Green card saga (episode #356)
Juliana and I got
to Varick Street way too early and we went inside the offices of the Department
of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services, forty minutes before our
appointment.
I’ve been
waiting for this day too long – so waiting for a couple hours more - not a
problem.
It’s easy to
picture the government facility we where at, white and bright hospital lights,
gray furniture and a very unfriendly woman greeting “the immigrants” and giving them instructions
in another idiom – definitely not English.
But all is good
I thought… because we are here to have the officers take our biometrics and
hopefully we’ll be getting our green cards soon.
After 15 years
of paying taxes here in the United States of America, I believe it’s about
time.
Everyone else in
the place was much more amicable than the 1st official, in fact they
all befriended Juliana, who kept asking way too many questions and became quite
the “entertainment” while her mother – me – limited herself to over-smiling to
the Asian woman who was taking our fingerprints and pictures. I was hoping that she
would have some “pull” on the decision to grant us our residency.
The truth is
that all in all it was a pleasant and simple process and all the people in the
floor were very nice.
And then,
I cried.
Yes, I cried in
the middle of this office, in the company of these unknown government officials
and sitting on a gray chair holding my daughter’s hand who didn't know if she was supposed to cry too. I cried because I have been struggling
with visas, embassies, long lines, appointments, eternal form filling and ongoing payments,
for a very long time and the possibility of this tedious process ending is way too emotional
for me. My life would be easier and Oh God, I need an easier life.
Then I raised my eyes and found the Asian
woman, other ten Hispanic women and even the 1st unfriendly
officer, smiling at me - knowingly.
Oh god,
I said,
- "I just want my
green card"
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