It's called the "widow penalty," a tragic quirk in federal law that unfairly punishes recently married immigrants whose citizen spouses die before their green-card paperwork is processed.
(The kids' green-card paperwork had stalled, and Vova was worried that if they stopped juggling, they'd get shipped back; the Bakalors helped them finally get their green cards via the same "extraordinary ability" exemption often applied to Olympic athletes).
When I applied in November 2000, these forms demanded a copy of a birth certificate or green card and "paperwork indicating your present address".
They also paid for the card and paperwork.
Instead, a collegiate "community liaison" stands by the door answering questions from passers-by and checking membership cards and paperwork.
On a smaller scale, everyone has an interior disaster area, the result of a dysfunctional relationship with men, women, dogs, authority, electrical appliances, personal hygiene, clothing, credit cards, chocolate, paperwork, school, parents, transport, death, horses or the Inland Revenue.
I turned in my residency card, signed some paperwork, and posed for photographs.
When I moved from my last house, Comcast picked up my cable box and I wound up with a big fat $400 charge to my credit card because the paperwork got all jacked up and I got accused of keeping the box.
To avoid conflict, some people carry a card or other paperwork just in case they're questioned about their animal.
Today, identity is often exchanged through the use of government ID cards and official paperwork, but what happens when someone loses that paperwork or it is destroyed?
