JoshsCarole

Hey guys!!!!!!!! I MADE IT!!!!!!!! I'M HERE WITH MY HUBBY!!!!!!!!!!!

I flew Continental from Paris (CDG) to Houston (IAH) yesterday, and it was at LEAST half empty!!! They had cancelled some flights due to the terrorist threats the day before, so I think people didn't want to take a chance or something. ANYWAY!

When I got to Houston, I went straight to the New Immigrants Visa window, thanks to the previous POE experiences in Houston I had read on this forum. However, they were not using window 32 that day as I had read but 30 (right next to it though). The officer was busy with some people and there were also other people seated, so I waited for the officer to be done with the people at the desk and then went up to the desk to give him my passport, my brown envelope, and my filled-out I-94, and he told me to go take a seat. Even though there were only 2 groups of people ahead of me (the people at the desk when I got there and 2 Indian guys who were sitting and were together), I waited an hour before he called my name, by my first name (which I thought was nice).

He didn't really interview me per se, it was more like a friendly chat. He asked me where I met my husband, where I was going to live, what I was studying, stuff like that. He took my fingerprints (left and right forefingers) on like a tiny scanner machine with a red light. No ink, goes straight into the computer. He then asked me to smile for the picture (like a little webcam). Then he stamped my passport and I asked him in my most innocent tone if I could get the work authorization stamp (I had to try!!! It was Houston!!!), to which he apologetically said he couldn't, only K1s could get it. He told me that even if he gave it to me, it wouldn't be legal for me to work with it. So oh well. =)

So that was it! He apologized again for not being able to give me the EAD stamp, said bye, and I was on my way to getting my luggage back, which I thought would be long gone since it took me a while to get through immigration! But they were still there, waiting for me. I went through customs, put my luggage back on the belt, and I was on my way to my connection to Mobile!!

When I got there, my husband wasn't even there!! *Ahem!* "Welcome to America..." But he got there shortly after, and everything's just great! =) Just hurts to have left my family for good this time! C'est la vie...

Anyway! Hope y'all are doing great!!! =)

Carole

Michi

Hey!! Congratulations!!!!! I'm glad your POE went good!! I bet your glad to be with your husband!! How nice! Don't forget about us, now!!

Lily,

DCMark

Congrats. I hope the US treats you well. If you experience some hostility because of your nationality I can send you my wife's email address and she can give you some coping tips.

mark

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Welcome to America.

If you can, take some time to stay at Dauphin Island.

"Damn the torpedos! Full speed ahead!" David Farragut, Mobile Bay, August 1864.

JoshsCarole

Thanks, Lily!! I'll still hang out on the forum, don't worry! =)

JoshsCarole

Mark, thanks for the offer!! I sure hope I won't have to use it though...The Southerners have been good to me so far! Let's hope it'll stay this way!!

JoshsCarole

Thank you, Mr. Folinsky!! =) Dauphin Island is beautiful!! We went down there last Summer. I want to seize this opportunity to thank you for being such help on this forum all the time. Your posts helped me many a time!

Leslie

Excellent! Well done!


What did you put on the I94 where it asked for your residence? I'm bugging the crap out of everybody with this question. But, I've gotten too many different answers. Maybe, you'll have a new one I haven't heard yet.

Welcome to America!! If you get lonely to speak French, let me know, my husband will talk your ear off.

JoshsCarole

*Hehe!* Good question that I asked myself sitting in front of my I-94 on the plane! I put France because a visa does not guarantee that you'll be admitted into the US. So if I don't KNOW for sure that they'll let me in and will give me a chance to establish residency in the US, I guess it's still officially my country of origin. Anyway, that was my little thinking on it which might be way off, but he didn't bring it up, so I guess it was fine! =)

Your hubby is getting here NEXT WEEK!!! Is he getting in through IAH also like you thought he might? I wish him a very smooth POE entry as mine was! =)

Carole

souls canuck

yay, another happy ending.. well done.. thanks for posting..

congrats on your reunion.. must be a great feeling.

Leslie

That seems to be the most popular answer. We'll probably go with that.

He'll be here in 9 days and, he'll be coming in DFW (Dallas) not Houston. Dallas was our first choice anyway, so all is well. Change the ALMOST THERE!!! under your avatar to something more fitting.

Leslie

Steffi

OMG, I can only imagine how happy you are right now to finally be in your husbands arms!! Congrats on the smooth entry and the nice officer and I hope you adjust nicely.

Folinskyinla

The 2003 AILA Annual Convention was in New Orleans last June. We took a weeks vacation BEFORE the conference. [My spouse doesn't like AILA conferences because I really attend the sessions -- the hotel convention planners are warned every time that AILA lawyers actually ATTEND the confrence and don't use it as a tax deductible golfing vacation, but I digress].

We did a Gulf Coast vacation, other than the Ocean Springs potteries and museums, the Biloxi area was a bust and we ended up on Dauphin Island -- originally just for one day and ended up staying there for three. Just what we needed. Other than the Citgo station and the Circle K mini-mart -- no national chains of anything there -- it was great.

dutchman2001nl

Congratulations
I'm glad you made it. Now take it easy with those Americans, don't be too hard on them ok....

Rete

Congratulations ;-)

Have you posted that experience at the POE site?

Rita