Claudia's Visit with the Department of Homeland Security

We've been quite busy the last couple of days. When we traveled to the States in July, the officials at the border suggested that Claudia should apply for a Travel Document to ensure her green card status. Furthermore, we learned that this is a different document than the form for missionaries (or their spouses) who do not want their time abroad to be counted against them for naturalization purposes.) It seems that the Department of Homeland Security have revamped several laws regarding immigration during the past couple of years. (Which isn't too surprising when one remembers the immigration issues with the 911 perpetrators.)

We began the paperwork for the travel document during our stay in the States. However, the USCIS indicated that Claudia would have to submit her biometrics while in the United States. However, the appointment that was given to us was after we returned to the States. After delaying the appointment once, we were informed that Claudia had to submit her biometrics at the Atlanta application support center.

Thanks to years of collecting Delta miles, Claudia and I were able to fly to the States for less than $17. But it was a bit frustrating that the American Embassy / Consulates in Germany were not authorized to take her picture and fingerprints.

After 30 minutes of the 8:00 AM appointment, the rest of the weekend we spent in Cleveland, TN. After taking care a couple of business matters for the schools in Moscow and Bulgaria, we pretty much sequestered ourselves to my parents retirment home in Cleveland