Thread by @veryheathmiller

Hullo Tweeterpeeps. I got some good news yesterday that I would like to share with you all. My Petition to Adjust my Status to a United States Lawful Resident was approved yesterday. So to put it in the popular parlance - I got me a green card!

It is only valid for a limited time (2 years) needs to be renewed is subject to various bureaucratic whimsy and no I am not a citizen so I can't just pop off and live somewhere else for a few years and hop on back BUT it is nonetheless a Very Good Thing.

Living with the unlikely but nonetheless technically plausible possibility of being deported and separated from my partner and baby has been low level but psychically significant background radiation in my life for a while now, and I can't articulate how relieved I am.

I will try not to populate a 38 message thread with the ins and outs and frustrations and stresses of the process, which despite my incredible privilege has been real.

Sidebar: I am entirely aware how incredibly lucky and privileged I am as an educated, white, English speaker from a country not seen as a problematic (well people are a little startled by some of our wildlife but I didn't bring any and hey you guys have bears) so my lord -

I have such sympathy for those struggling with immigration matters much more fiendish and less comparatively smooth as my process has been so far. Really, I think about it a lot.

If anyone out there has a good idea of what charites/foundations I would be best to direct some dollars to (I know the ACLU is involved but I am sure there are many others) I would appreciate you sharing the knowledge.

Speaking of dollars. Well, this whole process certainly took a lot of them that I didn't technically have. So now that it is temporarily mostly sorted I shall have some more free time to do these things -

1.) Re-awaken & re-work my sadly neglected Patreon which I started because @JohnPeacock told me to and it was late & I listened to him.
I will be posting over there very soon, but hey guys let me know what sort of Content you might want there.

2.) Audiobooks! I haven't worked all that much lately because of the baby and various other life things. Fortunately I have some gigs lined up but really could do with more - so if you are an author or an agent or related in some other way and you want my services - hit me up!

3.) Streaming. For those of you who are into the Vidya, I will be pushing on with the #100GamesChallenge and trying to Stream on Tuesdays and Thursdays every single week at the very least. So come join me!

Of course if none of those things are of interest to you, neverfear, any of you who are Patrons of my wonderful and supportive partner @catvalente or buy her books - well you are the reason we have a roof over our heads and food in the larder and lawyers bills to squint at.

Thank you all so much from the bottom of my Antipodean heart.

One of the things I don't have to say to myself anymore when contemplating some neglected task and prioritising Working on Immigration Stuff is "Yeah but what if you don't get to stay in the country coz you did X instead of organized exhibit A for form blah blah blah'

THAT IS GOING TO BE SO SWEET.

Don't think you have escaped my TWEET STORM OF COMPLAINING THOUGH. I am just pacing myself. I have about 25 tweets just on "Getting Your Immigration Medical Exam And A Level Of Bullshit That is Frankly Comical in Its Magnitude" But for now - hooray.

Now please brace yourself/unfollow me/celebrate while I post a series of photos of the Wilde Childe with vaguely related captions.

HELLO I AM A LAWYER PLEASE GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY

WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO LIST EVERY SINGLE ‘CLUB, ORGANIZATION OR SOCIAL GROUP’ I HAVE EVER BELONGED TO, THE YEARS I WAS ACTIVE AND THE PHYSICAL ADRESS OF THAT ORGANIZATION? HOW IS THE LEGO BUILDING CLUB I WENT TO IN ‘99 RELEVANT TO THIS PROCESS?

Wait, Dad’s compulsory gonorrhea test cost HOW MUCH?

“THIS WHOLE PROCESS SEEMS... UNNECESSARILY COMPLICATED.”