asked in English if I was Saul’s sponsor. When I replied that I was, she said, “Well come on up, then! This is important for you, too!” She was exceptionally nice, and seemed genuinely interested in the story of how we met. When she learned that Saul was from Mexico City, she shared stories of her own travels and what she knew of the area. Then, she broke the news; although she believed our story, and we had all the correct supporting documentation, because she did not have the medical form, she would have to refuse the immigrant visa. She told us that it sounded way worse than it actually was, because hopefully she would receive the medical forms soon and then she’d be able to grant the visa. To us, it was crushing. I would be departing for the US soon, and we’d both wanted so badly to finally celebrate this step, together. Now we’d have to wait longer, uncertain over Saul’s return date, while the embassy held his Spanish passport, his visa in limbo.

Now what?

We left the embassy, and I held back my tears as we called an Uber and quietly rode back to our hotel. This was supposed to be a celebratory day, I thought. Now, it felt melancholy. When we got back to the hotel room, Saul immediately called the clinic where he’d taken his medical exam. The woman he spoke with there seemed surprised that the forms hadn’t gone through, apologized profusely, and told him not to worry. She would transmit the documents immediately and call the embassy to explain that the fault was theirs. Saul also found a contact email on the embassy’s website, and sent an email to inform them of this fact. Just a few minutes later, we received an email reply from the embassy’s email address. Incredibly, it was the same consular officer we’d met with less than two hours before. She told us that she had received the medical documents, and approved the visa. We were elated! We started jumping up and down in our hotel room, and I handed Saul a cheesy pair of stars-and-stripes sunglasses I’d brought for the occasion. Although the morning had started cold and rainy, the sun came out just then, as if to celebrate with us. This moment was one of the happiest and most relieving of my life. 

USA! USA! USA!

I flew back to the US a couple of days later and Saul remained in Madrid, waiting for his passport to be returned to him via courier with the temporary visa inside. On March 10, 2020, 13 months after we began our legal process, Saul flew to DC, where he went through US Customs and Immigration secondary inspection and received his temporary green card. I picked him up at the airport with red, white, and blue welcome home balloons, and we drove home to enjoy an American flag pie I baked for the occasion. Just days after his arrival, the US Embassy in Madrid closed amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly thereafter, all of Spain went into lockdown, and the United States began limiting travel from the European Union to the US. Soon thereafter, the US and Mexico began limiting travel. We still cannot believe our incredible fortune to have “made it” so close to the wire! Although much is uncertain right now, Saul’s new legal status has enabled us to quarantine together in our new home in the US.

Not your typical immigrant story

Ours is far from a “typical” immigrant story. But that’s the point; there is no “typical” immigrant story, just as there is no “typical” human story. The process is flawed because it can’t be tailored to the individual circumstances of each person applying, so it can at times feel like you’re trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Still, we know that we are privileged: We were both safe where we were living at the time. We could travel easily and affordably, and we were able to afford an attorney. We both speak English. I live in the US already and work in DC policy, so it was second nature for me to contact congressional offices to make inquiries periodically into the state of Saul’s immigration paperwork. Additionally, Saul is a pilot who has an FAA certificate, has lived in the US before and had a SS#, and has Global Entry. Last, but certainly not least, was the fact that Saul’s dual citizenship allowed us to expedite the process. We learned that the consular officer who interviewed us in Madrid was one of three people in the position at that Embassy, whereas there were 100 in Tijuana, Mexico, and there was still a longer backlog in Mexico! Our attorney told us that the system favors wealth, and recommended dressing as sharply as possible for the interview at the Embassy. While I lamented the fact that this was the case, I silently appreciated the privilege it brought us. And yet, I want it to change. I don’t propose to have all the answers, but if you are reading this, I applaud you for taking the first step toward educating yourself about the immigration process. 

What’s next?

When Saul and I moved to Orlando recently, he had to notify USCIS of the address change. We are still waiting to receive his “official” green card. Once it arrives, Saul will have to keep it in his possession at all times. Three years from now, he will become eligible to apply for US citizenship. I look forward to writing an update post about that process when the time comes. For now, we are feeling fortunate and excited about our future together. I know this was a really long post. If you made this far, thank you for reading!