Snow day!

We had a snow day today......we played football in the snow....it was a BLAST! Here are some great pics!

A God Sighting in Charlotte, NC!

Today we got up early and headed to Charlotte for our appointment with the CIS at 9:45 AM. We needed to arrive early as they were clear that they would not meet with you if you were not there when they called for you. The boys teamed together with navigation and we arrived in plenty of time which was good as we had to go through security. I was glad that I had no pockets but my hubby had TONS of stuff in his pockets that had to be removed and placed in containers and then put back in his pocket. We waited probably 30 minutes and then Matheus was called to a window. I was surprised with the lack of privacy as he was asked to explain the issue to a man behind a window. Matheus did well in explaining his situation and Tommy and I chimed in when needed. He told us there was NOTHING he could do as this was an issue for Customs and Border Patrol and he advised us to go to the Charlotte airport.

Talking about running around in circles. We left very frustrated and Matheus started saying he wished he had lied to the officer at the airport originally and told her he did show his paperwork even though he didn't. We all agree that it was the officer's responsibility to ask him for the paperwork and that she made an error when she recorded the wrong Visa. We discussed this at length and prayed together before deciding to make a last ditch effort to go to the local office.

We thought there is nothing we can lose.....this is where I had called originally and spoken with a very nice officer Perez who told me it shouldn't be a problem to correct this. We went in and explained our situation to the lady at the counter.....she said that she wasn't sure and she made a phone call. During her phone conversation, she turned to Matheus and asked him if he presented the paperwork to the officer at the airport when he first arrived in NY. Matheus paused and he looked at us.....and then he said....'No, but she didn't ask me for the paperwork.' I was SOOOO proud of him.....he did the right thing and told the truth even though I KNOW he was so frustrated with this ridiculous system. When she got off the phone, she told him there was nothing she could do to help as it was his responsibility to present the paperwork to the officer at the airport.

I put my head on the counter and said.....jokingly.....I want to talk to Officer Perez.....where is Officer Perez! What happened next is definitely a God sight

ing......out from the back walks this officer and he states.....'I am officer Perez......can I help you?' I told him that I had called and spoken with him a little over a week ago about our foreign exchange student's Visa problem. He said he remembered our conversation and he asked what happened when we went to the airport. I told him what happened.....when I started to tell him how rude the officer was to us there.....Tommy put his hand over my mouth.....but officer Perez encouraged me to talk so I just told him that she was very rude and aggressive with Matheus. He asked to see Matheus' papers and asked us to have a seat. He came back about 30 minutes later with his supervisor and he said that they had called the airport. He said the officer at the airport was expecting us and would correct Matheus' I-94. We thanked them both repeatedly and celebrated as we traveled to the airport.....we had to wait a couple of hours there but the officer came back out and told us it was corrected. He said that it was a mess and that Matheus was not even listed in the system. He also stated that a signature on his paperwork was not an original and therefore was not valid. He advised us to get an updated copy fro

m AFS. We thanked him and headed home......relieved and rejoicing!

Long live the queen!!!

I received a copy of this note that Gerry sent out this morning......the queen is fighting for us!!!!

This young man should not be having to deal with this. Andy and Alina, Is there someone at AFS who can run interference for Matheus and get this knot straightened out? See Deb’s letter below. Thank goodness, this is a good kid and one that can sorta roll with it. But having to leave and re-enter the country is ridiculous. All because the entry agent put down the wrong visa number on entry. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Alina, I know you are on this, but is there anyone with AFS who deals with visas, etc who can unsnarl this? We have a very willing family, but it is going to be very difficult to pull off what the “smart aleck” customs officer is suggesting. Thanks, everyone, AFS, Family and Matheus. Gerry

More than I ever wanted to know about Visas

This is his J-1 Visa....it allows him to stay here one year as an exchange student.....this is what is supposed to be in this country under.

This is the form they completed when he came into this country (I-94) which clearly states that he has to leave by Feb 12, 2011......it should say July 2011.

This is the Visa they used to process him....B-2....it only allows him to stay here 6 months.

I went online and made an appointment with CIS (in Charlotte) for Wednesday morning….we will have to pull him out of school as the appt is at 9:45 AM but at this point….we really don’t have any choice. I called CIS this morning and told them a little bit about the situation….they told me that the folks at Customs and Border Protection should be able to help us and he gave me a 800 number to call. I called this number but they were temporarily closed….a recording told me to call back in an hour….when I called back, I was given a number to a ‘deferred inspection area’ which turned out to be the Charlotte Airport….right back where we started from. I spoke with a different officer but I think it was a male officer who was present there the day we were there and he told me that it was Matheus’ responsibility to present his paperwork and we would have to go to CIS to solve the problem.

I spoke with Alina this morning (1/3/11) and explained everything that had happened and she suggested that I call the port of entry at the Raleigh Airport. She is also going to look into the possibility of Matheus traveling to Canada with his brother while he is in New York (Jan 5-25) for a few days so that he can re-enter the country using his J-1 status. She and I both are concerned about his having some difficulty coming back into the country however and I really feel he should have an adult with him when he travels in case there are problems. These people can be BRUTAL. Tommy and I do not currently have a passport but we are filling out applications as we speak…but I am not sure that even if we pay for a speedy processing….we could get them done in time.

I did call the 800 number back to ask about the possibility of Matheus traveling out of the country in order to re-enter under the correct status. The lady I spoke with there (Kathy) said she ‘didn’t think’ he would have any problems but he needed to make sure he had all of his paperwork ‘in order.

New Years Eve 2010

Today was an interesting day..........

When Matheus first arrived here---1st day actually.....he told us there could be a problem with his passport as he stated that the lady at the New York airport did not ask for his paperwork. Matheus explained to us that he has two different visas....B-2 which he obtained when he visited this country with his family and a J-1 which allows him to stay for the entire year. He showed us that his I-94 listed a return date of 2/12/11 as the B-2 visa only allows you to stay in this country for six months. The problem is he had both of these Visas in his passport and the border patrol officer at the New York airport must have opened the passport to the B-2 and recorded this one as she didn't ask him why he was visiting the country.

He spoke with Dwaine Coley from AFS about it that day and he said he would look into it. We had forgotten all about this until Matheus recently asked about it. Tommy called Dwaine last week and he said he would check it out to see if there were any problems.

Dwaine contacted folks in Baltimore (AFS East) to have them look into it. I received a call from Alina Smith earlier this week and I faxed her copies of Matheus’ Visas and his J-1 paperwork and I-94. She looked into for us and got back with us. She informed us that we needed to go to the local Customs and Border Patrol office and take all his paperwork and they would help us figure out what needed to be done.

We called the Charlotte office and I spoke with a very nice officer named Perez. He said it shouldn't be a problem but we would need to go to the Charlotte airport and someone there could make corrections in his I-94 paperwork. So we traveled there today....thinking it would be a piece of cake.....NOT! When we got there, the officer (Megan Cordell) was VERY rude and aggressively questioned Matheus….telling him that it was HIS responsibility to tell the officer why he was in the country and that since he did not, there was nothing they could do for him since he MISREPRESENTED himself when he came into this country. We tried to intervene and explain to her that he was with a whole group of AFS students so she should have known he was an exchange student but she was adamant and rigid in her approach. She left us waiting for a while as she went in another room and ‘called her supervisor’ who also said there was nothing they could do.

She (Megan Cordell) advised us to make an appointment with the local CIS office ASAP to see if there was anything they could do to help us. She stated that he would most likely have to leave the country on or before Feb 12 and then re-enter and ‘present himself correctly’ with his paperwork. She also told him he could chose to go home in Feb. and that he wasn’t supposed to be in school with his B-2 status and she was surprised that the school didn’t check the status of their foreign exchange students before enrolling them.

She (Megan Cordell) treated Matheus like he was a criminal and he had done something wrong. I told her that he was a minor and part of a program and I was VERY upset about the way he was treated. She told me I needed to calm down.....only God kept me from saying something ugly to her. Matheus handled it like a trooper….with a very mature and positive attitude but I KNOW this had to be VERY hard for him.

After we left the airport.....we decided to go to Brazas Brazilian grill to celebrate the new year.....we went for lunch as it is much less expensive that time of day. It was the coolest place. They had this big buffet with salads and fruits and then came the meat....they would brought out different kinds of meat hot off the grill and slice it for you right there at the table.

There was a little cardboard coin on the table that you flip over when you have had enough but as long as you don't flip it....they keep bringing it. The steak was delicious! It had a blackened taste but it was a little salty as they use this special kind of salt in the cooking process. Matheus LOVED it.....there were not many people there so we took some pic of the Brazilian landscape painted on the walls......very cool experience. I think it was comforting to Matheus to have a taste of home.

After we left the restaurant, we found a little Brazilian store nearby (with the help of the staff at Brazas and the GPS) where Matheus picked up some of his favorites from home.....Guarana is a fruity soft drink that is popular in Brazil.....he got a 12 pack......cheese bread, and this tasty candy called Pacoquinha....it tastes like a peanut butter ball that melts in your mouth. Matheus talked Portuguese to the owner and her husband and he seemed to really enjoy the experience. Tommy and I did also. It was cute....after we left, Matheus said that he had a hard time understanding the 'American Portuguese that the owner's husband was speaking.....ha.

On the way home.....Matheus decided to attend a party at the Gamewell Optimist Club.....so we took him there.....he didn't stay long....shortly after midnight he texted us asking us to come and get him.....he came home and we all celebrated together for a while this early morning before he fell asleep on his sofa.

I got to kiss my wonderful husband at midnight and we watched the ball drop on TV.....sort of a tradition at our place.

Matheus got a big silver star at the party and I hung it on his door......he is a star!

All in all it was a great day.....even though I am concerned about this passport issue....I know God will work it out so I will NOT worry about it! :)