My dealings with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service have not been pleasant experiences.

There was the official at Philadelphia airport last year who'd clearly got out of bed on the wrong side that day, and who threatened to deport me.

Then there was the computer which, for the past seven months, has been asking me for proof of income to support my Green Card application. Each time I've written pointing out that I've already sent this information, and each time my letter has been ignored. I've phoned, but they just say they can't discuss details of individual cases.

But at last, this week, some nameless human being noticed my plight and pressed a key on their computer. As a result, I received a very friendly letter telling me that I'm now a legal permanent resident of the United States, no longer stuck in limbo between two countries. I can get the social security number and driver's licence that everyone keeps asking me for and which I don't have, and I can start getting on with the rest of my life.