Argentinians in the U.S. - Emotional Support Group

[Andresr 47]

I filed ir2 for my 2 sons ,not that common ,but thanks to this forum I’ve been able to almost finish (nvc stage).

i moved From NJ to Buenos Aires when I was 11 in 1982 ,ja I can tel! You in that moment it was a big cultural change ,friend,family and even the food, what place in the world doesn’t have ketchup for there hamburgers but the one thing that help me out was my new family in Argentina uncles aunt cousins grandfathers ,and making new friends . I adapted because I felt loved  ,so I guess that for all immigrant it’s important to embrace there new family and friends and culture of your new home ,don’t compare just enjoy the new experiences,

Thats  what I’m telling my kids ,I hope it doesn’t take them long ,as a parent I wanted them to grow up in one place in there childhood   but sadly I’ve lost faith of the future in Argentina so I’m going back ,I hope that it’s the best for them .time will tell 

[aleful 1,905]

Hi

 

Welcome everybody

 

I was family based, but I'm an oldie, gone through all the stages. My USC mom filed for me back in 1999, as an unmarried child over 21. I got my GC in 2005 and in 2010 my citizenship.

 

I'm from Cordoba.

 

I lived in Miami for many years but now I've lived in Tampa for almost 5 years due to work.. My family lives close to Homestead, FL, but I pass through Miami every time I visit them. For those who know or live in Miami, I lived in Coral Gables.

 

With immigration comes patience, be patient, especially in these times, I waited over 5 years to get my GC

 

[Fe.Ta 857]

11 hours ago, Andresr said:

I filed ir2 for my 2 sons ,not that common ,but thanks to this forum I’ve been able to almost finish (nvc stage).

i moved From NJ to Buenos Aires when I was 11 in 1982 ,ja I can tel! You in that moment it was a big cultural change ,friend,family and even the food, what place in the world doesn’t have ketchup for there hamburgers but the one thing that help me out was my new family in Argentina uncles aunt cousins grandfathers ,and making new friends . I adapted because I felt loved  ,so I guess that for all immigrant it’s important to embrace there new family and friends and culture of your new home ,don’t compare just enjoy the new experiences,

Thats  what I’m telling my kids ,I hope it doesn’t take them long ,as a parent I wanted them to grow up in one place in there childhood   but sadly I’ve lost faith of the future in Argentina so I’m going back ,I hope that it’s the best for them .time will tell 

Thank you for sharing.

[Fe.Ta 857]

4 hours ago, aleful said:

Hi

 

Welcome everybody

 

I was family based, but I'm an oldie, gone through all the stages. My USC mom filed for me back in 1999, as an unmarried child over 21. I got my GC in 2005 and in 2010 my citizenship.

 

I'm from Cordoba.

 

I lived in Miami for many years but now I've lived in Tampa for almost 5 years due to work.. My family lives close to Homestead, FL, but I pass through Miami every time I visit them. For those who know or live in Miami, I lived in Coral Gables.

 

With immigration comes patience, be patient, especially in these times, I waited over 5 years to get my GC

 

5 years for a GC? That is crazy, yet not shocking giving USCIS ongoing problems.

 

Thank you for sharing.  We live in Florida, so we know all the places you are talking about!

[aleful 1,905]

It gets worse

 

nowadays it's over 7 and for Mexicans the wait is over 20 years

 

 

[Fe.Ta 857]

14 minutes ago, aleful said:

It gets worse

 

nowadays it's over 7 and for Mexicans the wait is over 20 years

 

 

Are you talking about a green card or citizenship?

[rominavairoletti 4]

On 7/17/2020 at 12:05 AM, Fe.Ta said:

You are not the only one. It is just not as common. Have you checked out the portal here on VJ to look for other timelines and cases that are FB from Argentina?

Yup, that's what I meant ,I´m the only one here on VJ (or so it seems, for now) lol. You are right, it´s not that common. And yes I´ve looked already. I did find ppl from other latin american countries though, and they helped with my concerns! My mom filed the I-130 back in 2017 it's the first time that I´m actually researching about this  

Edited July 19, 2020 by rominavairoletti

[rominavairoletti 4]

7 hours ago, Fe.Ta said:

Are you talking about a green card or citizenship?

I think he/she is talking about the waiting times in total (approval, interview, etc). I have now been waiting for 3 years and if it keeps going like this in about 2 years more my PD will become current (so its going to be 5 years as well, hopefully).

[aleful 1,905]

Green card

 

citizenship is only waiting 5 years as a resident

 

 

[Fe.Ta 857]

47 minutes ago, aleful said:

Green card

 

citizenship is only waiting 5 years as a resident

 

 

Yeah, I think family-based GC take a long time, especially depending on the field office.  We think we might be one of those, since Orlando is now at 30 months.

[andreaam 514]

23 hours ago, aleful said:

Hi

 

Welcome everybody

 

I was family based, but I'm an oldie, gone through all the stages. My USC mom filed for me back in 1999, as an unmarried child over 21. I got my GC in 2005 and in 2010 my citizenship.

 

I'm from Cordoba.

 

I lived in Miami for many years but now I've lived in Tampa for almost 5 years due to work.. My family lives close to Homestead, FL, but I pass through Miami every time I visit them. For those who know or live in Miami, I lived in Coral Gables.

 

With immigration comes patience, be patient, especially in these times, I waited over 5 years to get my GC

 

Hey there! I’m from Córdoba too. 
wow! What a journey you had with USCIS. Definitely a lot of patience from you. 

[aleful 1,905]

s

Spoiler

 

small world

 

where from? I lived mostly in Barrio General Paz but also Yofre Norte. My uncle lives in Talleres Este

 

I still have family over there but my immediate family lives south of Miami, FL, My brother and his family and my mom

 

How about you? What's your story?

[Fla&Mark 58]

I'm loving this thread. I think it's so neccesary to have people you can reach out that will understand exactly what you're going through. I think that nobody understands completly what it means until you're here.

 

I could not agree more on the words patience, communication and space. Exactly those three. It's important to understand (at least it was a game changer for me) that as much as I was going through a lot moving here, away from my family, talking another language and all the stuff that we already know.. my husband was going, and continues to go, through a difficult process himself. He didn't grab not a single beer with his friends or family alone since I am here, just because he felt he had to be here for me 24x7. As much as I appreciate that, I see that he's been devoting his entire life to me and our marriage to make me feel welcome, and cared. And it's a lot. I think at the beginning I was so submerged on what was happening to me that I neglected -not intentionally of course- that this whole transition was a lot for him too. And we are still adjusting to my new routine, work, it's a never ending process that every couple goes trough with the difference that we have some other difficulties like language or culture. Compassion is another big word that I would add.

 

I was thinking, and I know it's a little bit of organization, but if you guys think it could be a fun idea to share among us and our significant others, I can set a Fibbage  or Quiplash game. Basically you can play on your phone. I will share a zoom conference with the "screen" and then everyone can play on your phones. For example, if you're two people in your household you can open the screen in your laptop and then both can play each one from your phone against other people in another part of the country. I don't know.. I've been playing it with my sisters back home and it feels good, so, let me know your thoughts

 

Hope everybody is safe and healthy! 

[Fe.Ta 857]

49 minutes ago, Fla&Mark said:

I'm loving this thread. I think it's so neccesary to have people you can reach out that will understand exactly what you're going through. I think that nobody understands completly what it means until you're here.

 

I could not agree more on the words patience, communication and space. Exactly those three. It's important to understand (at least it was a game changer for me) that as much as I was going through a lot moving here, away from my family, talking another language and all the stuff that we already know.. my husband was going, and continues to go, through a difficult process himself. He didn't grab not a single beer with his friends or family alone since I am here, just because he felt he had to be here for me 24x7. As much as I appreciate that, I see that he's been devoting his entire life to me and our marriage to make me feel welcome, and cared. And it's a lot. I think at the beginning I was so submerged on what was happening to me that I neglected -not intentionally of course- that this whole transition was a lot for him too. And we are still adjusting to my new routine, work, it's a never ending process that every couple goes trough with the difference that we have some other difficulties like language or culture. Compassion is another big word that I would add.

 

I was thinking, and I know it's a little bit of organization, but if you guys think it could be a fun idea to share among us and our significant others, I can set a Fibbage  or Quiplash game. Basically you can play on your phone. I will share a zoom conference with the "screen" and then everyone can play on your phones. For example, if you're two people in your household you can open the screen in your laptop and then both can play each one from your phone against other people in another part of the country. I don't know.. I've been playing it with my sisters back home and it feels good, so, let me know your thoughts

 

Hope everybody is safe and healthy! 

Thank you for sharing!

Just like your husband, I did the same thing for my husband.  I wanted to make sure he was taken care of and provided as much as I could so it would be an easier transition.  However, we both realized that I didn't need to do that, that it was OK for him to not be OK sometimes because it is a natural process.  So, we have learned to be live with that and go through it - that I do not need to be trying to "solve" everything he is going through because feelings and emotions should be felt and processed, especially when it comes to nostalgia, missing the family, getting used to things, and so on.

I keep remembering an analogy I heard a long time ago (probably from a TV show of some sort) where in relationships you have two roles - one is a garden and the other is the gardener - that switch on and off throughout different seasons.  At this point in our marriages, the USC is the gardener and the beneficiary is the garden because we are the ones that are more knowledgeable in how to live and manage life in USA.  Thus, we "take care" of you.  However, eventually, beneficiaries will find their own way to blossom and grow on their own and, at some point, you will be the ones "taking care of us" when we are going through something.  And it goes on and off throughout our lifetimes.  I use quotations regarding taking care of someone because we are all grown adults and know how to take care of ourselves - I just mean that support keeps flipping back and forth from being needed more on one side versus the other.

 

Needless to say, support will look different for each individual, that's why communication is important.  Some people need space and alone time, others need hand-holding, etc., and that's why communication is important.  Additionally, for one person to be able to give support to another, that person needs to be in a healthy place as well.  So, if I can provide another nugget of advice, it would be that we need to do some self-care before we continue to out-pour support onto others.  I take advantage of driving to work to be able to do reflection or sometimes I take some alone time to do something I like to do or it relaxes me that does not include my husband.  This allows me to feel refreshed and emotionally stable so I can be there for him on the not so good days.

 

 

[TBoneTX 43,058]

A big thing to remember in general is that homesickness and culture shock will strike, even if we're fully expecting them.  It will also happen when we least expect, such as months or longer after arrival, just when we think that we've finally gotten our new environment/culture figured out.

 

This happens to Norteamericanos, too, when they're living abroad.