Operation Renew Visa Day 1

I don't want to call it a hassle because compared to what the US expects, the requirements for staying here in New Zealand are probably the equivalent to cutting the crust off a peanut butter sandwich and pouring a proper glass of milk. What peanut butter sandwiches and milk have to do with New Zealand immigration, I don't know...maybe I'm just hungry because it's nearly lunch.

All in all, however, there is still a lot to be done. After finally finding the correct bureau of immigration (because there is the official government one and then there are lots of little private ones that make you pay for their help) I received answers to a lot of questions I had concerning the application, what I should be applying for, etc. I'm sure there will be more to come. You see, because I have been here nearly a year (eek!) and I plan to stay on for at least another year (eek eek!) I need to have a number of special forms and things filled out in order to pass the application process. For instance, I need to have a chest x-ray and medical exam done, and I need to pass it. Ok, fair enough, they don't want sick people in their country. So I get this done by my doctor and voila, I'm in. Right? Wrong.

Next I need to get police records from my home country. And since my home country is the US, we all know who I get to deal with next. That would be the FBI. Yay. I mean, other than the fact that they probably have ten million other better things to do than get my police records, I have a feeling that they may be a bit, shall we say, swamped. So I expect this to take a while. So I call the FBI up and ask for my records to be sent half way across the world, right? Wrong.

I have to apply to have my own records sent to me. And I have to pay. You can't even get your own personal information for free anymore. Pretty soon we'll have to pay to have a birthday or something. But along with the application and processing fee, I have to provide fingerprints. So I have to go to the New Zealand police station and get prints done up, for forty bucks.

This is not a cheap affair.

And after I pay the money and attempt to get the prints done, the cop comes and tells me "we don't have time to do prints today, we had 30 prisoners come in this morning." Must have been some sort of drug bust. So i have to go back tomorrow. It's never easy, is it folks?

But I did manage to make copies of pictures and cards and sweet little things Craig and I have given to each other. We need those to prove we are in a committed and loving relationship. We also need letters of support from family and friends, so those are currently being written and on their way here.

All in all, today wasn't a complete waste of time, and I think it goes without saying (though I will say it anyway) I am SO glad I started this process now, as opposed to two weeks before my permit expires.

In reality I've dreaded this whole situation. Not because I don't want to stay, but because it is always such an amazing challenge to deal with the government. And this time I'm dealing with TWO governments, one being, in my opinion, the most difficult government in the world. So we've got twice the challenge.

I figure that if I can make it through four years of college, moving to a foreign place, and all those other wonderful things, I can take on New Zealand and the United States.

Bring it.

-NMK