Round 2!

Here we go again. I am not giving up our fight to live together as a married couple, and I have written a second appeal letter to UNE. This will be the final round before we either get another "no" or a notice that they've changed their decision in light of new information.

I can't change the requirement for previous income, but I can argue that the decision is unfair. We even got a statement from one of our politicians saying if he had the power to personally undo the decision, he would. So there!

I also think that the government is being counter-intuitive in their quest to better our economy. First, I went to America with financial aid from the government in order to come back with an education and work experience to use here! I even had to ASK Norway to postpone my coming home and the two year foreign residency requirement that is on the J-1 visa so I could stay in America a little longer. In other words I said "please, Norway, I wanna come home, but can't I just stay here a little while and work so I have more to offer when I come home?" My waiver was granted.

Let me just quote what the J-1 visa is supposed to do...

‎"The J-1 visa was administered by the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) to strengthen relations between the US and other countries. It fell under the purview of the USIA and not the Immigration and Naturalization Service because it’s main purpose is to disseminate information; its goal is to give people training and experience in the U....S. that they can use to benefit their home countries. The J-1 visa was administered by the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) to strengthen relations between the US and other countries. It fell under the purview of the USIA and not the Immigration and Naturalization Service because it’s main purpose is to disseminate information; its goal is to give people training and experience in the U.S. that they can use to benefit their home countries. "


But here is the funny thing... now that I *have* come back, they just look at my poor income in Oregon and decide that I am too poor to support Jamie. Hello! I make enough money now to support the both of us! But by sending Jamie back to a country where he has no job, place to stay or money saved up - they are putting financial hardship on *me* because I now have to provide for both of us in two different countries! Where is the common sense?

Let Jamie come home to me, and he can work and pay taxes!

The latest news

As you can see, I haven't been posting much lately. It has been a stressful couple of weeks with moving, working and being without internet. I don't know how I managed to live without the net before.... I feel so cut off from the rest of the world! Not to mention that I can't even watch my favorite shows.. gasp.

But now to the serious side. Jamie and I got the worst news last week. UDI rejected our appliaction for family immigration. Actually, they rejected our appeal (because they previously denied it in February) AND our wish to have Jamie stay in the country while UNE reviews our case for one last chance. I can't count how many people have asked me, "you guys are married, can't Jamie be a citizen?" No. It doesn't matter what country you are from or want to live in, marriage is NOT the magic key. Marriage doesn't grant you any international rights, save for the right to APPLY for a residence permit. Citizenship is never the first step, it's always residency. Citizenship is not necessary to have to live in a foreign country. It's something that comes down the line many years from now if the person feels like it. Residency, on the other hand, is not too hard to obtain, IF you are in the right categories. Yes, you need to have a clean record, a birth certificate, a passport, and a valid marriage license. But there are so, so, so many other requirements that most people don't know about.

What has gotten in our way, is the requirement, "that the person living in Norway had a registered income corresponding to salary grade eight in the pay scale for Norwegian state employees the previous year, and that he/she still receives this income. This must be documented by enclosing your latest tax certificate." Since I was working in Oregon that time, I was making much less that what I would in Norway. To put it bluntly... my wage is almost considered to be that of poverty. It doesn't matter how much I make now, or that I have been able to provide for Jamie from the moment we sat foot in Norway. It doesn't matter that I got a job within the three first weeks of moving back. None of this matters to the immigration bureaucrats. And you know what's the worst part? If we had applied only ONE year earlier, we'd be exempt from this requirement. This is a new law that was put forth in 2010. Argh! If you want to read up on the entire process of family immigration to Norway, click here.

In the meantime, Jamie has to leave Norway, as he was not granted permission to stay for the final appeal. In my opinion, that is just cruel. There is no reason why they shouldn't let him stay here. They are causing financial hardship on both of us by enforcing this. I have to pay for the ticket, and he has to find a place to stay, a job and a car within just a couple of weeks from now. Yes, the system is strict. And it seems like it doesn't bend for a hardworking, honest married couple. We haven't done anything wrong. Neither of us have criminal records. We have never hurt anyone. We haven't robbed anyone or committed fraud. We are a family, and they are separating us.

Phew! What a week!

At last... Friday!

It's been a hetcic, but great week. It was a challenging week at work, but I loved it. This week we focused on the editing part of my job. But that wasn't all.. we also got sent to breaking news. A man is accused of setting fire to his apartment. Fortunately, everyone got out safely. One of the main differences I noticed from America.. police and fire are extremely polite and helpful. It's like they are going out of their way to help media. Good or bad?



I've also had to deal with some difficulties regarding our immigration application. Turns out we need a stamp called 'apostille' to verify the validity of our marriage certificate. Shouldn't be too much of a hassle. The 4 times I talked to UDI before we didn't need it. Jeez.



Jamie and I have been busy moving into our new apartment. Yay! It's not new per say. I was conceived in that very place. But don't you get any thoughts, thank you very much!



My grandma and grandpa built the house in the 50's. My mom and dad lived in the basement when I was a baby. Jamie and I are now getting ready to move in. We're thinking a retro design that will already go with the foundation. Color tones: red, purple and white. I want to keep the organic shapes while still implementing modern items. If you have any suggestions, throw 'em my way.



We still haven't seen any of the stuff we shipped from Eugene. I will have to spend an entire blog post discussing the troubles we've had with Rainier and EuroUsa shipping. ARGH!

Until then.... be safe. I miss you all!