An American dream Published Jan. 25, 2007 By Airman 1st Class Ashley Coomes 319th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- It's 2001. The blonde hair, green eyed, 21-year-old Klara Beranova attends an air show near her home town of Pardubice in the Czech Republic. Growing up she had an interest in airplanes and traveling, but on this day, she never imaged those interests would lead her on a journey to America for love. That sunny afternoon, she met a KC-135 pilot from the United States Air Force. Although her English was not very good at the time, they became friends and decided to keep in touch. He was stationed not that far away in England at Mildenhall Royal Air Force Base. Six months later, she had an opportunity to be near the pilot in England through an au-pair program, which allowed her to learn the local language and attend school while she had a job as a nanny. As Klara's English developed, their friendship blossomed into romance. When he left England for training in the U.S., he invited her to come with him. She had never been to America, nor did she know the difficulties of the U. S. immigration process. Ticket in hand, Klara went to the United States Embassy in London to apply for a tourist visa. "I was there for two hours waiting to be approved. I was worried I would miss my plane," said Klara. However, she did not miss her plane, her visa was approved and she was on her way to America. When the plane landed, the pilot she met two years earlier, James Murray, was waiting for her at the airport. Together they traveled to Altus AFB, Okla. Having a wonderful first trip to America, Klara and James decided it would be easier for him to travel to Czech Republic to see her for Christmas to avoid the immigration process. By Christmas, they had been dating for more than a year, and James proposed. Marriage to an American was a tough decision for Klara, because she would miss important family memories, like her nephew growing up and seeing her 80-year-old grandmother. She also knew that being a pilot's wife is not easy, because he would deploy often. Klara said yes to his proposal. Over the next year they planned their wedding and James visited as much as he could. A year later, James was stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base to plan the wedding. During that month, the couple decided it would be easier to be married and had a small ceremony. But marriage to an American citizen does not grant automatic citizenship, even though she applied for a permanent resident card before the wedding. Within a week of being a military spouse, Klara was on her way back to the Czech Republic, and her husband was deploying. In all, she was in the Czech Republic a year and a half before she could permanently reside in the U.S. "Six years ago, I never dreamed I would marry an American pilot and go through so much just to be together," said Klara. "But it was worth it."