First night home?

Well, we can't believe how easy it is to feel "normal" again. One night in our own beds and we feel like we never left. Felipe got his phone. You can email me for the number if you want it. I probably shouldn't put it on here since who knows what kind of web crawlers are out there looking for numbers and emails to spam.

We were chatting with Maren last night and she mentioned that some people she talked to were confused about this whole process and why we did it. There are many different types of immigrant visas that people can have... Employment, Family, Student, Asylum, Lottery, etc. The number of each visa type is limited as is the amount of people from certain countries that qualify for them. For example, the Lottery visas are given out to only 50,000 and excludes "popular countries" like Mexico, Philipines, Somalia, Vietnam, etc. There are 120,000 employment visas given out annually to people from all over the world and I can't remember what the cap is for Mexico on that.

The only category with UNLIMITED amounts of visas given out annually is the familial status which includes spouse of a US permanent resident or citizen. That is also the only one you don't have to keep renewing and the quickest path to citizenship (3 years instead of 7 or 10) which means he can be a dual Mexican/US citizen by the time we have kids... Something we both wanted for our family. That is what made the whole process and all the anxiety worth it for us. Although the number is unlimited you still need to meet the governments burden of proof that you are married and I, the US citizen, cannot live in his home country. Not everyone, needs to interview in their home country for their visas but some countries, such as Mexico, require it.

This is just a brief overview of the immigration visa process and isn't our exact situation since everyone is different but it hopefully clarifies to some of you why we went through it and why it was such a big deal for his interview. Since immigration law is always a hot topic I expect there will be more changes in the future and everything I typed here may be obsolete after the election. I just hope for positive changes and that politicians and citizens remember there are people behind those immigrant visa applications and to look at them each individually. And bless them for making the right decision for us!