U.S.: The one about immigration

The last Thanksgiving I celebrated in Minnesota was in 2017, and Emi's only Minnesotan Thanksgiving to date was in 2015. This year for Thanksgiving, we are happy and grateful to be back in Minnesota, together. It has been no small task getting to this point. Allow me to explain.

After getting engaged, Emi and I were faced with the "few thousand dollar question" of where to get married. I say "few thousand" here because that's what it was going to take for both of us to eventually live together in the U.S., and those "few thousand" do not refer to any wedding costs whatsoever. All logistics considered, we decided it was better to get married outside the U.S. and then start Emi's immigration process. The following is a glimpse at what our immigration experience has been like. The U.S. State Department breaks the spousal immigration process down into twelve steps, but I have consolidated them here.

Step 1: United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS)

We started the application for immigration with a petition for a spousal visa once we had all the documents necessary to complete the petition, which was about a month after we were married. This initial petition included form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative), proof of my U.S. citizenship (birth certificate), proof of our marriage (marriage certificates), proof of co-mingling of assets, former employment contracts, and Emi's history of exchange visitor visas. We mailed this packet of papers via FedEx from Argentina to Chicago in July 2019 and were given a priority date of August 15, 2019. Costs involved in this step (USD) were:

• $20.00+ for printing
• $535.00 petition fee
• $10.00 cashier's check fee
• $65.00 to FedEx from Argentina to Chicago

Step 2: National Visa Center (NVC)

After the USCIS approves a petition, the case is moved to the NVC. Our approved immigrant visa petition was received by the NVC on May 28, 2020. We then sent them more paperwork (digitally, thank goodness), including an Affidavit of Support (form I-864) in which I, the sponsor of the petition, had to show proof that I earn an income of at least 125% of the U.S. federal poverty level. If I wouldn't have had sufficient income, we would have needed to find an additional sponsor who did. We also had to send more civil documents, including Emi's birth certificate and a criminal background check. In this step, we completed another online application with information regarding Emi's education and work history, family information, and travel history. Costs involved in this step (USD) were:

• $120.00 fee for the Affidavit of Support
• $325.00 Immigrant Visa Case fee 

Step 3: Wait

All of the documents requested by the NVC were submitted and finally accepted by August 18, 2020. The next time we heard from the NVC was in May 13, 2021 when we were notified that our case had been moved to the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires.

Step 4: In-person Interview

In June 2021, we traveled to Buenos Aires for our visa interview. Before the interview, Emi had two days of medical appointments. There are only two doctors in the entire country, both located in Buenos Aires, that are authorized to handle medical exams for U.S. immigrant visa applicants. After a few X-rays, blood draws, urine samples, vaccines, and consultations, we proceeded with the interview. I say we, but I should say just Emi, as I was not even allowed to go inside the Embassy for the interview due to pandemic protocol. In addition to round-trip flights between Córdoba and Buenos Aires and a 6-night hotel stay, costs involved in this step (USD) were:

• $300.00 in medical fees

Step 5: Post-interview

We didn't receive visa approval on the day of the interview because they needed us to send them another copy of Emi's birth certificate, which is apparently a common occurrence at the Embassy in Buenos Aires. We proceeded to request another copy of his birth certificate from the issuing entity, received it two weeks later, and then sent it to the Embassy. Two weeks or so after that, Emi's passport was mailed back to us in July 2021 with the golden ticket (a.k.a. immigrant visa) inside. After receiving the visa and prior to entering the U.S., we had to pay another immigration fee. Since the medical exams expire six months after they were completed, the latest we could enter the U.S. without having to redo them would be mid-December 2021. In addition to flights from Argentina to the U.S. for the two of us and our cat, costs involved in this step (USD) were:

• $220.00 Immigration fee for green card processing

Pandemic selfie in front of the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Buenos Aires

Because it is a question I have been asked frequently, allow me to clarify that this immigrant visa gives the recipient permanent residency, not citizenship. This means they are allowed to live and work in the U.S., but they cannot do things such as vote, for example. In order to vote, they must become a citizen, which is whole additional process. In our case, three years of permanent residency while married to a U.S. citizen gives Emi eligibility for naturalization. In order to become a citizen, there is a written exam and (at this time) a $725.00 fee.

Cost-wise, we would have likely spent more had we chosen to get married in the U.S. (again, not in reference to wedding costs, but rather immigration-specific costs). Getting married in the U.S. would have involved a K-1 visa (commonly known as the fiancé(e) visa), meaning we would have had to have gotten married within 90 days of Emi's arrival to the U.S. (a date controlled not by us, but by the visa-issuing entity), during which time he would not have been able to work in the U.S. Since we did not do a K-1, Emi is able to work upon arrival to the U.S. Going through the K-1 process would have meant an adjustment of status (which is another $1,225.00 fee) after our wedding and waiting many months before Emi would have been granted work permission. Having been married for at least two years upon our entrance into the U.S. means we will not have to remove conditions on Emi's permanent residency, which would have involved another $680.00 fee.

The immigration process takes time and patience under normal circumstances. The pandemic shut down many of the offices involved in the process, causing it to take even longer. So here we are, almost two and a half years after starting the process. As we share our immigration story, we'd like to clarify that it has not involved any fleeing from persecution or seeking refuge or asylum as is the case with so many other migrants. We were privileged enough to make the trip to Minnesota with no major obstacles (if you don't count the kitty peeing upon take-off in the first two of three flights). We are thankful for the opportunity to establish ourselves in the U.S., to reconnect with friends and family here, and to host visitors as soon as we have a home of our own.