Feeling pretty stressed right now..........

[raymaga 25]

Girona:

I pop into your profile from time to time to see how things are going for you. I am so sorry to hear about all the new "developments" in your already stressful life.

I guess I ought to be a whole lot more thankful about my daughter's immigration. I have had my own share of troubles with USCIS since our process began, but nothing compared to what you are dealing with.

I can certainly understand both your son's and your frustrations. Young people don't like to be restricted in such a big way, and they lash out at the person closest to them.... their parent. My daughter does it to me from time to time as well and I always feel guilty about moving here from Canada and bringing her with me. She is doing well in college so far, has 2 part-time jobs, and has made many friends. She misses her Dad and her 2 older brothers a lot, but luckily, we're only 3 hours from Canada, so it's not that big of a problem to see them if she wants to. So, generally, she is adjusting well, but we do have our moments.

I hope you can survive all of this and that your family can support each other until it's all over. It does have to all end one day, and perhaps you can even laugh about it then.

Keep strong and you and your family are in my thoughts.

Best wishes to you all.

Rayma

[pj1959us 0]

G.,

Don't ever feel that you are being "snippy" (I can't believe someone actually said that to you). I have been on VJ for quite some time now and if anyone deserves to have a good cry and rant, it is you. If you don't feel comfortable posting on VJ, don't ever hesitate to PM or email me for a right good "snip". I truly feel for your predicament because for a slight delay we would be going through exactly what you are and it was only luck that we are not.

Compounding all this with the medical problems and your poor son going through what none of you could have imagined has to be staggering. I know how sick even I get of it all, and we have had for the most part a smooth process...so it's absolutely understandable that this is so crippling.

Take care and hopefully 2007 will be the year of finally getting this all resolved at long last.

PJ

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

cripes, if I were in your shoes Girona I am sure that I would have given up on this country and gone back home. I realize that's easier said than done, but our own mild problems (being stuck in namecheck hell, which pales in comparison to your situation) made me believe we would go back rather than deal with USCIS bullchit for longer than a year, had it dragged on for that long. Nothing is worse than having your whole life in the hands of some jobsworth bureaucrat.

[Girona40 0]

Rayma, I know that you had a few problems early on and that, like me, you will just be glad when you don’t have to deal with the USCIS ever again. If it wasn’t for the mess they made with my son’s case we would be. My daughter and I are both citizens and we just can’t seem to make any progress with my son’s case at all. It is the most frustrating thing I have had to deal with in my life.

I am glad that we don’t live nearer to the UK. I have only been back once in the five years and so wanted to stay. If I hadn’t done this, if only we’d done that, how different our lives could be. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, huh?

I am glad that your daughter has settled so well. My daughter is probably around the same age as yours. She is in her second year of university here – she turned 18 back in July. She has so many friends, she is very level-headed, a hard worker and often when we have “heart to heart” conversations I wonder who is the adult of the two of us. She is so logical and understanding and I thank God I have her.

I hope we can survive this too – there are days when I really just think it is impossible and then I have days when I think “I’m not going to let these bast*rds win. What they are doing just isn’t right!”

PJ, you are so thoughtful and I truly appreciate your offer to let me “snip” away! Lol I do need to calm down and get a grip on myself. I shouldn’t let this upset me so much, although it does from time to time. As the weeks turn into months and the months into years, I wonder if there will ever be an end to it. My wish for 2007 was that this does come to an end, but I’ve had that same wish for a few years now so don’t hold out a lot of hope. I have become the eternal pessimist and wish I hadn’t. I feel as if all the stuffing has been knocked out of me – if that makes any sense.

Robin – I have, so many times, wished we could just pick up and return to England. But every penny I came here with is tied up in this house, my daughter is in the middle of her degree, my son is in love with his girlfriend and my husband has a great job here that he would find difficult to replicate in England. I have had days when I just felt trapped here and days when I look out of my window and think “why would I ever want to leave this place”. I guess the answer is that I don’t want to leave, I just want for us all to be able to stay and get on with our lives – not having to continually worry about what the USCIS are going to do next to try and split this family up.

So many of us have problems with the USCIS and all of them are HUGE to us, regardless of whether they are delays waiting for the visa, delays with processing AOS applications, background checks, etc. All these things cause us problems, one way or another, and non lesser or greater than the other. I just hope that things get better soon and that the “Powers that Be” get this whole immigration “service” sorted out.

I am sure that feeling like cr*p, health wise, isn’t helping. The worry of what is going on at home with my brother and father is just compounding problems too.

Things have got to get better soon. Fingers crossed hey?