Have I got a story for you.

Ever since Paul and I became engaged, people have been asking me what our long-term plans are — where we’ll live, who will move, etc.  I’ve hesitated on writing anything until we got a bit further on in our visa process but I think it’s far enough along that I can fill you in on the details.

When our relationship became serious, we began talking about who would move if we got married.  I would love to live in the UK, particularly in the area where Paul lives now.  It’s beautiful countryside (think: The Holiday settings) and only a short train ride to London, etc., but it didn’t take long for us to figure out that it made more sense for us to live in the US for a variety of reasons.  We decided that we would apply for a K-1 visa (commonly called a “fiancé visa”) when we got engaged.  About two months before Paul proposed, we found out that the US was currently backlogged (and still is) on issuing visas and were cautioning people to expect a 10 month or more wait to receive their visa.  We decided to go ahead and apply for the visa (you don’t have to be engaged to apply) and get our name on the list.

I sent in the 49 page dossier (I KNOW) in November and immediately resigned myself to a very long wait.  Given the current wait times, we were not expecting to hear anything from the US side of things until May or June.  Still, I’ve been letting myself check our case status each Friday morning just to keep myself from going crazy, even though I knew we were very far off from it being approved.  About three weeks ago, I started getting really anxious about the whole process.  I had no doubt that we would be eventually approved but the current wait times I was seeing listed were making me very nervous.

You see, I’m actually a part of a forum of US citizens who have applied for K-1 visas for their beneficiaries and I knew that, from reading the forum, there were still people from June 2011 who hadn’t heard anything on their visas.  If people who filed in June had still not heard anything, I knew that my application filed in November would certainly not be getting approved any time soon.  The night before Valentine’s Day, I gave myself a stern pep talk about having a good attitude even while Paul and I are separated by an ocean right now.  I reminded myself that we are very blessed that we get to see each other as often as we do and that, eventually, he would get to be here permanently.

But then came the day after Valentine’s.  I don’t know what got into me that morning, but I was just sick with worry.  I sent Paul an email from work and he called me on my lunch break to reassure me that everything was going to be fine with the visa.  For some reason, I kept checking the case status of our application throughout the day — even though I knew that there was no way it was going to be approved.

And then, at 4:31 p.m., an email popped up on my computer with the following magic words –

“On February 15, 2012, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129-F Petition for Fiancé.”

I shrieked, disrupting the math class meeting next door to my office, and then promptly burst into tears.  I kept reading the email over and over again to make sure I didn’t miss anything while I frantically called Paul’s house with shaking hands.  I couldn’t believe it — and honestly, still can’t believe it.

I have no idea why we got approved so quickly.  It could be because Paul is a gov’t worker or because both he and I have up-to-date extensive background checks (his from a gov’t job, mine from fostering) or it could be just because God chose to remove the burden of waiting for a decision long before I expected it to be lifted from my shoulders.  I honestly can’t explain why we got approved this quickly; it just makes no sense.

Of course, we still have a long immigration road ahead of us with plenty of forms and fees before Paul lands on US soil.  But just knowing that the US has granted permission for him to come as soon as the embassy in London can clear him is the most relieving thing that’s happened to me in years.  I just can’t believe it, even though I’ve had several days to digest the news.  This is really happening you all; I’m getting married.