On February 14, 2020, I married my love at the Brooklyn Municipal
Building in New York City. With a few of our close friends and church members,
we waiting in the old courthouse, waiting for “our turn” to get married! It was
a cold day, very cold. My outfit of choice (a floral dress) clearly reflected
that I didn’t care about the weather. We were cold, but we were warm, because
this was really happening.
We waited for what seemed like years, only to be called and
experience a ceremony so short that the flash could’ve missed it. One minute,
we are shaking with nerves in the waiting area and the next, the officiant is
saying “I now pronounce you…married.” And it was over. Truth be told, I didn’t
mind the short duration; long weddings are overrated. As long as I was able to
marry the man I love, it could have been 3 seconds and my joy wouldn’t have
decreased.
After the wedding, we and our friends hurriedly walked
through the cold Brooklyn streets to find warmth and coffee. Starbucks!
Perfect. There, we had our “wedding cake” in the form of cake pops and I’ve
never regretted that for a second. After cake, it was off to lunch at a
restaurant I don’t remember and then we left, not quite feeling married, but
knowing we were.
A few days later, on February 20th, we submitted
all the paperwork and fees for Tze’s Green Card application. Though our
original wedding ceremony was to be in April of 2020, his lawyer suggested we
marry in February before certain immigration preventative laws were to be in
effect. So we did and then we submitted everything, hoping and praying
everything would work out just fine!
March 21, 2020, we married a second time, this time in the
form of a Christian ceremony held in the building where we had first met. There
was a certain romantic feeling about it all, getting married where our
friendship first began, me not wearing white because nothing was open (pandemic
grip), having only 7 people present. It should have made us feel sad and
ungrateful to not have the gleam and glisten of society’s perfect wedding, but
we didn’t care! We were not only having a Christian ceremony, but finally
moving in together, so we were just fine!
The early months of marriage were…unique. Fighting, kissing,
hugging, brushing teeth, cooking dinner, fighting again, repeat. As we lived
pandemic lockdown life together, our Green Card case was put on hold; everything
was put on hold. We were destined to wait even longer than expected. We waited
and waited and waited some more, but nothing.
October 10th, 2020: We are returning home from
our honeymoon in North Carolina. See, we had another wedding ceremony on
October 3 as a formality. My dear family and TN friends wished to see this
happen, so there in my parent’s backyard, I wore the fancy white dress, we
married amongst the magnolia trees, and our family rejoiced! There’s no place
like home. We did not need the flowers, the dress, the pictures, anything.
Still, it was nice to have formality for a day with the ones we loved.
When we returned, we checked our mail and there in the
mailbox was a request from USCIS for Tze’s finger prints! Hooray! It was the
next step in the Green Card process. After waiting 8 months without any word,
we finally had something to go on. So he went and gave his prints and then the
waiting began again…and we waited and waited.
Finally, in early August, after having a rough night
emotionally, I went to check the mail and found another letter from
immigration, this time about our long-awaited marriage interview! I couldn’t
believe it! There in my hands was the information we had waited for! 10 months after
the finger prints were completed, we get a notice informing us that our
marriage interview would take place on August 18th, 2021. So we had
to wait again, but this time only 2 weeks. Was this real? That was my first
thought! Then when I realized how much I needed to do to prepare for this important
date, reality set in.
I spent those two weeks tirelessly compiling legal
documents, financial documents, joint documents, pictures, letters, anything to
show at the interview that we love each other and our marriage is legitimate. I
stressed, I cried, I paced, I printed, I organized, I did everything short of
screaming before this big day. As I wallowed in my overwhelming state, Tze was
calm and collected; he knew God would see us through.
When August 18th arrived, we were both nervous! I
felt underdressed in my jeans and Kelly green top and Tze was filled with
anticipation. After 2 hours of waiting, we are called into the tiny room for
our interview. We took on oath of truth, handed over our legal and financial
documents, answered a few questions about our relationship, and submitted our
pictures, we were finished. What?? All this stress and anxiety over a 10-minute
interview and only submitting 1/4th of the evidence I had spent
restless nights gathering?? But it was true! It was over. It was a great thing
it was short because we knew that meant we would most likely be approved.
Still, we had to wait again…
2 days after that blink of an interview, I happen to check
the status of our case online and am told Tze’s new card is being processed!!
What does that mean? I hardly know! I google and youtube the crap out of the
phrase and realize it means approval and more, they are producing his new Green
Card. Still, not seeing the official approval notice had my sinful side
doubtful. So I waited again…
Today, I find a notification that the Green Card has been
approved and being mailed to our address!!! After 1.5 years of waiting and
praying, the moment is here. He can work, we can breathe, we can rest knowing
God has provided and taken care of everything. To God be the glory for
everything that has happened! Only He can truly care for us. As we wait again
for the card to arrive, we can have peace knowing we aren’t waiting unknowingly;
we are waiting with acknowledgement and delight and praise over what God has
done! Now off to find Tze a job…
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