Chapter two - applying for residency

So I thought I would update you all and tell you how you go around applying for residency and why I even need to. Last October I got my visa to get me into America which came with a certain regulation;,we had 90 days in which to marry [if we didn't I had to leave]. Then if I wished to remain in the USA we had to file for adjustment of status. If you remember last year was all about the paperwork and this hasn't change, we had five forms to complete all questioning my biography, financial evidence and supporting documents of our marriage certificate, birth certificate and passport. We also sent in a form to ask for permission to look for employment, yes you even have to ask for permission.

We came across a bit of a big hiccup. When I went for my medical in London they wouldn't update my tetanus because it didn't expire until December. Fair enough. All we had to do was get the said jab before we filed for residency. I merely assumed this would mean walking into an approved Dr and ask for said injection. Apparently not. I had to go through the WHOLE blood testing, get flu jab [after working in a pharmacy I question the need for such injections in January] and a TB test. This test came back positive, and apparently having passed ALL these tests and having a chest X-Ray by an approved Dr I had to go through the chest X-Ray again. I guess it wouldn't matter if it was all free, but I'd already paid over £300 in London and was having to pay another £130 for this. After a week of stressing, I didn't have TB. They also fail to recognize that the TB injection many of us had as a child in the UK sometime produce false positives. I know they have to be certain people are free of diseases but I went though this all before. Ahh ... and breath.

After that we posted the package to the homeland security with a cheque for another $1070/£650 and now it's just a waiting game till we get the date to go for my biometric checking and our interview. Both me and Joe get interviewed this time to prove we have proper married life. At the end of all this I get residency for two years and then we go from there. I'm not sure if I'll go for full American citizenship at the end of it all, it surprises me how much moving makes you hold onto your British nationality. Oh and until it's a yes or no on the residency, I can't leave the country but with the way my parents are acting, I probably can't go back "home".

On a side note I created a Hello Cotton page if you feel like following me there!