Bring on March!

Okay, so March is already here. Sue me! 😛

This month will prove to be a rather busy one for me. This month I turn 30, I have to submit my application the United States Citizen and Immigration Service (USCIS) to have the conditional status removed from my Permanent Residence Visa, I will travelling to Newport, KY for a bowling lesson and I will competing in an in-house bowling tournament. YAY MARCH!

The USCIS

This month (in fact within the next week) I need to have submitted my application to the USCIS to have the conditional status removed from my permanent residency or risk having my visa revoked and possibly get my ass deported back to New Zealand WITHOUT my family. I received notification about five weeks ago that this was coming up. Now, having paid just under $1,000 NZD (~$700 USD) to get my visa in the first place, you would think having the conditional status removed would be cheap, right? WRONG! It will cost me $545 USD (~$790 NZD)! That’s right folks, it will cost me ALMOST what it cost me to get here in the first place just to change my status.

For those that don’t know (I suspect that would be almost everyone), the conditional status on my visa is because at the time of my application, Jennifer and I had only been married for about eight months or so and together as a couple for about 10 or 11 months. Immigration law in both New Zealand and the United States requires that you be married, prove that you have been a couple, for at least two years. While we couldn’t prove the two years part of the whole deal, having a wife that is heavily pregnant during the interview (I think she was almost six months in by that time) would convince just about anyone that the marriage was not an arrangement to get me a US visa. The proviso to the application being accepted was that I would be placed on a conditional visa that was valid for two years and I would have to apply to have the conditional status removed within the 90 day period BEFORE that two year period was up. We now have some 60 days remaining. The only thing we’re waiting on is the money, which should be here ANY DAY now.

Happy birthday to me!

This month also happens to be the 30th anniversary of my arrival on this planet. That’s right folks, as of March 12th, 2010, I will no longer be in my 20’s and I really couldn’t care less! LOL! It’s so funny looking back and I distinctly remember being in my mid teens and thinking 24 was old. Then I turned 21 or so and I remember thinking 30 was old. Now as 30 fast approaches, I’m starting to realize that 30 isn’t that old at all. In fact, even 40 isn’t that old and neither is 50! LOL! It strange how perceptions change with age, huh? Anyway…

For my birthday, I’ve managed to snag a very special treat. Early on the morning of the 12th, we’ll be heading out of town to a town called Newport, KY, which is just south of Cincinnati, OH, about 3 hours away, give or take 15 minutes or so. Once there, I will be receiving a one-on-one coaching (bowling) session with the legendary, Mo Pinel.