Lilliam and I visited the US several times before we decided to apply for Lilliam’s Green Card. We started the Process in July of 2016. The process is described in the following US Government website.

In our case, I had to file form I-30, which is the petition for an alien relative. The filing fee was $535.

There were many more fees as well as the expenses of preparing the documentation. All in all, I think I spent in excess of $1,500+ to get through the entire process.

I am not going to go into any of the filing specifics, but will merely describe the process and anxiety we went through in satisfying all of the requirements.

Some people hire lawyers to do this, but I am convinced that it can be done by the individual if you are patient and willing to read the instructions and double check your work. I had to do the filing as I was the petitioner. There are requirements for both the petitioner as well as the relative. Continue reading Green Card Experience →

Thanks to all that replied to my “Hello World” post. I had chosen that title as it is the default title for the first post on WordPress and it almost seemed like a first post since it had been so long.

I doubt if I will be able to be as active posting as I was before. It will take a few days for me to organize the Green Card post. I will have to go back and look at my notes related to all the submissions.

I am trying to give myself motivation for the book project. I used the book as motivation to buy a Google Pixelbook, which is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. It is Google’s Chromebook and is not cheap, so seeing something lying around not being used, usually motivates me to get active. At least if it is technology related. I need to be careful how I phrase that or Lilliam will start leaving hammers, drills etc lying around the house.

Speaking of getting active, yesterday, I took the Texas written driving exam. I had foolishly allowed my Texas license to expire and therefore put myself in the position of needing to take both the written and driving exams.

Getting a license requires a quite a bit of documentation. I needed a Social Security card, so that required a trip to the SSA office. I got the SS card last Friday, which cleared the way to take the written exam.

Besides the SS card, I needed my passport and two forms of identification to prove I was a resident of Texas. I had my new Medicare card (with current address) and new voter’s registration (with current address), but they still wanted one more. I was able to use my phone to send the attendant my car insurance card, which showed residents address.

The written exam was 30 questions and I needed 70% correct (21 out of 30). I got 77% correct (23 out of 30). The reason for the low score was that there were a lot of questions such as “What is the maximum fine for a first offense DUI”? I am glad I passed because I really did not want to study the manual

My passing took a huge load off of Lilliam who is really stressing out over having to take the test. I have the driving and parallel parking test scheduled for the 26th. That was the first open date to take the test. You would not believe how many people were at the DPS office.

I have finished my taxes and one of the things I need to do the E-filing is to enter my Texas Driver’s license number. I could have printed the forms and mailed it but used it as another motivation to get the license. I needed all motivation to go take the test I could muster.

When you move to Texas, you are required to have a drivers license within 90 days of entry, assuming you plan on driving. My end date was February 12.

Hopefully, next week, I will get out another post. With a little luck, it will be done on the new Pixelbook.

I hope that Chiriqui Chatter can remain a resource for understanding retirement in Panama. I am open to ideas for posts following the ones I mentioned in my “Hello World” post.

I am about to get my act together and most of my ToDo list has been worked off. I thought I would let everyone know that Lilliam, Koki and I are well and adjusting to being in Texas.

I have a few posts that I will be preparing in future days that I thought might be of interest.

First I thought I would discuss the Green Card process that Lilliam went through to allow us to move to the US. All in all, it took over 18 months. When I first started the Embassy said it should take 6-9 months.

Another topic I thought might be of interest was how we got some of our Panama items shipped to Texas. Getting things to Panama is much easier than taking them out. Then we also had to take care of all the paperwork to allow Koki to come with us.

Lastly, I thought I might go over our search for a place to live, adjustment to Texas weather, prices in general compared to Panama and maybe a few other items that may enter into my mind as I start writing.

I still have a lot of writing, I had done about living in Panama, in preparation for a book that I may get back into. After 15 years in Panama, experience moving there and moving back, and several years of Embassy cases, I do have enough for a book. I will see what motivates me.

It has been interesting having so much going on that I have had no time to blog. In Panama, I spent a lot of time blogging about life there and working on embassy cases to keep me busy.

In Texas, I am almost in overload with getting settled, finding a house and filling it with furniture and technology. The good thing is it is new and everything I have bought has been good quality. I am having a hard time keeping my finger off the “click to buy in Amazon” button.

When you can look on the Internet, see what you want and order it and get it in 2 days, it is almost addictive.

At any rate, I thought I would see if I still had any readers left and see if any of my thoughts produce any comments.

By the way, my taxes are done. It is amazing how much easier it is when all the documents get to you in a timely basis.

Thar’s some real talent up thar in then thar hills.

Lilliam and I would like to wish all or you a very Merry Christmas. May all of you wishes come true and may 2018 be your best year yet.

We have been busy. I expect to be able to post more in 2018.