Two months left

It is coming down the home stretch now, less than two months before the big adventure. Still no decision from Migrationsverket, but I am confident it will come soon. We petitioned for an expedited decision and ran into another "bump" in the road. Mine and my daughters applications were separated and given separate case numbers. When we inquired with the embassy as to why this happened, they said that my daughter did not need a visa to move to Sweden because she has dual citizenship. This was news to us, as we had checked with US Immigration shortly after she was born and they told us that since she was born to a Swedish mother she did not qualify for dual citizenship. The Swedish Embassy said we just need to go and get her a Swedish passport and she was good to go. Well there is not enough time to do that, so we asked them to just send the visa paperwork and we would get the Swedish passport when we arrive in Sweden. With that being the last piece of the puzzle we need, they went ahead and forwarded her paperwork. Now we just wait for the final stamp of approval and we have all our papers in order.

This paperwork process has still been a breeze compared to what we went through when we were married. While easier, it is still an epic adventure through government red tape and departments that do not know what the other departments are doing. In the long run the prize for this adventure would be worth twice the hassle. 

It is turning Spring in Sweden and this is what awaits us upon our arrival. 

Stuck in a holding pattern

"This is your captain speaking. We are not cleared for landing, so we are going to level off and take a holding pattern."

I heard these words on a flight once. What it meant was that for some reason our plane was not going to be allowed to land at the destination. We just flew in circles for awhile, just waiting for whatever issue to be cleared up.

Right now I hear that captain in my head saying that same phrase over again everyday. My move to Sweden is in a holding pattern. What is causing this delay appears to be the Migrationsverket. These are the lovely people in Sweden who decide if my daughter and I will be granted our residency permits.

We have been moving along well with our schedule, in fact we have been moving ahead of schedule. All of our applications were submitted quickly, and had been processing pretty fast. We had our yard sale, and sold almost everything we own. We put in notice at our jobs, and are currently training replacements. We are only about 10 weeks for our planned move date. There are only a few loose ends to tie up and we are off on the new adventure.

Then the captain speaks!

The Migrationsverket has not approved our residency permits. In fact thanks to a "clerical error" they lost the record of my interview for about a month. Now that it is found, we are stuck waiting for a decision. We have to give notice at our house in about three weeks. We have to by airline tickets. We cannot get the tickets without the visa's and once we give notice at our house we will be homeless 30 days later. All I can do is sit and wonder if we are going to make it.

The problem with holding patterns is there is only so much fuel on the plane. There is a point of no return, where if the captain decides to he cam turn the plane around and safely land. Once that point is crossed the only options are to clear for landing, or run out of fuel and plummet to the ground.

The point of now return is quickly approaching.

I am only praying that we get cleared to land!