Our journey through U.S. immigration has been full of waiting and wondering, but one that has finally ended in happiness. Kristien received her most uplifting I-797C Notice of Action on May 12, 2009. The decision was made on 5/6/2009 to make her a lawful permanent resident of the United States of America. To quote the notice:

Congratulations! Your request for the removal of the conditional basis of your permanent resident status has been approved. You are deemed to be a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States as of the date of your original admission or adjustment of status.

The paper goes on to say a new Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551 (green card) will be issued within 60 days. In fact, Kristien has already received it. The process has moved forward and concluded faster than we expected – less than one month after mailing our additional evidence. If you haven’t read the previous post enumerating the pile of evidence we sent, then I suggest you scan the list. I’ve encouraged preparedness as a means to completing those demanding government forms, but the payoff in this instance is huge; I get to keep my wife.

In previous posts I’ve mentioned the number of days since starting this process. Just to recap, the petition for Kristien’s immigration visa (I-129F) was sent to the government on February 7, 2005. It has been 1562 days or 4 years, 3 months, and 12 days, from that day to Monday, 5/18/2009, when she received the Permanent Resident Card. We asked each other if it actually felt that long and we both agreed it hasn’t. We’ve continued on with our lives, working, maintaining our home, going on vacations, and generally forgetting the process. Sure, we both thought about the outcome but we didn’t let it control our lives.

Whether Kristien becomes a citizen is her choice to make. It’s the next logical step but it’s not a forgone conclusion. Right now we’re ready to slow down and enjoy life without the paperwork.

This entry was posted by Matthew Crumley on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 at 8:11 PM. Matthew is currently a software developer who works on simulation devices and their user interfaces. In his spare time he reads the news, dabbles with code, is active in his homeowner association, and enjoys life with his wife and pet terrier. You can leave Matthew a comment or trackback from your own site. Follow comments to this entry via RSS. Explore other posts marked with these tags: I-797C, immigrate, NOA.