The First Step...

Martin and I spent last week in Dallas with my sister Liza working on the house and working on Martin's petition.

We're all pretty worn out from all the work we did. There was a lot of work done round the outside of the house. Things we did involved: trees, bushes, gutters, trellises, bricks, painting, and probably a few other things I can't remember.  We worked on computers, curtains, shades, front doors, and probably more.  Oh and the mailbox.  I think we did most, if not all of the outdoor items on the list.

Martin and I worked for a few nights into the wee hours of the morning to get the supporting evidence gathered for the I-129F petition for K-1 Visa.  The form itself is 3 pages long and fairly simple to complete.  It's the gathering and sorting through and organizing of everything we have to send with it that takes all the work.

We ended up with a 1 inch thick 3-ring binder full of stuff.  Our life together condensed down into a 1 inch binder.  It is pretty mind blowing.  And that is not even all of it.  Seven years is a long time to be together and you can't even imagine what it is like (until you actually do it) to try and pick out the right things to send to prove that you really are intending to get married.  How do you prove love?

So, Liza, Martin and I headed out to the post office yesterday morning to send it off.  That photo right there is the first set of "proof" we have starting as of submission of the petition.  Liza did us the favor of taking photos as we wrote out the label and put the petition in the envelope.  Once that was done, we went back to the house, packed, ate lunch and headed out to the airport.

All in all a very productive week.  And now we wait while the gears of the immigration machine begin to turn for us. There are many more steps to go, much more "evidence of relationship" to collect, more forms to fill out and submit.  I'll keep you posted as we go through the process.

It is exciting and scary all at once.  Exciting because Martin and I will be together once the visa is approved. There is much more to do after, but that is the first big hurdle.  It is scary because what if they don't like what we've sent?  Can't help but be paranoid.  There is a lot on the line here.

Anyhoo, wish us luck.  We are hoping for a quick and smooth process.