Hm. Good to know. Thank you for the moral support. I am sorry to hear about your experience. It definitely sucks being in this position especially having invested time, energy and resources toward trying to make it happen.

I am emotionally tapped out at this point. In the 9 months I've been waiting, I've been able to do all the things I wanted/needed to do with my life and now I'm in the position of determining whether it is not more wise to explore other possibilities.

I got off the phone with legal today and they mentioned that they are cross-checking info and that they're still "adjudicating". Also, the rep mentioned that none of this means I have a "record", which I don't, but I found it a bit strange that he volunteered that line almost as if he knew what I was going to say about it all. I got off the phone not feeling very optimistic at all.

That being said, if clearance doesn't come through in time for me, I'll naturally be disappointed but I don't think I'll hold out longer for an indication of positive news. I wasn't in this for the adventure element and I knew it was going to be a job... and in this sense I'm ok with cutting losses and moving on if it means I get to stay grounded and take control of the things that are meant for me.