The PennDOT site is confusing as hell, so as far as my husband and I could tell it told us I could switch my license over and he could change the address on his license (he still had his old Philly address on there) at the AAA in Shadyside. Alright, cool. So off we went to the AAA.

After a long, long trip on a cold, cold day we finally arrived and waited in a much longer line than I would have expected on a Saturday morning. When we got to the desk, the woman informed us that we actually CAN’T do those things there. Uh… wha? The website listed those services as being available at this location, and we told her as much. Of course, the website was wrong and no one had ever bothered to fix it, so she explained that we needed to go downtown on a weekday.

This probably shouldn’t have frustrated me, but it really did. A lot. I felt like I had missing work waaaay too much, and having to miss yet another day to get my license made a lil’ bit of rage build up inside. Of course, there was nothing else we could do, so we went home to wait for Tuesday (Monday was a holiday).

I got there early on Tuesday morning (my husband decided to forego his for a while longer), and it was a good thing I did. Already three people were in front of me. There were tons more behind me by the time the doors opened, and I was appalled that many kept trying to bump ahead. Unfortunately for them, I was still in rage mode – there was absolutely there was no way there getting in front of me unless they wanted a serious ass-kicking. I figured, hey – my purse is heavy, my boots are big… I’ll take anyone on!

Luckily, I managed to make it inside without having to throw any punches and was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it went. Showed them my docs, took a pic, handed over my NB license and BAM! – I had a shiny new PA license (temporary, of course – permanent one came in the mail a few days later). Not sure if it was worth missing half a day of work and all the money that goes with it, but it was finally done and I was one step further to being settled here in Pittsburgh!

Anywho, where’d we leave off… oh right. I got a job.

Thing is, when you get a job, you need to give them your Social Security Number (if you want to get paid, at least).

Remember when I was talking about that little box I checked stating I’d like them to give me an SSN as soon as I entered the country? And they said they would mail it to me?

Yeah. That never happened.

I waited, and waited… waited so long that I couldn’t even get my first paycheck. That was no good. I wanted my money! So I went into the Social Security office downtown to see what was up.

I got there as soon as they opened so I went to the desk almost immediately. I told the man working there about my situation – how I had recently immigrated here, had asked for an SSN on my visa application,  still hadn’t gotten one. He thought that was odd, so he looked me up in the system.

No record of me. Ever.

Great! I was in shock, and more than a little angry. That usually makes it hard for me to get out a sentence so I just kind of stared at him with an odd, twisted expression until he (probably more than a little frightened by my show of emotion) told me that this happens quite a bit.

Well that’s wonderful! Why did no one tell me this happens often before? Instead of idly waiting for my card to appear in my mailbox I could have gone straight to the office and made sure it was on its way!

The only thing I could do at that point was order a new one. Luckily I had thought to bring the greencard stamped in my passport as well as other identifying documents so that went smoothly. After I completed the application, the man told me to expect the card in about two weeks.

Two weeks?! But… my money!

I asked him if there was any way to get my number sooner, stressed again how much I wanted my paycheck, and he said I could check back tomorrow and they would give me the number on the spot (as long as I had my proper identification, of course). Phew.

So to close, when immigrating here it’s fine and dandy to check the box for an SSN, but don’t trust that one will come! Go to your l0cal Social Security office soon after you arrive to make sure that it’s being processed, and if it isn’t get it rolling! Not only will you need it for a job, but you need it for bank accounts, utilities, credit applications, and the list goes on and on. Life has been so much easier since I got mine!

It seemed like every American I knew was telling me how hard it was going to be to find a job in this economy – especially for a new immigrant. I kept panicking – creating these worst-case scenarios in my head where I’d have to work at McDonald’s, flipping burgers all day with no hope of ever improving my net worth.

Luckily I was completely wrong. Once I activated my green card, I decided the time had come to begin applying for jobs. With my husband in school, I would be the sole provider for our family, so I assumed that the sooner I started looking the sooner I’d finally find work.

I sent off my first application the Monday after I activated my green card. To my surprise, my phone rang about 30 seconds after I had clicked the “send” button. It was a recruiter.

Now, I was completely unfamiliar with “recruiters”. I had worked plenty in the past, but those companies always dealt with hiring and firing through their own human resource departments. It confused me that the recruiter would do the initial screening, set up interviews, and basically relay all communication between the company and I. A middle man. A middle man who worked off compensation. How strange.

My phone interview with this first company (as I still had two more weeks before I was going to move south) was phenomenal – apparently for both sides – and my recruiter informed me later that day that I basically had the job, with the condition of a good meeting in person. That was fine for me, and my initial fear was replaced with complete confidence.

The recruiter popped my little bubble of smugness by saying that he had lined up some more interviews for me “just in case” the one with the first company didn’t do go so well.

Uh… but didn’t they love me? Didn’t you JUST SAY they loved me!? All of a sudden, I was thrust back into panic-mode, imagining those worst-case scenarios again. I’d never not gotten a job I had applied for, so this new concept of having a great interview that may mean absolutely nothing was terrifying.

So I agreed to more interviews, both before the move (via phone) and after the move (in person). And I sent out more resumes. Through these resumes, I met new recruiters. One of these new recruiters was pushy to the extreme. It was so bad that when I was offered one of his jobs and I declined due to an impossible commute (I don’t have a car down here, remember) he begged and pleaded with me to take it, saying how important it was for HIM financially that I take it.

Unfortunately my natural instincts often sway to the side of the people-pleaser, so I almost agreed for his own sake. Almost.

I remembered that, after all those other interviews and even after my big move, I still had to have the in-person meeting with the first company. I told the pushy recruiter that I would decide after I met with said company.

Needless to say, the in-person interview went as well as the phone interview. Maybe better. Like… seriously. What a fabulous company. I fell in love with them immediately and took the job. So now, I’ve finally begun a full-time career in software engineering. Great company. No more internships. And providing all goes well with my work and the economy, in six months I roll-over to permanent and get an incredible benefits package.

Oh, and I never heard from that recruiter again. Maybe he filled the spot. Maybe he assumed that my lack of contact meant I had accepted the other job. Who knows. But life pretty is pretty much amazing right now.

The two weeks after the wedding were spent sorting, packing, planning, and saying good-byes. Bittersweet.

It’s funny when I think of how my mindset was when I was younger. All I wanted was to get away. Move someplace far, see new places, meet new people, and never have to deal with silly, boring New Brunswick ever again. I was pretty sure I never wanted to get married – why the heck would I want to tie myself to some guy and ruin all my potential adventures? – and I wanted anything but ordinary. No routines, no schedules, no plans.

By the time I was done university, I could finally see how great my hometown is. How wonderful it is to be surrounded by your family. How comforting it is to have countless friends a short walk away. I fell in love way sooner than I expected and dove head-first into marriage. And then, just when I was warming up to the idea of settling in New Brunswick permanently, I had to move to Pittsburgh. How ironic is that?

Okay, I didn’t have to move. If I had asked my husband to stay here, he would have said “yes”. Because he’s just that great. But he got accepted into a fantastic school to take a degree he was really excited about. Furthermore, he had ALL of his tuition paid for him. How could I say no to that? I wasn’t going to deny my husband his dream when it was so easily possible just to make myself more comfortable. Besides, we only grow when we’re outside of our comfort zone. Right?

It was things like that that I kept telling myself the days leading up to the move. That, and how often I’d come back to visit. I thought about the endless possibilities awaiting me in my new life, and tried as hard as I could to push away the sadness weighing me down.

My mom and step-dad drove me to the airport early in the morning January 25th. I always hate good-byes with my mom. She looks at me with her big, teary blue eyes and my heart just breaks. We made the farewells as quick as we could since leaving was making me fell physically ill – hugs, kisses, and then I was on my way.

I flew to Toronto from Saint John, and then on to Pittsburgh from there. I brought two very large, very heavy suitcases with me. That was it. My entire life, in two bags. Everything else I left in Canada to be picked up this summer when the weather is better and when we (hopefully) have a bigger place in which to put it all.

The flights were quick, easy, and on time. I had to go through customs in Toronto which was a huge pain. In case you’ve never had to go through customs, I had to pick up my luggage from the carousel, drag it over to customs, fill out a paper, wait in line for what feels like forever, answer some questions for the customs guard, put my luggage back on the carousel, and then race to the gate in time to board my next flight. It was far less substantial than I expected. Again, I was expecting to feel different going through customs as a US resident, but it was the same as ever.

I landed in Pittsburgh at about eleven that morning, exhausted from how little sleep I had the night before and incredibly excited to see my husband.

He was waiting for me at the luggage carousel. Being in his arms again made the past year feel almost surreal. It was so nice to be together and know that we won’t have to live apart anymore. No more separate countries. Just us, together, creating new lives. We stayed there like that, hugging, for what seemed like a long time. We didn’t really have any words to say. We knew exactly how the other felt. Already the painful process of immigration started to seem like a distant memory. Did we really go through all that? Did it really take so long? Did we really get through the pain of the whole process?

My husband pulled out of the hug, kissed me, and said “let’s go home”. And so we did. Finally.

Anyone familiar with the US Immigration process will know that POE is the abbreviation for “Port of Entry”. After getting approved at the interview in Montreal, the consulate shipped me my passport via DHL in a tempting little envelope that I wasn’t allowed to open (the visa is actually voided if you open it) until I next crossed the US border. This crossing is called the POE.

I was incredibly lucky in that I received my passport only two business days after my interview. Since I hadn’t planned on moving for another two weeks or so, I decided to have my POE early and take a short trip across the US border that weekend. Doing your POE before moving has a few benefits: your POE is what activates your greencard, so not only will you avoid the hassle during your move (which, if you’re flying, that hassle could mean missing your plane) but your name will be put in the system so that you will receive your SSN card sooner.

My parents had some shopping to do that day in Calais (Maine), so I trekked along with them. As we pulled up to the booth, my step-father was so nervous he looked about as guilty as a terrorist. With all his humming, and whistling, and bobbing, and teetering, I half expected the guard to pull us aside, open the trunk, and find a crate full of explosives. We did get pulled aside,  but that was after the guard kindly asked us what we were crossing for that day and I told him I was activating my visa. I was told beforehand the POE process could take an hour or longer, and it’s normal to be taken in to fill out forms and have your fingerprints taken. My parents could have continued on without me, but they wanted to wait to make sure everything went smoothly.

As expected, I signed some forms, gave them my fingerprints, and received a welcome booklet. The woman who I had been handed over to smiled and said “Welcome to the US, now you can start paying Uncle Sam!”, and that was that. Nice, easy, and quick. Definitely my favourite part of the process so far!

I began the day in Montreal, having my immigration interview. I was approved, and elated, but unfortunately that elation didn’t last long. After walking around Rue Ste-Catharine a little bit, I returned to the hotel to pack up and head for the airport. I tried checking in with my husband and bridesmaid S as much as possible, but they were (understandably!) hard to reach, and I started to panic about things back home.

See, in order to come to my interview, I had to leave last-minute wedding preparations to them. And while they’re amazing, I both felt guilty that they had to handle it on their own, and felt panicked that – as my luck usually has it – everything possible that could go wrong, would; and without me being there to fix everything that goes wrong, the entire thing would just fall apart! And so I sat in the Montreal airport, making a mental list of all the messes that could be being made at home and trying desperately to figure out how I would fix them if they really did happen.

By the time my flight finally landed in Saint John at 5:00pm, I was just a mess. Bridesmaid S picked my mom and I up at the airport, and we immediately went to pick up the cupcakes. We then made a quick stop at my parents’ house to drop off the cupcakes and pick up our flower girl so that we could head to the church for the rehearsal.

At the church we met up with my husband, his family members that were in the wedding party, and my nephews and niece. The rehearsal was disorganized at best. I won’t lie – none of us had any idea what we were doing. And since both my husband and I are so easy-going (especially when it came to certain wedding details!), we didn’t really care who stood where or who walked in what order. Our ever-enthusiastic flower girl A decided to be shy for I think the first time in her life and refused to walk by herself down the aisle. After fretting over the situation we finally sent her down with bridesmaid S and groomsman P. We eventually had a quick run-through, and then all of the adults needed to rush back to the reception site.

While I was in Montreal that day, S, my husband, and a few of his incredibly kind family members had been helping to decorate for the reception (a very special kudos to them, especially since I heard that the woman we rented the decorations from was a trial in herself!) but it still wasn’t finished. So we trekked over there to finish up. S, being the super-maid-of-honour that she was, continued running last minute errands; and when I say running, I really mean it! She and my husband for the past two days had been running all over the city like a madwoman and madman! Thankfully she has a strong, get-it-done personality, otherwise nothing would have worked out! The list of things that needed to be finished was at least a mile-long, I swear!

While S continued driving around Saint John (with my husband in tow), groomsmen P,  B, and myself decorated. We finished up well after ten o’clock, and S and my husband got back just in time to give us some much-needed sustenance – I hadn’t eaten at all that day, and I wasn’t the only one. I swear, a Subway sub has never tasted so good!

After we cleaned up, we went our separate ways. In a very untraditional manner, my husband and I decided to spend the night together. We had already been apart while I was in Montreal and being together helps calms us, which at that point we both really needed! So we prepared as much as we could for the morning and collapsed into bed sometime between 11 and midnight.

Looking back, it shouldn’t have been as stressful as it was, but my interview really threw a wrench into things. I had a good grasp of what needed to be done and how/when it would happen, but Montreal ruined that. Thank God I have some amazing friends and (now-) family who stepped-up while I was gone – without them, we wouldn’t have had the wedding that we did!

Short version – I was approved! Long version is as follows:

My mother and I flew into Montreal yesterday afternoon and checked in to our hotel, which happened to be just across the street from the US Consulate. We immediately went to Medisys to pick up my medical results and then shopped around a little after we had dinner. The rest of the night was mostly spent coordinating wedding details with my husband and bridesmaid S and finishing the ceremony script.

We woke up at 6 this morning to make it to the Consulate by 7 where I met up with a few people from an immigration forum that I follow who happened to have their interview date today as well. It was nice – comforting, even – to have people to talk with who understood everything I’ve been through in regards to immigration. They opened the doors at 7:30, and I was the third one in. The couples ahead of me were given the third degree for whatever reason, but I got through easily.

After I was in, I needed to go through a metal detector – basically like at the airport. My glucose metre gave them a bit of a panic for whatever reason, but after checking it over they gave me the letter ‘C’ and directed me to the waiting room downstairs. I only waited about three minutes before they called letters ‘A’ through ‘D’ and herded us into a large elevator like cattle. The elevator opened into another waiting room, so I sat and chatted with a few people until I was called.

I was called three times. First, I was called to a window and asked to hand over my birth certificate and marriage certificate. The next time I was called to another window and asked for my medical results, my financial support evidence, and my DS-230. The third time I was called into a room for the interview. The lady asked me a few quick questions, like where I was moving, where I met my husband, etc. and within 5 minutes told me to expect my passport back within two weeks.

I was confused at first, maybe because I was expecting something a little more… substantial. I didn’t expect a standing ovation, or for confetti to fall from the ceiling as celebratory music played in the background, but I thought she might at least say the words “you’re approved”!

Overall, I found them very nice, and the only issue I had was that I kept dropping things from my binder. My advice – when you bring your immigration binder, make it easy to pull out all the forms they ask for! You’ll be thankful you did.

Afterward my mother and I did a little more shopping on Rue Ste-Catherine and then headed here to the airport. Now I’m headed back to New Brunswick to frantically tie up all the loose ends of the wedding. Saturday night can’t get here fast enough!

I feel like this is the first time I’ve sat down in days. With two major events coming up, my mind is constantly spinning and wondering what I need to do next.

My immigration interview is Friday in Montreal, and my mom and I are flying up tomorrow. I’ve been putting together a gigantic binder full of every piece of documentation that I’ve used throughout this entire process, plus the documents they asked for in their letter, plus as much “evidence of a bonafide marriage” I can find. Putting everything together like that really puts into perspective just how much work has gone into getting me my greencard; it’s what this entire past year of our lives has been dedicated to, and being this close to the end gives such a strange mixture of shock, nervousness and exhilaration! I’m pretty sure I’ll be approved, but I’m still terrified at the idea of being denied. What would we do then? Guh – maybe I shouldn’t think about that.

The interview alone is stressful enough, but throw it into the process of planning a wedding and you have complete chaos! Aside from putting together immigration papers, this week has been devoted to the mile-long list of wedding errands. Finding the right shoes, ties, candy… or trying to track down the baker, florist, decorator… and making sure that my husband and bridesmaid S have everything they need in order to make sure things run smoothly while I’m away… – if I wasn’t determined to never get divorced before, I am now! I need to stay married because I am NEVER planning a wedding again! I love picking out the pretty things, but being forced to care about details that should be so trivial is exhausting. Not to mention: stupid.

I’m sure I’ll have a blast the day of, and will (hopefully!) feel it was all worth it, but right about now I wish I could just curl up under the covers of my bed and wake up on Sunday morning.

I’ll try to update after the interview, but I probably won’t be able to get any blog-time in until after wedding, at which point you can expects immigration- and wedding-posts galore!

Originally my husband and I were going to make the drive ourselves, but by the time we actually left my mother and bridesmaid S had decided to come along for the ride – my mother because she was concerned about our ability to navigate the way safely in the winter, and S because she loves Montreal and wanted a chance to shop.

And so we set off at 6am on Tuesday morning. Driving through New Brunswick was treacherous – we had just had a snow storm. Roads were a mix of packed-snow and ice, and the wind made complete whiteouts at times. Thankfully when we reached Quebec the weather cleared up and we had a beautiful winter drive along the Fleuve St-Laurent.

Because we had taken a car, we didn’t mind getting a hotel a little further away from Medisys than we had originally planned. We set up camp at the Auberge Universel hotel, and it was actually much nicer than we had expected for the price. The building was gorgeous, the location was great, and the staff were incredibly friendly.

After dinner my mother decided to go to bed (the drive had exhausted her, and I can’t say I blame her) which left S, my husband and I to entertain ourselves. We hopped on the metro and explored the city – S got her shopping in, and we all had a great time. Montreal is absolutely lovely – it’s my most favourite place in the world! A little piece of Europe in North America, really.

The next morning I was dropped off at Medisys while everyone else enjoyed a morning downtown. Medisys was a lovely office, and the receptionists were very welcoming. Although the office was bilingual, clearly their language of preference was French, so I decided to use it as an opportunity to test my fluency. It was comforting to see that I hadn’t lost my French, and speaking the language again felt strangely comforting.

I filled out the forms a receptionist gave me and in return gave her the documents I was asked to bring – immunization records, passport photos, and a letter from my doctor. Shortly afterward a nurse ushered me into a room where she took a blood sample, tested my vision, measured my height and weight, took my blood pressure, and checked through my immunization records. As always, my veins were hard to find, but she managed to find a good one after a couple of tries. I was pleased to hear that, thanks to the summer I spent in China a few years ago, my immunizations were up to date and I required nothing further. After being informed of this, I was sent back out to the waiting room.

After sitting for another five minutes or so, the xray technician called me in to have some chest xrays. They were pretty basic – put on the johnny shirt, wear the lead apron, snap snap snap, and done. I was again sent back to the waiting room to await the doctor.

The doctor was probably the only disappointing part of the experience. I asked her to tell me the details of my examination in English because I was worried I’d miss something in French, but it turned out that her English was far worse than my French, and she was irritated to have to speak outside of her native language to boot. She was rude throughout the examination, but aside from her attitude it wasn’t so bad. She performed a typical examination – tested reflexes, looked in ears, looked in eyes, looked down throat, etc. – told me everything was fine, asked for another letter from my doctor to be faxed to the office, and then said I could go back to the waiting room to “wait for the nurse to finish me up”.

Well, after waiting a half hour for a nurse and asking the receptionist what was taking so long, I discovered that the doctor had mistaken the word nurse for receptionist and all I really had left to do was pay and go home. If you disregard the time I spent waiting for nothing, the entire medical took less than an hour, and I would highly recommend that everyone book in the morning like I did before they get behind – people coming in around the time that I left had a much longer waiting time.

After I paid I met up with my husband, my mother, and S. By special request we explored the area where my husband had lived a few years past, stopped at his favourite bakery, and headed home. After being led in circles by the GPS a few times (due to construction) we finally made it to the highway and had a leisurely drive back to New Brunswick. All in all it was a pretty fun trip, and I can’t wait to go back next week for my interview!

Aside from wedding planning and a few shifts at work my husband and I were able to relax and spend the merry season with the people we love. My husband has blended into our family so quickly and easily I sometimes forget that he’s a relatively new addition! My mother loves her new son, and definitely spoils him. I’d be jealous if I didn’t love her for it! She’s really the most wonderful woman in the world, and I’m blessed to be her daughter.

My husband and my step-father became fast friends, and many of our nights this winter were spent with the two sitting on the couch yelling and cheering for their favourite hockey teams. My nieces and nephews absolutely adore him, and it was no contest when he became their new favourite uncle! Baking Christmas cookies, watching Christmas movies, and all of the other precious moments we spent with them have made me incredibly excited for when we start our own family.

Even my brothers and father like him, which I had actually been worried about. My brothers can be gruff when they’re protective, and my dad and I haven’t been very close since my parents’ divorce, but they quickly adapted to my husband and have been supportive to us along our journey.

This was our first Christmas together where the majority of our gifts (aside from those we got for each other) were addressed to both of us. Even gifts from extended family and stepfamily included my husband, which he seemed to really appreciate. Invitations to Christmas and New Year parties also now include both of us, but that might be more because my friends have also become my husband’s friends – in particular, my husband and bridesmaid S’s fiance have become pretty close, which makes spending time with my best friend that much easier!

I hate to see the holidays come to an end, because for me it’s not just a holiday that’s ending – I’m experiencing the final days of my life in Canada. And while I’m excited to begin a new life as a new family unit, it’s so difficult to leave everyone else behind. So for me, I’ll be savouring the remaining days before the wedding. Hopefully all the laughs and smiles will keep me cheerful during the big move, and our Christmases in Pittsburgh will be just as merry!

Holiday pics to follow! Stay tuned!