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I spent ten days in the UK
helping to clear my brother's dilapidated flat (a nightmare in
itself) and cremating him.
One problem I did have though
was that I slightly overstayed my 90 days. I went up to 96 or
97 days. Homeland Security regulations on immigration state
clearly that in certain mitigating circumstances, this is
allowed.
My mother wanted me to stay in
the UK, but could not accept my wife being with me. I offered
a perfect solution for all concerned, but it was turned down.
So, after those painful ten days, I flew back to Chicago.
This should have been a breeze
as well. I was through passport control without any mention of
my previous (and slight) overstay. Fine. Then I stupidly went
back to ask a perfectly harmless question about immigration
and was pulled aside by a senior immigration officer.
He too was rather agitated. Must
be something about the job that turns ordinary people into
monsters with a pathological hatred of innocent travellers. He
was aided and abetted by two other officers who then made my
stay at the airport very uncomfortable. However, even after
this tirade of threats and intimidation, I was still allowed
through.
I was now connecting to Portland
International Airport. I was happy to arrive and see my wife
again. But we were still at square one with our housing needs.
It took about another five or
six weeks before my wife insisted that we find an apartment at
the village complex she had been living in with her work
colleague. To my surprise, we were accepted. By December 1st
we were signed-up and I returned with my belongings shortly
afterwards.
I recall that when we signed
this contract my wife put her hands together and praised God
for his help. I was happy too. The apartment was not
brilliant, but it was warm, reasonably quiet and dry. We were
about content as we could be.
It was our first Christmas
together. It was the only day off for 'Ling-Ling' at that time
and it was not such a great day. 'Ling-Ling' had a bad headache
and I let her sleep the entire morning while I cooked our
Christmas.
But we were together and we had
our own little Christmas tree, beautifully lit-up and
decorated. 'Ling-Ling' likes the simple things in life and she
was so proud to have her own little place which she could
share with her devoted husband. I too was happy, but mindful
of the predicament we had yet to face - our survival in the US
or somewhere else.
My hopes were raised on
Thanksgiving Day in 2007. I met by chance a guy Ling and I call
'Crazy John' at a Market of Choice in Eugene. 'Ling-Ling' were
together that day to celebrate Thanksgiving with one of her
Indonesian friends.
John and I stayed in touch for a
while, but he was elusive. Eventually, he became offensive and
that was that. But had it worked out, he was offering me the
chance to work with or for him and stay in the US. If only
that had happened. I would have had access to a good attorney
(according to John) and he could have got me a work visa. By
being legitimately in the country, I could then sponsor my
wife who could also remain indefinitely.
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