Daddy Issue 8

USCIS

Attn: I-129F

PO Box 660151

Dallas, TX 75266

RE:I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)

Petitioner: Jason Ricardo Notmyrealname

Beneficiary: X.

To Whom It May Concern:

X. likes to describe us as a uniquely 2020 love story: We met on Instagram during the pandemic. We had been following each other for a number of months. I don’t remember the exact date, but I remember clicking his profile after he followed me, thinking he was cute, and double tapping a few of the posts. I followed back.

On July 8th I noticed the green circle around his profile picture at the top of my phone—he’d added me to his close friends story. We’d never spoken. I responded with a fire react, and we exchanged story reactions, emojis, and pictures for a few days until we started talking, having full conversations via voice messages and videos that lasted all day. The first time I realized how much I liked X. was by the T-Dock on Lake Washington in Seattle under my favorite willow tree. X. was at work at Sanopecado Country in the Providencia neighborhood of Guadalajara. The date was July 19, 2020.

Every time I heard X.’s voice I felt calm. We started videocalling for hours every night until we laid down and gazed into our phones at each other. In Guadalajara, three hours ahead (except for the week before I left for Mexico, when it was only two because of Daylight Savings), X. would start to fall asleep on our call. I whispered, “Buenas noches papucho.” Drowsily, he responded, “Buenas noches niño ñoño.” We worked through different terms of endearment; We tried te adoro, and then te quiero. We realized how silly it was to use different words to downplay the intensity of our emotions. We talked about how strongly we felt about each other on video call one night and recognized the difference between real life and the internet, but decided to trust our strong emotions and started telling each other te amo before we had even met. We felt comfortable, safe, and grounded with each other. I admired his compassion, level-headedness, inventiveness, creativity, humor, and how I hadn’t had to change myself when I was virtually with him.

In disbelief at the dream we were in, X. repeated how sincere and real his feelings were. I assured him that the pandemic was the only thing stopping me from flying down to Guadalajara on the soonest possible flight. However, I did start to look for reasons to go down there. I decided to go to Chapala, an hour south of Guadalajara, and stay as an artist-in-residence at 360 Xochi Quetzal for the month of November 2020. X. and I would meet to see how we felt in real life. If we got on, I would stay in the city of Guadalajara for the month of December. Going for a long chunk of time and staying in one place while taking necessary precautions would allow me to be with X. even during a pandemic.

I landed in Guadalajara on October 31, 2020 and X. came to the airport to greet me. The shock of traveling across the world to see him hit me as he appeared in front of my eyes. It felt almost exactly the same as when we were on a videocall or the other side of a voice message 2,000 miles away. X. and I love every mode of our relationship, which X. describes as different ways of knowing each other: First as casual internet acquaintances, then through the lens of an iPhone. In each mode of our relationship, we knew each other in a different way. We had encoded different ways of communicating virtually that only we understood, that held so much meaning. We were excited to develop that physical language and how we would function together in real life. He had gotten an Airbnb with a hot tub that overlooked the city. We talked, had sex, soaked in the tub, took pictures, ate sushi and drank wine all night until X. was sick. The next day X. rode the bus with me to Chapala and we looked over the largest lake in Mexico together until I was sick from food poisoning. The first few days were certainly very intense but we loved every minute of it. We immediately became comfortable with each other. It was amazing to finally be together in person.

While I was in Chapala, X. traveled by bus every Tuesday (his day off from work) to visit me. We made the most of our time together by exploring the lakeside, horseback riding, doing photo shoots, working on art together, and going to La Isla de los Alacránes. During my last week, X. made the trip back and forth between Chapala and the city for several days so that we could enjoy the rest of my time at the residency together. On my last full day in I adopted a quiet but scrappy street dog to train as a service dog. X. gave me the idea to name him Alacrán.

We decided to live together for the whole month of December. We lived in an apartment in Cititower from November 30, 2020 until January 3, 2021. Learning through that experience and understanding more and more how important we were to each other, we decided to get married and got engaged with matching Versace rings. I proposed on December 17, 2020 on the balcony when he comforted me after a bad day. He proposed on the roof during sunset on December 29, 2020. I was able to meet his family several times to celebrate birthdays and Christmas. I’m excited to marry X. because the more time we spent together, the more sure we were that we were going to be in a relationship for a long time.

We were hoping to get married in August 2021, but have flexible plans so we can accommodate time to process the visa application and any further COVID developments. We plan to have a small wedding of close friends at The Conservatory in Volunteer Park, but have not yet made arrangements.

I returned to Seattle in January 2021, and X. and I have returned to the virtual realm of our relationship. We still talk all day, videocall, have virtual dates, and know that we are secure and committed to each other. I have spent the last two months completing this application and collecting the required evidence. Enclosed are my flight itineraries to and from Guadalajara, A copy of my residency confirmation in Chapala, a copy of my passport stamps, and photographs of us with location and date.

I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

Respectfully,

Jason Ricardo Notmyrealname

*Note: This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this Vocal series are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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