No PBP for you, says USCIS.

Ever dreamt of something for a long time? I am sure you have. Now imagine yourself having done everything in your power to accomplish this dream. You have trained in the rain, climbed hills, done some tough brevets, ate less to lose weight, read numerous ride reports, tried different foods on the bike to better your performance and spend less time at the controls, talked about it to everybody in your family till they walked away, planned your life around it.. the works. You feel good, and you are about to submit your application for said dream. You probably figured out that this dream that I am talking about is PBP. Now imagine your dream shattered because of something completely unrelated to your ability to ride a bicycle.

Immigration. Along comes the USCIS and blindsides me. In the first week of July, my wife and I are eligible to apply for one of the final stages of permanent residence in the US (I-485, for the immigration geeks). Normally, this would be a well-controlled process (by using a complicated system of priority dates), and processing times were reasonably predictable. Now, the USCIS in their infinite wisdom decided to open the flood gates, and allow everyone to apply, which means "Official receipt" dates are unpredictable. Normally it would be 4 to 6 weeks, but is expected to be delayed because of the flood of applications.

How does this affect you, Narayan, you ask? Well, I cannot travel outside the country until I get an official receipt from the USCIS. Which means I cannot travel to France for PBP. So, no pains au chocolat, no "bon courage", no adoring public, no middle of the night coffee stop in France, for me. Yesterday was one of the most disappointing days of my life. And I don't take disappointments very well. Those of you who don't have to worry about such mundane things as Immigration, are lucky ones indeed.

I suppose I could make all the plans, register, sign up for ride cancellation insurance, and then if I don't get the receipt by the 15th of August, cancel all plans and recoup what I can. But I am not sure I want to go through that nerve-wracking experience. I have a lot of friends who are going to PBP. I feel quite happy for all of them. I will follow their progress online, and live vicariously through them, and rejoice through their successes. But, being so near and yet so far, is very depressing.

This is a disaster. And I am so bummed. Unless one of you knows how to pull strings inside the USCIS. :)