The immigration process can be long and stressful. There are many couples, at the start of their journey, who might think that their case is very easy or very straightforward.

Easy and straightforward are not words that are typically used to describe the immigration process.  The immigration process can seem deceptively simple. However, we are talking about a complex bureaucratic system where, unfortunately, a lot of things can go wrong.

Immigration has an online system that often has glitches and documents can drop off. They might request that you submit the same document multiple times. There are delays, interviews can be canceled and have to be rescheduled, and the list goes on.

While difficulties can come up in your immigration case, you have the power of choice. The key is knowing at the start of the process that it will be a challenging journey and to be intentional with how you want to show up and experience that journey. You can choose whether you want it to be just a hundred percent stress and frustration the whole time or whether or not you’d like to focus your time and energy on what needs to be done next.

I’m not saying that you can’t get frustrated or upset about immigration asking for the same document multiple times or an interview being canceled, but you can choose to say, “This is annoying but what do I need to do next? Let’s focus on that.”

Protecting your mental health and more importantly, protecting and focusing on your relationship, instead of the frustration of your immigration case is key.