Everything going wrong? Looks a lot like it, at least...
There we were! Kind of speechless and looking at each other baffled. We had just finished the phone call with the lawyer and heard that our internship had apparently been illegal and that, from his point of view, we had no chance of getting out of here clean, except to leave the country as soon as possible.
Had we made a mistake?
No, we went into the internship with the peace of God. Even though we experienced many challenges beforehand, this peace never left us. And looking back, we can already see the blessings from this time, especially for us.
Even before we left in August 2023, we knew that we would be spending the summer of 2024 in the USA. So we left and took one step after the next, often with the question, God, what next? Still right? Once we got to the point where we were already looking at return flight tickets to Germany. The next day, we got the confirmation for the internship. We wrote that we had contacted a lawyer and, with his advice, submitted our applications for the summer. What we didn't expect was the long processing time for the applications. The internship was almost over and still no progress. And here we are - three weeks before school starts and the lawyer we had just spoken to (the first one was on vacation, so here's another lawyer) informs us of our “unlawful presence”. Ha - how could that happen?
We refuse to get stressed, talk to God and to our roommates and Pastor John. Betty's parents are almost on the plane to spend two weeks with us. We can't do anything right now anyway and two or three more weeks won't matter. So we continue to wait, remain in the peace of God and listen to what He tells us. Again and again we ask whether our journey ends here and continues somewhere else. But we hear nothing. So we stick to what God has told us before: Two years of school in the USA including summer. We have made an appointment with the lawyer from spring to get a second opinion and are waiting for him to return from vacation. Until then, we are enjoying our time with Betty's parents.
However, Betty's parents' vacation also gets off to a bumpy start. The landlord of the vacation apartment that Betty's parents had booked leaves us stranded. Twenty unanswered calls later - our parents are spending the night in a hotel. The next morning, we get in touch with the contacts on the booking site and after they are also unable to reach the landlord, they promise to refund us the full amount and also cover the hotel costs.
Via the Charis Facebook page, we get in touch with a woman who rents out student apartments as Airbnb over the summer. She still has a vacant apartment and lets us use it for two weeks at a very generous price. We are incredibly grateful for that. We have a great time in Woodland Park and Betty's parents spend a lot of time with Elijah.
On Monday morning we have a video session with the lawyer from Spring. He doesn't see us in conflict with our status and assesses our situation positively. However, his recommendation to quickly return to student status would cost us around USD 5,000. Quite a lot of money... We are not sure that his recommendation will actually be effective and continue to look for a solution ourselves. We contact one office almost 10 times via the chat function and every agent gives us a different answer. It's not easy to stay calm in all this chaos. But very possible with God. And a strong testimony to praying in tongues. It builds us up again and again.
Our contact person at the school is told by her advisor that we should simply cross the border into Canada or Mexico. However, we had read in advance that this would not be a good idea. Nevertheless, we set off in search of someone who could judge the safety of this route for us. Again, different answers from the same office. Betty waits on hold for over two hours to speak to the US border authorities. Here we get a generally positive answer - but for Betty a document is missing that we would not receive in time for the start of school. During the call, we come across a page on the Internet that it is possible to apply for a visa at the U.S. consulate in Canada. There may be greater obstacles for non-Canadian residents, but it is possible. We go with that. Betty fills out all the paperwork and gets to the point where she has to book an interview appointment in the system. 'System is busy.' She doesn't get in all day. Early the next morning, she calls the hotline and is told that because she doesn't live in Canada, she doesn't have priority and therefore has to wait until an appointment opens up. Doesn't sound promising.
She gets a second number. She calls again and this time the gentleman on the other end of the line seems to really want to help. He searches until he is able to find an appointment and then explains the process for requesting an emergency appointment. The appointment he found is in August 2026 - lol. But we agree. It's the only way to have a chance of an emergency appointment. Betty fills out the next form and the emergency appointment is approved the next day. Hallelujah - the appointment is on August 27 at 7.45 a.m. in Calgary, Canada. We book plane tickets and an Airbnb. Unfortunately, we have to leave a day earlier than Betty's parents, but they enjoy their last day with a hike before heading back to Germany.
Our trip goes well and we set off early on Tuesday morning. It's a 10-minute walk to the consulate.
"Everything that could possibly go wrong goes wrong here. Before I get to the interview, I have to go through 5 different checks. Either security checks like at the airport or documents that are pre-checked.
I get into difficulties at 4 of these 5 stops. Everyone notices something that is wrong or not allowed... Especially me, who usually reads everything through to the end and also reads the small print, didn't see various important pieces of information. After the third check, I'm on the verge of tears. But no - I remember that my focus is on Jesus, that I am here because he has called me and opened the doors. He can make up for any mistake. As I sit in the waiting room, I build myself up on my most holy faith and pray in the Spirit. And I can then calmly take the next step. Again, this reveals a huge mistake that I absolutely cannot explain. But the officer is friendly and corrects the wrong number for me. The interview is short and after a few questions the official confirms that my visa will be approved. I ask how soon I will get my passport back, as classes start on Friday. She sticks an express note on my passport, but can't guarantee that it will be ready by Thursday.
So we wait again. Nothing to do but trust God and use the time to explore Calgary.
Our return flight is scheduled for around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The weather is nice again and we spend the morning in the city and in parks. I keep checking my emails for a message from the consulate that my passport is ready for collection. If it doesn't arrive on time, Johann and Elijah will take the flight we booked and I will come after them.
We are back at the Airbnb shortly before 12 noon so that Elijah can have his afternoon nap. While I give him something to eat, I call the consulate's call center to see if anyone has any status information. I'm still on hold when the expected email finally arrives: I can pick up my passport at the consulate at 3 pm. That's still fine! So Johann will take the bus to the airport with Elijah and our things and I will follow in a cab. It worked! There are hardly any people at the airport and I get through check-in and all the controls without having to wait. When I get to border control, Johann and Elijah are standing at a counter and we can go through together. Wow - we've never had it this easy before.”
The 2-hour flight “ flew by” 😉 Elijah is a ray of sunshine and entertains our fellow passengers. After landing in Denver, we get off the plane and make our way to the exit. We still have to go through passport control somewhere to get our passports stamped. But as we go through the last door, we are already at the exit from the airport building. What now? Betty checks the status of our I-94 (documentation of entry and exit from the USA) online. Our status there has changed and our permitted length of stay has been extended for another year. So that probably will be fine. But Betty's admission class is again M2 (“ traveling companion of M1”) instead of M1 (student). Oh great - gone through the whole journey only to come back to the same problem! We are sure that the lady simply looked at the wrong visa when entering the country and that this problem will be resolved.
2 weeks, several phone calls and emails later, everything is indeed now corrected and the way we need it to complete this year of study. Thank you, God! Without Him we would not be here.
*P.s.: Many international students would like to spend the summer break between two school years in the USA. As we now know, this is indeed possible. However, the above is in no way legal advice. Please don't do this unless you have a clear call from God and good counselors at your side!
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