Angel with a flattop
Today, my wife got her green card. All mail-order Russian bride jokes aside, we're super happy because this means she can go back to work and/or travel using her passport again. For the past two months, she has been able to do nothing but sit around and wait.
It was ironic, because while she was in graduate school, finishing up her Master of Arts in Counseling from Asbury Theological Seminary, she had a valid student visa and was able to hold a job. Shortly after graduation, this visa obviously expired, and so did her work permit and drivers license. Aside from being ineligible for imployment, she was hardly able to leave the house.
Why the funny article title then? Well, because the Department of Homeland Security worker (with a flat-top) that helped us today was our angel, putting an end to our 16 month wait, since initially filing the paperwork. Typically, this process is supposed to take only 3 months, but was delayed considerably because people at the Louisville, Kentucky office are incompetent. We had been counting on this to come through sometime well before her finishing school. Needless to say, it's been a very nerve-wracking and trying process.
The federal agent we met with was immensely helpful, and even had a sense of humor about the disjointedness of the immigration services in the US. He was also a Christian, with a nice Ichthus tie, and a picture of the black Jesus on his office wall. I knew right away that I was going to like this guy. After further discussion, it turns out that he worked with my father, who provided air transport for him on a few occasions when they were in the military.
Words cannot fully describe how relieved we are today. My wife is especially ecstatic, and feels like she finally got her life back. I was so happy driving back to work after our appointment that I didn't even mind the traffic, and was only slightly annoyed at a grown man riding his bicycle, with a unicycle trailer in tow, down the middle of Main Street (what is it with Boise?).
Now that she's able to travel, my wife will be flying to Estonia to join her parents in working with a fledging Bible college, through teaching and translation. When she returns, she will resume the process of certification to become a licensed professional counselor. Finally, things are back on track.
Anyway, I'll wrap up this rambling, since most readers come here for various tutorials anyway. Just let me say praise be to God for bringing this trying time to a close. I also want to say a huge thank-you to our family and friends who prayed for us throughout this depressing ordeal. Indeed, the Lord is good!