September 9th 2012 Mike and I submitted our visa application that would allow me to move to the US and be with him permanently. I knew the application was going to be long and hard but I wasn't expecting it to be as big of an emotional roller coaster as it was.
Trying to find a visa in the first place was hard, I had no idea just how many different types there were. I initially started looking for a work visa, I had a good respectable job so I figured it would be easy to get a visa with that. However after finding out there was a 4 year waiting list for some work visa's my heart sunk. I then looked at other types of visa's just visitors visa's and then ways of extending your stay, however these only limit you to working for a short amount of time and there is no definitive way of knowing you can get an extension so I would have to then move back home and try again. I knew there was no chance Mike would move to the UK, he does not like the weather at all, he cannot handle to cold and rain so it was a case of me moving over there.
The visa we eventually decided on was a K1 Fiancé Visa. This visa allows you to move over to America and will allow you to get permanent residency and be able to work. However with this visa you have to get married within 3 months of landing in the US. We knew we wanted to get married in the future anyway so why not do this visa. Not exactly the romantic way every girl wants to get proposed to but our relationship has never been normal or traditional. And even better the whole application process to being granted looked like it took about 9 to 10 months.. woooo.
The initial application too a LOT of work. We had a tonne of forms to fill in which had to be PERFECT! We also had to submit evidence of our relationship, I spent hours and hours getting together pictures, cards, emails, letters and anything else I could find to show that our relationship was real. It took me even longer too because I read through all the old letters and emails first :) Its fun to read back though everything. Then I had to send all of my things to Mike who then had to fill in more paperwork again and submit it. Then it was a case of waiting. And boy did we wait and wait and wait and wait. In the mean time me being the over organised and inpatient person I am I joined a forum that was dedicated to people applying for K1 visa's. This came to be my haven for the next 7 months. I checked every day to see if people who had applied the same time as Mike and I had heard anything and also so we could all reassure each other and ask any daft questions we could think of. Then in April we finally heard back, not the news we wanted our application was on hold we got a referral. This for me was the worst news I was convinced that was it, we were never going to get our visa. However all we needed to do was tick a box on a form we forgot to do. PHEW! however this meant it delayed our process that little bit more but at least we had heard something. The 3 weeks later we got the news we had waited so long for. Our initial application had been granted. Step 1 was done! the longest part was over, and so was Mikes part in the application now it was my turn. Our application then got sent to the American Consulate in London. I had to get police certificates and then go for a medical. The only place they do the medical is in London. So after a little day trip to London and getting prodded, poked, x-rayed, and bloods taken, I then had to wait until I was given a interview date. 5 weeks later I was making my way back to London this time for my final interview. This time I wasn't alone. I decided to make the most of the opportunity and asked me mum to come with me and have a little girly trip. I'll do a blog about that trip because it was a LOT of fun. After 2 hours in the embassy I heard the words we had been waiting so long for...
I'M HAPPY TO TELL YOU THAT YOUR VISA HAS BEEN GRANTED.
So all in all from applying to being approved it took 308 days. In those 308 days I went from happy, to being so unbelievably sad, confused, anxious, ecstatic, lonely to being over the moon with joy.
Anyone else going through the visa process I take my hat off to you. It is such hard work and it may seem like it will never end, but trust me it will and when it does it will be worth every single second of the wait.
Flossy x
