Residency

Oh my gosh, I can’t control my excitement!!! We FINALLY got word from immigration. This morning, about 9:30 we got a phone call. When my partner handed me the phone, I knew instantly that it had to be immigration. This is how the conversation went….

Me: “Hello”
Case Officer: “This is (case officer name) from the Department of Immigration, how are you?
Me: I’m good, how are you?”
Case Officer: “I’m good thanks. The reason why I’m calling, is in regards to your residency application. I put in an application for your section 3 (reason for me being unlawful) to be waived. This application was approved. So what I need next, is for you to sign a piece of paper to say that you have been in a genuine and committed relationship for more than 12 months.”
Me: “So do you want me to come into the office with my passport, so you can put the residency visa in my passport.”
Case Officer: “Well, I can’t get the visa approved on the spot. What I’ll have to do, is turn the paperwork in, and then a week later, I’ll send out another letter which states the visa was granted. Do you have a fax machine by any chance?”
Me: “No, unfortunately I don’t.”
Case Officer: “Well, why don’t I just mail you the letter then.”
Me: “So once I get the letter, sign it, and get the other letter back, then I can come to the office and have the residency visa put in my passsport?”
Case Officer: “Yes that’s correct, it will take about a week, once I receive the signed letter.”
Me: “ Aww, fantastic, thank you so much!”
Case Officer: “Yes….”
Me: “This is so great. Today is Thanksgiving back home in the states, and I’m so happy. Thank you again so much.”
Case Officer: “You’re welcome..”
Me: “Okay, bye…..”

And that is how the conversation pretty much went. I think when my partner heard me say something about having my passport, she knew that I’d gotten the residency. I can’t wipe the smile off of my face. I’m over the moon, completely ecstatic. I had a good feeling about getting the section 3 overturned, but I wasn’t 100% confident. I have been keeping a close eye on all the immigration stories that I have been hearing in the media, and of course been comparing our own situation to them. But we all know that each situation is different.

I sometimes think, that if there was more question to the genuineness and commitment of our relationship, things might not have gone our way as much as it did. But everyone could clearly see that it was a genuine mistake and that there wasn’t any true intention of being deceitful. Well, just that I had “stretched the truth” when it came to my tourist visa. I didn’t really do any travelling, but they were to know that. They had to of known that the main reason why I got the 6 month tourist visa, was so I could get the 12 months of co-habitation.

When I go in to get the visa put in my passport, I will have to pick up all of our original documents as well. I should have picked them up after our interview on the 12th of October, but I was so distraught that I told him to just keep it. Talk about a major turnaround with how I’m feeling. A month ago, I was feeling at my worst pretty much. When we went in for that interview and the officer told us we had one last resort, before a decision was made, I just felt like there was no hope in hell for us. But there was hope, and God was watching over us.

The first person we rang was my partner’s sister. I’m closer to one of them, than the other. She was the one that I stayed with during the nights right after our interview, when I couldn’t cope. She was a great support system for me, and I couldn’t thank her enough. She was wrapped for us, and was elated I think. We rang my partner’s mum, and text my partner’s dad and other sister. So the close family knows now..and probably in a few weeks, we’ll all go out with some of our other friends to celebrate.

It will probably be 2 weeks before I get the visa in my passport. But once that happens, we’ll ring up my partner’s friend and see if there is still a chance at me finding a job at her work. Her friend awhile back, said they were always looking for people, so hopefully there will be a job opening for me. I’m stressing a little bit about the job interview, and getting to work. I will have to use the train, and I’ve never done that. I’ve used bus transportation before, but nothing this confusing . But I’m sure that once I get a routine down, I will be okay. I just am not a fan of places where there are a lot of people. But if my partner’s friend can get me on the right route, I should be okay.

We will eventually also get me a vehicle. I more than likely won’t drive to work, but it’ll be a vehicle for me to have, so I don’t have to rely on my partner. Once I get the visa, I can then apply for medicare. Hopefully that won’t be too much problem. It’s amazing now that we finally got an answer, and the answer was “yes you get to stay,” we can actually plan things. My partner and I had pretty much said to each other that Xmas wasn’t going to be happening, just because money was tight and we both were not in the spirit of things. But that has all changed!!!

My family is very happy for me. I talked to them earlier on, because it was Thanksgiving there. Talk about perfect timing! I had planned on talking to them anyway, but it gave me more reason to ring them. I rang my mum, told her over the phone. Then we got on the webcam and I got to see all my family, including aunts and uncles, and even my cousin who lives in Georgia. It was so nice to see all of them. And they all congratulated me on getting my residency. Everyone kept asking me how I feel, and I can’t keep the smile off of my face. I’m elated, and in one way or another, it seems so surreal to me.

My partner and I have been waiting 6 years almost for this to happen. I think back to how our relationship started, and just how we felt way back then. Moving was not an option or even a thought in the beginning. All we knew is that we loved each other and wanted to be with each other. Never did we think we’d last this long, and even be able to actually live together permanently. We knew we wanted this, knew it was achievable, but didn’t think about it then.

So thank you to everyone who has been there for me thus far. I couldn’t have done it without all of your support and kind words. Now hopefully I’ll have more interesting things to talk about, than just how crazy and stressed I’ve been feeling with immigration.

-current mood-ELATED, finally the news we wanted to hear.