Approved, but…

Unfortunately, I received residency visa…somehow. I’m not exactly sure since no where in my letter or even the information I provided would be enough for residency, but here we are.

I was approved on Feb 3, but didn’t send my passport until April - I was in Portugal at the time on a 90 day visa and had 120 days to get my passport to D.C. Got my passport back and it said I did not have an AIMA (immigration) appointment, but would need to schedule one. This confused me, as a temporary (1 year multi-entry visa) wouldn’t have AIMA…at least that is what I thought. Took a couple weeks to confirm and after talking with a lawyer in Portugal, the tax implication of that visa was just too much at the time.

So, I actually found a person that had gotten their visa switched to the correct one (on the Portugal & Friends FB group). I followed her steps and contact VSF - they gathered all the info and resent everything to the embassy in D.C. This was in early May….it is now September 1 and no word. I did try and email, but got no response.

Planning wise, this actually has worked out - as my rental in Portugal needs some major repairs, so the 6 month rental wouldn’t work anyway. I decided to take a trip to Panama - just to see if that would be a viable options…more to come here.