Dear Friends,
Today I have an unpleasant task: I need to go to the USCIS (US Citizenship & Immigration Services) office. Ugh. It is all because of a mistake they made, which has caused me months of stress and really added to my sister’s stress too. They are a remarkably inefficient and incompetent agency. Unless of course they are making things more difficult for immigrants, in which case they are very effective!
This immigrant stress was part of my childhood. Finally, we got through the maze of confusing policy changes and dishonest immigration lawyers and I became a permanent resident in the early 2000s. I thought I was done with USCIS headaches. But they somehow managed to mess up my green card renewal. It has taken two and a quarter years!
Luckily, a friend of Tara’s recommended we contact my congressional representative’s office to help. So she tried, and they were remarkably helpful. What was estimated by USCIS to take at least another six months took one month after the representative’s office helped me. So, FYI, in case you need help with a federal agency, try your representative!
We don’t even know if we actually need to go today or if it was another annoying mistake by USCIS. It is impossible to contact them to ask in any reasonable timeframe. So I am not thrilled about this at all!
Update: It turns out I didn’t need it. Glad I spent the time to go to the office and wait. At least it is all sorted for now!
It might seem surprising that this is something on my mind. I think many people don’t realize that disabled folks have a lot of logistics to deal with, and that is on top of the same logistics that most other people have to handle. It is an extra hassle because I can’t do these things on my own. Each little appointment requires a support person. I know I am whining, but I am grumpy!
That is it for today. I wish things were easier. But I am grateful my team can help me. Hope you all have a wonderful day with no annoyances!
Your Friend,
Danny
Danny With Words 
Danny, I so appreciate your perspective on this issue. You’re right I have never considered the immigration issues that may affect people with disabilities on top of all the bureaucratic hassles some states offer. Here in Washington State I have a challenging time getting support for Joel and I often mention to his case manager that I can’t believe people who speak English as a second language navigate this process. I speak English as a first language, have a masters degree and I struggle to understand the process. I am still amazed that getting help is so challenging. I am so glad that your situation resolved itself and that you are here to stay! I hope you are celebrating another obstacle that you and your family have overcome. Your resilience is growing with each post! With gratitude, Kari
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