So Gyorgyi went back to Hungary. And I stayed here in America.

That is how my New Year started. And obviously it’s not a great way to begin.

Gyorgyi came to America on a 90 day tourist visa. While here we have been in contact with one of Cleveland’s best immigration lawyers, who is actively working on our case to eventually bring Gyorgyi back on a work visa through our company.

For those of you who don’t know what this process is like– just take a metal stick and slam it into your knees over and over again and you’ll sort of get the sensation of what the American immigration process is like these days.

The good news is that her education credentials were finally evaluated and the firm has determined that she has a BA equivalent in English and Marketing, which is exactly what she needs for us to bring her on a work visa with our company.

Now it’s all in the waiting.

You can’t just apply for a visa like you apply for a drivers license. It takes time and there are certain dates when you are able to apply and there are only a few visas that are given away each year. The earliest that we can apply for her visa is in April and the earliest that she can reenter the US on a work visa is October.

Ten months.

She can still come back (we’re hoping this summer) on 80 days of tourist visa days that she has left for 2012, but she’ll have to go home yet again and come back in October if a visa is granted.

She is also applying to start the MBA program in International Business at Kent. We should know whether she gets in with funding in April sometime.

I don’t have any political points to make. And even if I did, I wouldn’t make them here for fear that someone might look at this who has any decision making power and think I’m being disrespectful to the process and black list her or something.

I don’t have any historical points to make either. Not about how this country is a country of immigrants. How my coal miner grandparents who gave their lives in the mines or risked them in the world wars were immigrants. No, I won’t try to make those points.

The only point that I would like to make is this: in this new year, let’s try not to forget that a lot of people (hard working people–loving people) just want to make a better lives for themselves and their families. Regardless of your political affiliations, try to exercise a little compassion before you speak loudly about issues and people you really know nothing about.

It can be a mean world out there, but let’s not punish people for who or how they love.

As for Budajest, I will keep this site up to document this process and my other projects. I’ll be working as a strategic planning consultant this winter and spring, as well as writing and working on other projects. I won’t be able to post as many lovely European pictures as usual, though Ohio does have its charms.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me and supported Gyorgyi and I. I cannot tell you how much it means. In the darkest moments when it seems like the whole world is unfair, the support and care is what keeps us trudging along.

Onward.