Legal Alien
Time for a celebration because today I got my working permit with no restrictions beside that it ends two years from now. I feel a bit more independent, just the possibility of being allowed to have a (paid) job. Not that I am desperately in need of money or that I don’t have anything to do. Working to part-time (volunteer) jobs fills up my week and weekends quite enough.
Looking back at the process I am still mystified and in the dark. I applied for my permit in September, and did not expect to hear about it before Christmas and when the government closed down in October due to budget quarrels in Congress I did expect more delays. In February my husband got a call: we have gotten our request for more information back, do you have another address? That was really nice of them. So I send the asked for information along with photo’s and our new address, and waited.
I did not hear anything and started calling at the end of April. Was way to early, they told me. Such processes would take at least 60 days. So I waited two more weeks and got a bit anxious because on the website it is said that your application can expire. I was never sure about the time slot they would allow me. I called again and again and got a bit the feeling I was not getting anywhere. On the website my status remained the same: request for extra information has been send out. No sign they ever received my documents. Today: there was my permit. Out of the blue, a miracle. I guess somehow my documents showed up and were processed. Thanks anyway, I am happy. Finally a legal alien.
– to be continued.
A tip: set a reminder for applying for renewal of the employment authorization 120 days before it expires (this is the maximum time; google “ead renewal”). I waited until 30 days before expiration, not expecting that processing would take up to 60 days. Formally, my employer would have had to take me off payroll to avoid the risk of being fined for employing an Alien Not Employed To Work, but they assumed that I’d get the renewal (I did). Not all employers are willing to take the risk.
Anyway, the title “Alien” is pretty cool. Have you had dreams about fighting Sigourney Weaver yet? đŸ™‚