Am I overthinking the situation?

Hi everyone,

I’ll try to keep the story short. My partner (M32) and I (F23) have been dating for a little over a year. Having a family has always been a dream of mine, and I mentioned this from the beginning of our relationship.

We moved in together about 7–8 months ago so I could save some money for school. We are both immigrants from the same country, but we met here. I’ve talked to him about marriage, kids, and long-term plans. I’m not in a rush—I know I’m still young—but I’ve seen male family members stay in relationships for many years, then break up and move on easily. I don’t want to spend my entire 20s dating someone for 5–7 years only for it to end.

We’ve talked about this, and his response is always something like: “Yes, I want those things, but first I want permanent residency, to buy a house, and to earn $150,000+ a year.” And honestly, I understand that. But realistically, none of that is likely to happen in the next 2–3 years at least.

As I mentioned, we are both on visas. I arrived here about a year and a half ago, and he’s been here for five years. Before meeting him, my plan was to return to my home country for a while to spend time with my family, since I’ve been abroad for the past four years. I stayed because of him, and I can’t complain—I have a decent job and I’m studying for a diploma here

Am I overthinking this? I spoke to my mom about it, and she says I should give it time.