Hi everyone-- it's me, Casey, this time!

So, I just got off the phone with Rene and Zigi about the upcoming trip, and I understand that there are questions about what we're doing, and whether we can go or not. We have not been posting everything on the blog, obviously. The reason for that is that what we understand to be true changes literally every day.

However, I just wanted to assure you all that we are doing our very best to go to Czech as planned. Even though it is now only 10 days in the future, we are not giving up. I have been in almost daily contact with USCIS and US Customs/Border Patrol. I have been explaining the entire situation to them and also trying to make sure their answers correlate with the written information we have.

For an example of the way several conversations with them have gone, I have called the US Customs/Border patrol, explained everything, and then they have put me on hold because they don't know the answer. When they get back on the line and tell me everything is okay, and then I explain to them that Eva's OPT card says "Not Valid For Reentry" on it, then they doubt themselves again and have to go find out more information, and then the information they give me contradicts the information that other people/agencies give me, etc. etc. etc.

So, as I was explaining to Rene and Zigi, Eva and I have been working on this for several months, speaking with the Czech Embassy in NY and LA and Czech Republic, USCIS, and US Customs/Border Patrol, all numerous times, from the very moment that we suspected a problem.

One complicating factor is that for Eva's OPT card to be valid at all, she must have a full time job authorized by Weimar and in her particular field of education (a problem we discovered only since the wedding, although we had been in contact with the agencies). Eva and I have been trying to find a job for her that meets the criteria since before she left her job in Pullman, WA. So, in addition to all the abovementioned problems, her reentry is literally dependent on her having a job in the health field, which she finally found just last week. At the interview, she was promised Sabbaths off, but recently her employer has indicated that Sabbath-leave is not acceptable. Of course, Eva said that Sabbaths are not a negotiable issue, and the issue is not yet settled. We expect this to be taken care of when she returns to work on Tuesday. It could either way. We hope against hope that Sabbaths will not be a problem.

So, the bottom line everyone is that we understand how much you want everyone in the family to be in Czech for the planned trip. We want to be there too. We are doing everying we possibly can to facilitate this.

The options we have been (or are still) pursuing are these:
1) The new visa agreement between CZ and US
2) Obtainment of a greed card
3) A new F-1 visa
4) A new passport with Metzova
5) A new paasport with Harms
6) Appropriate letters/documentation attesting to her status
7) Paperwork that Weimar may need to complete
8) Having a job
9) Calling the embassy in LA
10) Calling the embassy in NY
11) Calling the embassy in CZ
12) E-mailing the embassy in CZ
13) Searching the USCIS website
14) Searching the US Customs/Border Patrol website
15) Searching the CZ embassy's website
16) Searching travel.state.gov
17) Consulting with Rene/Zigi/Kamil/Zuzana/Ika at one point or another :)
18) Praying
19) Having others pray for us
20) Reading all fine print on documents
21) etc. + things that I probably have forgotten to list

I will also mention that Eva would be having this difficulty even if she were expired (uh... single). Because:
1) Her F-1 visa is expired
2) Her I-20 is expired
3) Her OPT says "Not Valid for Reentry"

Anyways, family, thanks for all your prayers and concern about this. If you have any suggestions that we might be able to try, please let us know ASAP. We expect to have a final decision this week.

I love you all.
Casey