and so it begins…

The sun was shining on a beautiful autumn day in Wisconsin as we climbed down the side of the gorge and sat on a rock overlooking the river. The ring box tucked in my jacket pocket felt like it had been burning a hole in me all day, ever since I first recovered it from its hiding place in my girlfriend’s parents’ house that morning. I had rehearsed how this might play out many times, but wasn’t even sure where it was going to happen, so I was pleased when we chanced upon a spot just like I had imagined.

A boat was coming down the river, and it seemed prudent to stall for a few minutes. After all, there was a jetty below us, and the last thing I wanted was a horde of tourists encroaching on our ‘moment’. The boat passed, but the wake struck the rusty old pontoon with such force it sounded like the whole thing was going to tear apart and end up downstream. More minutes passed as it settled. More stalling needed to be done.

I won’t bore you with the details, but needless to say the moment came when I reached in my pocket, pulled out the box, and opened it to reveal the sparkle inside (for the record, the initial response I received was “ARE YOU SHITTING ME?!”, but there was an official “yes!” shortly after.)

The deed was done; we were engaged! Tears flowed, hasty picture messages showing off the ring were sent back to the UK, and then we headed back to the hotel to share the moment with my girlfriend’s fiancée’s extended family (all there for what is an annual tradition ‘vacation’).

Once the dust had settled, it was time to start planning the rest of our lives. Neither of us want to waste time with this – those that have been in a long-term relationship will know that there is a lot of waiting involved.

Reliance on modern technology is essential, and provides near constant contact (timezones allowing), however there are still countdowns upon countdowns until the next visit, the next flight, the next holiday. After taking the initial step towards being together permanently, there was no desire on either part to put things on the back-burner.

The main decision to make first of all was, of course, who was moving where. As you can tell by the name of this blog, I am off to the states! Making that choice, though, was the quick and easy bit. Now comes the joy of the visa process…

I will be moving to the USA on a K-1 fiancé visa. This will enable me to enter America and marry my fiancée within six months of the visa being approved. I can then take steps towards the green card and citizenship and everything else in the years to come.

As I am sure most will imagine, there is a lot of paperwork, a fair chunk of money, and plenty of waiting involved in this, too. We have the initial forms filled in and they will be sent to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services within days. Then it is a case of playing the waiting game; filling in more forms when necessary, paying more money, having an interview, medical… I won’t lay out the whole process now, but suffice to say it is a journey in itself.

The end goal, however, is something quite incredible and so I have created this blog to try to document both the process we are undergoing to get me there, and then my life in the states. It might be a good way for family and friends to keep up to date with what I am up to (I am not a Facebook user…), others looking to do the same thing might find it useful, or it may end up just becoming a diary for me to keep track of everything that happens.

Either way, hopefully I remember to keep updating as I make my way towards a new and exciting life in the midwest!