My name is Alina Cox and I was born and raised in Romania. I never had the fascination about America like other people do. I simply did not think that one must live in the U.S. to be happy. I lived in my own bubble in Cluj- Napoca, not knowing that bigger and better things could happen in my life until I met Jonathan, an American citizen who was visiting my country. 

At that time I was attending law school and about to graduate from the university. We immediately fell in love and decided to get married. The big question arose, how do we even make this union possible? Romanian citizens cannot travel to the U.S. unless they have a tourist visa and at that time most tourist visas were denied to Romanian citizens. We wanted to do the right thing, play by the book and get the right visa. Jonathan is a very cautious person, he likes to research a lot and he took this huge task on himself and decided to apply for a fianc�e visa by himself. He built a strong case by documenting every detail about our relationship. We were very nervous. Our whole destiny depended upon approval by the American government. After the USCIS application was approved, the next step was for me to attend the interview at the U.S. Embassy in Bucarest. 

I still remember that day. It was very nerve-wrecking. I was so nervous that I even forgot my engagement ring at home. I played so many scenarios in my head about how to explain to the officer why I did not bring my ring with me. At the interview, a girl in front of me got denied and she left the Embassy crying. Now, it was my turn. Can you guess what happened? I stood in front of the officer, she asked a lot of questions but nothing about the ring, and then she said: "Have a nice trip to America!" I was amazed. Speechless. A new chapter in my life was starting to unfold. I flew to America soon after the interview. I remember how my husband held my hand into his telling me that everything was going to be "OK". 

Looking back, the only thing I would have done differently is hiring an attorney. It took us months of research and being separated, as well as very high stress levels that could have been avoided if we had quality legal representation. Now, after 7 years of living here and after becoming a U.S. citizen, I can say that I found my happiness in America next to my husband and our daughter. 

The major difference I still encounter in the American culture versus the Romanian one is that America has a great ability to embrace so many different people from all over the world and offer them a home. Even though I could practice law in Romania, I can only work as a paralegal in the U.S. because of the U.S. BAR requirements. I love being an immigration paralegal because I want to help other foreigners like me to obtain legal status in the U.S. and I like Weinstock Immigration lawyers because they are so determined to make this dream come true for their clients.