Two months ago, my wife and I planned a trip to the United States. We needed to return as a family to restart the process of applying for temporary residential visas. Three out of five members of my family applied for and were approved for temporary resident visas in April. The other two, my daughter and wife, were denied due to typographical errors in the residential application paperwork.
As of today, the Mexican government allows any person with a United States’ passport to enter the country and remain on a tourist visa for up to 180 days. When my family and I arrived in October of 2016, we held tourist visas which enabled us to stay in the country without penalty for six months. To prevent any issues with the Mexican immigration offices, and to comply with the law we left the country before our expiration date. When we returned to the United States, we started the process to acquire residential status
A temporary residential visa enables a person born outside of Mexico to stay in the country for up to one year without penalty and provides an option to renew for up to a period of four years. There are income, age, and employment requirements to qualify for this visa. As aforementioned, my boys and I were approved in April, but my wife and daughter were not due to mistakes in the paperwork we submitted.
We flew to Los Angeles on Tuesday and then drove to San Diego the following day, to correct the errors and complete another application. With my wife and daughter, I spent a little over one hour at our appointment with the Mexican Consulate in San Diego. In the office, we attempted to explain our residential status and the reasons we requested a temporary visa. The officer listened and decided to reject our application, because of stringent rules about the types of documents required as part of a complete application. My wife and I were angry for making the trip to LA and driving to San Diego where we did not get our visa issue resolved. Thankfully, the remainder of the trip worked out in our favor.
Thursday, was Thanksgiving and so we had dinner with family and friends who live in Los Angeles. My cousin Jill hosted us, and we saw people who we have not seen in a long time. I made a video for my family’s vlog that has been well received by family and friends. It was a blessing in disguise to be in Los Angeles during this moment when my family came together.
Outside of the frustration with our visa application, we managed to have a great time together. We stayed in my parents’ home. On Friday morning, we went on a hike at Runyon Canyon in Hollywood. We caught up on some old friendships and spent some quality time with my siblings.
What’s the point of this story?
Too often we allow one negative incident to ruin other positive experiences in our lives. My wife and I were upset when the visa application was not accepted for the second time. We spent money on plane tickets, removed the children from school, and took time away from our businesses to resolve our immigration status. After we had some time to reflect, we managed to channel our frustrations into positive energy that allowed us to recognize the gratitude in the additional time with our family and friends.
This week, I want you to leave a comment with three people, places, or ideas that you are grateful for in your life.