To Carolina, California, Canada, and beyond I go…

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

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I haven't been online in awhile, as I've been doing a bit of travelling lately this week. Nevertheless, here is my "To Carolina, California, Canada, and beyond I go…" story telling of the highlights of what happened during my recent travels, which you can read about it below:

New York – This is where my adventure begins. We decide to head on another road trip, since my mother-in-law/mom was moving to North Carolina to my sister-in-law's and her family's place there. The morning we were about to go, my husband had parked our minivan on our lawn near our front steps on a wet and rainy day, as we had a few heavy items to load into the car. Well, with all that rain and softness of the grass and soil, our van got stuck on the side of the muddy nearby ditch and we had to get a tow truck to pull it out. Lesson learned: Do not park a vehicle on a wet lawn near to a ditch. Nevertheless, the next day, we were on our way, with the minivan stuffed from top to bottom and ready to go.

North Carolina – We got there in about 13 hours and 750 miles later, but stopping along the way to stay overnight at a hotel in-between. When we finally got to North Carolina, we were caught in the middle of a "big snowstorm" (lol…2 inches of snow is a snowstorm?) and it was a "snow day" for the school kids there, so everything was closed. We ended up staying for 3 days at my sister-in-law's, making sure mom got settled and everything there was ok for her too. It was good that we spent the extra family time together, as it would be awhile before we would see her again. I even got to spend some extra time with my nieces, whom I had never met before then. Who knew that being around children could be so much fun! I guess this is a taste of what I have to look forward to when it comes to parenthood.

California- While I was in North Carolina, my husband was checking our e-mail on his sister's computer. He came down the stairs from the office room, and tells me: "They just transferred your case". "No way, I didn't expect that to happen for another 2 weeks or so", I say and walk up the stairs to where he is. But sure enough, when I look on the computer screen, and see the following message:

The last processing action taken on your case

Receipt Number: EAC….(with 10 digits of my case following after it)

Application Type: CRI89 , PETITION TO REMOVE CONDITIONS OF PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS RECEIVED

Current Status: This case has been sent to another office for processing because it has jurisdiction over the case.

On March 2, 2009, we transferred this CRI89 PETITION TO REMOVE CONDITIONS OF PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS RECEIVED to our CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER location for processing because they now have jurisdiction over the case. We sent you a notice of this transfer. Please follow any instructions on this notice. You will be notified by mail when a decision is made, or if the office needs something from you. If you move while this case is pending, call customer service. We process cases in the order we receive them. You can use our processing dates to estimate when this case will be done. This case has been sent to our CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER location. Follow the link below to check processing dates. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow the link below to register.

If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case status results listed above, or if you have not received a decision from USCIS within the current processing time listed*, please contact USCIS Customer Service at (800) 375-5283.

Current processing times can be found on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov under Case Status and Processing Dates. Please do not respond to this e-mail message.

I'm in disbelief over this, and yet I am happy about the news, and wonder when they will approve my case, as it's been almost 7 months of waiting for me in Vermont before. So maybe this transfer is a sign of good things to come, and hopefully my case will be approved in the next few weeks or so in California, as so many cases are approved quickly there. Now the rest of the waiting continues for me in California…

West Virginia –We see a cop pulled over on the side of the road. We think nothing of it, and continue along our way, until we see the headlights behind us and realize we were being chased. "Ummm…were we going too fast?", I asked my husband. My husband says "No, as I was only going 65 mph, five miles under their limit", and we pull over to the right side of the road, across the bumpy grinding parallel ridges that are there. The officer asks for my husband's license and registration, which he hands over to them and then states to us "It's a law here in West Virginia that you're supposed to yield to the left and slow down when an emergency vehicle is pulled over the right." My husband then says, "Sorry, I didn't know." The cop then goes back to his vehicle, does a background check, and hands us a yellow piece of paper and says, "I'll let you go with a warning this time." We drive off, and I think to myself "Thank goodness for that, as we can't afford another ticket…"

A few hours later, I was a bit hungry, my back started to ache and my husband's right leg and foot started to cramp from the driving, so I suggested that we find a park and take a walk there. We had picked out a park on the map to go to but couldn't find it so we decide to head back on the highway and go to "Prickett's Fort State Park" instead. We walk around the park for about a half hour or so, take a couple of photos and eat our packed dinner sandwiches there. Just when we were about to go, I notice that the back tire of the minivan was flat, probably from when we pulled over on the side of the road about two hours earlier. Feeling frustrated now that we could be stranded in the parking lot of a small and now closed park, we decide to instead drive out of the lot, through the winding roads, and trying to find our way back to town for help. The tire was getting worse and worse, so we had to stop somewhere safe to call for help. We stopped at the only business we could see within sight, in this very small town. It turned out to be a truck repair shop, one though that looked closed up. So we called the toll free 24-hour emergency road service number on their "Hillbillys" sign and within a few minutes they sent someone to fix our tire and replacing it with a 'new' one, with us hoping the tire would last the rest of the way back home.

Pennsylvania- The sun was setting when we got there and our gas tank was near empty so we get off at the nearest highway exit, only to find one gas station on top of a hill. So we head into the gas station for gas, only to find that it was for "Sam's Club Members Only", which we didn't have membership for. Luckily, the person at the pump behind us was a member, and helped us there by using their club membership card, and co-incidentally told us that they had family who were from our New York State area too.

New York- After mostly non-stop 13 hours of driving, we finally were about to enter that part of New York State which was not far from home, about forty minutes away. It was now about midnight or so, and again, we realized that we were running out of gas so we were searching for an open station. About 25 miles from our final destination, we finally passed by three gas stations, only to find that none of them were opened that late in the night. Thank goodness that at the fourth gas station, and just as our car started sputtering fifteen minutes from home, there was a light on at the only gas station that was left on our way home, and we filled up the gas tank there, and made it back to our place safely.

Canada- In the pitch-black of midnight, I open the front door to get back in the house. And wedged tightly in between the screen door and the front door is a yellow and red package from DHL. I take it back inside the house, open it up, and find my new Canadian passport inside. "Odd, that the package would be left there, especially in that it says 'signature required' on it", I was thinking. As well, I was surprised that the passport would come so early, as I thought I would get that later on next week. Nevertheless, I was happy that I got it (about 2 weeks later from when I first applied and 2 days after they said they would mail it out by), so I don't have to worry about not having an expired Canadian passport for the next 5 years anymore. Oh to Canada I shall go someday again!

New York- The next morning (today), I hear a knock on the door from our neighbour, whom told us that they were the one that signed for our package, as the DHL guy went to their house as we weren't home during delivery and as a signature was required. As well, we woke up to find that our pipes were frozen (we had forgotten to turn up the heaters before heading to North Carolina) and we had no water in the morning. Luckily, it got warmer in the afternoon, and the water unfroze.

So this is where this story ends, with the pipes unfreezing and with me writing this true story back home in New York State. Thanks for reading about it here, everyone. Funny, how things happen when you least expect them to, and that there can be so many friendly people while traveling to help along the way, indeed!

Ant (Travelling and Still Waiting….)

Edited March 6, 2009 by AntandD

[JillA 2]

Wow, what a trip! Glad to hear you got home safely to find your new passport waiting for you and to see your case is being worked on, yay!

[Ontarkie 14,144]

I love reading your stories all but the bad parts anyways. Glad all is well and your home safe.

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for reading my story and for replying to it too. Here are my replies to you all:

JillA-Thanks for your compliments. Yes, it was quite the trip, indeed! In the end, we were glad to make it home safely and got the nice surprise of getting my case transferred and receiving my new passport. Funny how things happen when you least expect them to and there can be many twists and turns along the way, which is a good thing, indeed.

Ontarkie-Thanks for your compliments too and glad you like eading my stories here on VJ too. There is always good and bad in stories, but in the end, it's funny how things always work out for the best.

Lol...posting "stories" here on VJ sure does make the "immigration wait" more interesting! Glad you were all entertained here, and yes, the immigration journey continues...

Ant (Still waiting, Still entertaining...)

Wow, what a trip! Glad to hear you got home safely to find your new passport waiting for you and to see your case is being worked on, yay!

I love reading your stories all but the bad parts anyways. Glad all is well and your home safe.