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CROSSING BORDERS 20-01, October 26, 2001
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Published by Ken & Lynette Chandler
Website: http://www.angelfire.com/ok2/kenandlynette
E-mail: thanx2godforus@hotmail.com
Online version: http://www.angelfire.com/ok2/kenandlynette/cb/2001.html
Archives: http://www.angelfire.com/ok2/kenandlynette/cb/archive.html
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CONTENTS
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1. Lynette's Musings
2. How do I ____?
3. Caron & Sean – K1 success
in the midst of troubling times
4. We need your stories! Submit
your story or idea to us at
http://www.angelfire.com/ok2/kenandlynette/cb/feedback.html
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LYNETTE'S MUSINGS
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After months of pregnancy, I finally got to enjoy our boat when Ken & I went
fishing last week, unfortunately we didn’t catch anything worth mentioning but
when Ken went again this Wednesday, he caught a 20” long flounder! Yummy!
Meanwhile, our little sunshine is growing :). She’s already 5 weeks and 5 days
old and she wants to talk to us! PLUS she’s managed to capture grandma &
grandpa’s heart so much they extended their stay another 2 months! To see a
collection of her pictures from birth to 5 minutes ago visit www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=daraperak&AID=103946
In
the weeks that my family’s been here, I’ve noticed things where our
different parenting practices and beliefs can bring much friction to a family.
Another challenge for the international/inter-racial couple. Thankfully, we’ve
been able to take it a day a time. On a brighter note, I’m very happy to
publish Caron & Sean’s story. They are one of the couples that had their
visa applications pending when the horrible events unfolded in NYC. Their
encouraging story shows us despite the bad things going on around us, there’s
still good occurrences that bring joy to our hearts. Right now, we probably need
more good news than sad ones and like Caron says, hope their story “will
help alleviate some fears and give people already dealing with a lot of stress
involved with the visa process, just that bit of hope they may need to keep
going!”
Till
next time, God Bless
~Lynette Chandler
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HOW DO I ___?
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When you’re trying to adjust to the way of life in a new country, a million
questions arise each time you set out to do even the simplest things. Suddenly,
a routine drive down the street to the grocery store involves more brainpower
than figuring out your taxes. You constantly check if you're on the right side
of the road, embarrassingly hold up the line while struggling to remember if a
penny or a dime is 5 cents and you keep wondering if your response to someone is
socially acceptable.
How
do you build credit? Apply for
social security? What is social security? How do you buy a car? How do you get
medical care? What should you know about buying life insurance? How do you keep
your home warm inexpensively? What government programs are you entitled to apply
for? What should you stock in an emergency?
So
many questions, where to find the answers? Why not give the Federal Consumer
Information Center (FCIC) a shot? What is the FCIC? It's an organization
established to help Federal agencies and departments provide information to the
public. You can find them online at www.pueblo.gsa.gov.
It's packed with useful information covering a wide variety of topics from cars
to employment, housing to health and the best thing? Most of the information
online is free! You can even request a printed copy mailed to you, for a very
small price (prices start at 50 cents).
Though
the information in most (not all) books is short and sweet, they definitely give
you a start especially when you're trying to figure out how things work in this
country. For example, these publications would probably of interest:
Protecting
Your Privacy
www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/misc/privacy/pprivacy.txt
What
You Should Know About Service Contracts & Repair Services
www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/misc/service-contracts/consumer.txt
Foreign Entry Requirements (good to know if you’re visiting your
sweetheart)
www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/travel/foreign/foreignentryreqs.html
And Taking Legal Action
www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/misc/legal-action/leglact.htm
These are only a few books among many. Check them out today. Maybe
you'll find something that'll answer a few of your questions.
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Caron & Sean’s Fiancé Visa Story
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I live in Australia and Sean is in California. We met on the Internet in
July 2000 and met in person in March/April 2001, when we realized our feelings
for each other were real and true. Sean and I are both in our late 30's and are
no spring chickens! So it was quite a surprise to both of us to find that an
online friendship had turned into a romance!
After our wonderful time together touring the Northern part of California (Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, The Redwoods, San Francisco etc) I reluctantly returned home. Although we had decided to wait until the end of 2002 to start the fiancé visa process, when my 16-year-old son graduates from High School, Sean and I discussed the possibilities available to us. Finally, in July 2001 we decided, with the approval and involvement of my son, to begin the Fiancé Visa process.
I filled in all the necessary forms and sent them to Sean, which he then sent with his forms etc to INS on 17th July 2001. We expected the process from go to woe to take around 6 months, then when I was due to send all my info to the US consulate in Sydney, Australia, the terrible events happened in New York and I expected the process to be held up for much longer. Nevertheless I sent all my required paperwork in on the 20th September with a letter of sincere condolences and was incredibly surprised to receive my interview letter 12 days later stating I had an interview for the 15th October! You could’ve knocked me over with a feather!
Anyway, my son and I have only just come back from our trip down to Sydney and I am excited to say that I now have 2 "brown envelopes" in my possession, lovely looking stamps in our passports and plane tickets to the US. The entire process from lodging our forms at the INS office in California to receiving our visas at the Sydney US Consulate took exactly 12 weeks! So please, if anyone is concerned about being held up with the world events around us escalating, just keep going one step at a time, as Sean and I have been, and soon enough you will be well on your way to being with the one you love.
All the very best, Caron :)
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Copyright 2001. All rights reserved.
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