Eliot's Travels

We're Official

Today was a big day - the whole family went down to Immigration en Naturalisatiedienst (IND) to register for Jim's knowledge migrant visa. We traveled to Rijsvijk by train (4 min) and walked past a big Shell research facility to get to the Ministerie van Justie. Patrick, the lawyer, was very efficient and friendly. We arrived at 10:10 to sign paperwork before our 10:30 appointment. Even though IND had our appointment down for 9:30 am, we were still able to apply to the program as planned. All went smoothly. We each got stickers in our passports showing that we are in process (and legally here), and submitted official Dutch photos with our application. Eventually, we will all receive resident ID cards.

Patrick said there is always lots of drama down at the Ministry of Justice. I guess there are a lot of appeals to immigration decisions (i.e., deportation or denials). The asylum process is also quite a business. The Netherlands pays the lawyer fees for asylum seekers, if they don't have money for a lawyer, which is often the case. Holland accepts 40,000 asylum seekers each year (150,000 including family members) into its 16-million population - a significant number considering the US only accepts 5000.

Today was no different. When we were signing paperwork in the lobby, a guard ran into the reception area and pulled out a medical kit and ran off upstairs. Apparently, someone was hyperventilating and needed emergency care. When we were going into our appointment, the ambulance arrived. Patrick seemed to think this was a ploy. We saw another lawyer rapping on the glass to be let into the office area; he was already worked up and ready for an argument. There were multiple layers of security (to get into the office area and then called into the offices for an appointment). The receptionists were surrounded by thick glass. Patrick said someone set themselves on fire at the ministry within the last few months, so security has been beefed up.

In the afternoon, we headed to the Gemeente Delft (city offices) to officially register in Holland. Since Ensim has been accepted in the Knowledge Migrant program, the application for Jim's visa is pretty straight forward. He might have his resident card in a couple of weeks. I guess the process is expidited in this program. The harder applications are for the kids and me. The Gemeente validates our official documents (marriage license and birth certificates) to link us to Jim. According to Patrick, a lot of people get married or have fake documents in order to get a residence permit. Once the Gemeente checks everything out, then we'll get our papers.

It all went very smoothly. However, Jim and I both agreed we would not have wanted to navigate through the system without a lawyer. Patrick has the experience to get it done. After our city meeting, the boys and I walked to the general market to get a few things. Jim headed home. We also picked out our weekly flowers and some small pumpkins at the flower market.

posted by Whitney @ 1:54 PM