My Green Card Experience

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Hi guys,

I am new to this site, however, I have been reading a lot on the forums (different topics and such). And I have decided to share my experience on how I got the wonderful opportunity to live in the US using my 10 year GC.

I have been coming to the US on vacation nearly every year since I was like around 2 or 3, and I am now about to be 27. During my mid-teens, it was one of my finest goals to study in the US. So as soon as I graduated HS, I went to college in the US (California)in Dec. 2004 at the ripe age of 19 on an F-1 visa. I had no full intention of living here, I just wanted to have the opportunity to get a college education in the US then implement the knowledge gained back in my country (Philippines). As soon as I graduated college at the age of 23 back in 2008, I then decided to apply for an EAD card to gain experience with my degree (Business). I worked in Management at Walgreen's (working in retail here is a very demanding industry ). During this time period, one of my college buddies introduced me to one his cousins, and from there we clicked . We would go out almost every night until 4am, even though we both had work in a few hours. I knew she was the one who I wanted to be with. So from June 2008 until November 2008, we dated. It was until mid November of 2008 in which I proposed to her inside of my car . We got married in Las Vegas in January of 2009. I have not filed my AOS nor any forms as of yet because I still had my EAD for a year (I know I should have filed it asap, but we were both so young and in love). Around October of 2009 is when I started researching on how I can stay here with my wife (note that I had no clue on what to do, nor did we get any help whatsoever in filing the GC documents - everything was purely based on research). I put all the documents together and sent them out. At this point, I was somewhat scared if I filed or did it correctly since everything was based on research. Alas, they cashed my check, then sent me a Biometrics appt., and then an interview occurred in January of 2010. The interview lasted 15 minutes and we were approved right on the spot! I think it had to do with the fact that we had a 1 month old daughter at that time. As soon as we mentioned we had a daughter the IO quickly responded " Oh ok, that is the strongest evidence you guys have. Congratulations! I will approve you!". So fast forward to today. I filed my I-751 last October of 2011 and I just received my 10 year GC 2 days ago. I am going to file my N-400 this October 2012 since I should be eligible for next January of 2013.

My wife and I are now expecting our second child this coming September(our daughter is now 2.5 years old). Life is good. So just keep faith, make sure to do extensive research to make sure the documents are appropriately put together, panic is the last thing you want to experience, and just let life stroll along and always remember honesty is your strongest weapon when it comes to getting your GC. Best of luck to everyone!

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