2010 United Kingdom AOS Thread

[yorkshirerose22 4]

Hi everyone, hope you're all doing well! This morning I got a bit of a suprise in the mail - my AP and EAD card!!!! I got two AP letters which I was quite suprised at (no actual card) so I suppose thats for 2 entries...

Anyway... I didn't even know they were being sent out to me for sure because for some reason the email notifications have just stopped and my case status online this week said 'card production ordered' for EAD and then it back tracked into 'approved'. Also the AP never reached the 'card production ordered' stage at all. Just thought that info might me useful for others, I don't think the case status site is totally up to date.

But yay! Now to start thinking about working. We've decided I'm going to start looking for something part time in the new year. Also in the back of my mind I'm thinking about going back into Beauty Therapy, but its a little different here (taking a licence exam, plus it might mean going back into studying).

To pass the time however, I'm working on my Etsy bidal jewelry shop like crazy (pls join me on Facebook everyone!)Thats going well!

We also have our AOS interview lined up for 22nd November - I'm a little nervous, but sure it will be ok!

Whats everyone else up to??

Hi,

I did beauty therapy too and im wanting to do nail technology, my certificates are NVQ city n guilds and i have some nail diplomas too.

I have a friends whos know someone who runs a beauty school so im going to see if she will look at my certificates and see what i need to do.. im hoping i dont have to go back to school due to financial reason, the only problem i have is not much experience, i graduated college in 2005 and had trouble getting a job becouse of experience, so im wanting to buy a starter kit and get my family to be guinea pigs lol so i can get experience, i have my nail study book that i had in college so i can refresh my memory.

Im a little worried on the lience thing, not being used to it seen as the UK dont do that kind of thing. I was also trying to see if i could find info on the liences, so i could prepare for the tests both written and practical.

[h1a1 5]

Went for my first US job interview today at Macy's and got the job. It's only seasonal but it's extra income for now, which is nice. Shocked how stress free finding a job has been for me. Was expecting to wait months. Guess it's just that time of year.

[yorkshirerose22 4]

Hello, hope everyone is doing ok.

As for me not so good, found out i have to go back to school for my beauty qualification, because of all the system being different to england, iv been told its easier to just go back to school and redo it, and i was also was advised not to do nail technology, which is what i wanted to specialize in :S. So now iv some major thinking to do. Was hoping it was going to be much easier but i guess it never is lol

[Leenie 15]

Hello, hope everyone is doing ok.

As for me not so good, found out i have to go back to school for my beauty qualification, because of all the system being different to england, iv been told its easier to just go back to school and redo it, and i was also was advised not to do nail technology, which is what i wanted to specialize in :S. So now iv some major thinking to do. Was hoping it was going to be much easier but i guess it never is lol

Blargh, what a major pain in the you-know-what. I'm hoping we don't have to re-educate my husband ... or else he might end up a fast food worker the rest of his life I hope you can make it work out for the best!! Maybe you can take up learning hair and nails? That way you'd be extra attractive as a full service salon employee.

Not too much news with us. We filed AOS at the beginning of last month but still haven't received a bio letter, so I'm itching to call them as soon as it's 30 days from our NOA date. Oh, and we got a kitten

[yorkshirerose22 4]

Blargh, what a major pain in the you-know-what. I'm hoping we don't have to re-educate my husband ... or else he might end up a fast food worker the rest of his life I hope you can make it work out for the best!! Maybe you can take up learning hair and nails? That way you'd be extra attractive as a full service salon employee.

Not too much news with us. We filed AOS at the beginning of last month but still haven't received a bio letter, so I'm itching to call them as soon as it's 30 days from our NOA date. Oh, and we got a kitten

Yeah it sucks lol, time wasted traning for 3 years in England.. I think it depends on what career field your in to what happens, i think some people can just do a freshment course or just get they qualifcations converted, not so simple in my field lol. I feel im struggleing to settle in the united states, everything is just test and money.

I hope you hear something soon, waiting is the hard part. Good luck.

Awww i want a kitten too but im not aloud one and my husband allergic lol , i miss my kittys, i use to have 7 cats back in england.

[Y&E 12]

Transfer to CSC, yippee. But hope that I get AP sooner rather than later because hubby has a work trip to Turkey before the end of the year and I want to go too. Also, found a job that's exactly in my field that I'm going to apply for - they can only say no when I tell them I'm waiting for EAD. I'm really surprised to find my field in Indiana since it's not exactly a mecca for it - I think that this may be the only company in that field in the state! Otherwise I'm sticking with the gym coaching until we move somewhere better.

[beatlesrebel 0]

Hey all,

It's been awhile. Hope everyone is doing well. Phill had his first Thanksgiving which he really enjoyed! Now he's enjoying his first Christmas time in the states! He is STILL looking for a job. He's become very discouraged, but I keep telling him to hold on and he'll find something soon. It's just really frustrating.

We had our "real" wedding on November 6th! What a beautiful day! Once I get pics uploaded, I'll share a link here. Merry Christmas everyone!

[RUSSandRACHEL 3]

Hello, hope everyone is doing ok.

As for me not so good, found out i have to go back to school for my beauty qualification, because of all the system being different to england, iv been told its easier to just go back to school and redo it, and i was also was advised not to do nail technology, which is what i wanted to specialize in :S. So now iv some major thinking to do. Was hoping it was going to be much easier but i guess it never is lol

Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing ok! Well, we had our AOS interview back on 22nd November and were approved!!!!! Yay! I've since recieved my actual green card in the mail which was a bit surreal. I'm so glad the process is over now for two years that I haven't looked at anything to do with immigration (including VJ) since the interview. Think I needed to give my brain a rest

But YorkshireRose, I know exactly what you mean! I feel for you! When I was visiting the US a couple of years ago, I looked into taking the NJ Massage Licence and I contacted a company called NCBTMB who regulate the candidates and the exams nationwide. I spoke to a lady who sent me a form for my UK college dean to complete, saying I had completed the set hours of study already. So I did that and still have the form signed and completed. But, I've since had a very bad injury to my wirst at work in the UK and I don't think its ever recovered so I don't know now if I even want to do massage anymore... I would love to do the beauty side only and be an 'esthetician' (as they call it here) but I'm told I would need to retake my qualitifactions completely for that which sounds ridicuolus as the training for the qualitifcations back home are far more in depth compared to those here. So I started looking into it and its going to be about $8,000 in fees! Thats not something we can afford so obviously me going back into what I was doing before is not going to happen anytime soon now. Its really frustrating cos I did really well at my job back home and now its just gone.

But I have been focusing on something else instead... Since before our wedding I have been making handmade jewelery and hair accessories for brides and I now have a shop on Etsy (http://www.auroracollections.etsy.com) and am building a blog and everything. Its a hard slog but I hope it goes well come the new year.

I'm sorry about your situation but I totally know how you feel and my husband feels bad for me too, that I've had to give up my career. But maybe theres something else you can do?

[RUSSandRACHEL 3]

I meant wrist not wirst haha! Wouldn't let me edit!

[RUSSandRACHEL 3]

Congrats to h1a1 on the job - thats awesome news!

Congrats to Leenie on your kitten! How sweet!

Congrats to Y&E on the transfer, hope you have a speedy remainder of the process!

Glad you had a great thanksgiving beatlesrebel! We did too. Its my second one but I still made everything from scratch. It was great! I'm really looking forward to christmas now though. My mom, back home in the UK, has sent me a package containing all the british christmas goodies... christmas pudding, mincemeat, seafood sauce etc... Its been two weeks now though and we still haven't recieved it so am starting to get worried as shes spent over £50 in postage.

Has anyone had any delays in postage from the UK?

[jennareid 20]

Ooh I'd forgotten about this thread!

My AOS was transferred to CSC on the first of this month. Hopefully I get the greencard soon and I can look for work and get away from the in-laws!

RussandRachel - I'm also waiting on a lot of post, both my mum and best friend sent stuff to me from the UK maybe 2-3 weeks ago and they still aren't here. I also ordered a lot of bits and bobs from Hong Kong for stocking stuffers and some of them have been taking over 3 weeks to get here.

[beatlesrebel 0]

Glad you had a great thanksgiving beatlesrebel! We did too. Its my second one but I still made everything from scratch. It was great! I'm really looking forward to christmas now though. My mom, back home in the UK, has sent me a package containing all the british christmas goodies... christmas pudding, mincemeat, seafood sauce etc... Its been two weeks now though and we still haven't recieved it so am starting to get worried as shes spent over £50 in postage.

Has anyone had any delays in postage from the UK?

Very cool! I'm sure you'll get your package...soon. Phill sent me a package for Valentine's Day this year and it got to me almost about the time it was time for him to move over. The postal system really does suck once in awhile. lol I wonder if the box ended up having to be opened??

By the way, love your jewelry! It's beautiful! Hope it does well for you!

Edited December 12, 2010 by beatlesrebel

[Ricky+Vanessa 42]

I didn't even know this thread existed.

Rachel, your items are lovely - I've "liked" the page and hopefully, when I start working(!), I'll be able to purchase a few bits.

[Leenie 15]

Yay, it's so nice to see some activity in this thread! Although I have horribily neglected it myself Last time I posted we had just filed, and now we have our interview date: January 11th!

Hey all,

It's been awhile. Hope everyone is doing well. Phill had his first Thanksgiving which he really enjoyed! Now he's enjoying his first Christmas time in the states! He is STILL looking for a job. He's become very discouraged, but I keep telling him to hold on and he'll find something soon. It's just really frustrating.

We had our "real" wedding on November 6th! What a beautiful day! Once I get pics uploaded, I'll share a link here. Merry Christmas everyone!

It was my husband's first Thanksgiving, too. My dad joked about putting a "First Thanksgiving" baby's bib on him. Good thing my husband and my dad really get on We're looking forward to seeing your wedding pics!

But I have been focusing on something else instead... Since before our wedding I have been making handmade jewelery and hair accessories for brides and I now have a shop on Etsy (http://www.auroracollections.etsy.com) and am building a blog and everything. Its a hard slog but I hope it goes well come the new year.

Your jewelry is beautiful. I can't believe you actually made it! I'll recommend your shop to some of my friends!

Very cool! I'm sure you'll get your package...soon. Phill sent me a package for Valentine's Day this year and it got to me almost about the time it was time for him to move over. The postal system really does suck once in awhile. lol I wonder if the box ended up having to be opened??

By the way, love your jewelry! It's beautiful! Hope it does well for you!

A lot of our mail from the UK/Ireland has gone missing lately. My husband's mom sent us mail before our wedding (Sept 10th) that we've totally given up on. She also sent us some cards for Christmas but nothing yet!! Hmhm!

[Y&E 12]

I can't talk about the UK but mail from HK is taking ages. My mum and I sent our parcels on the same day. She received mine in HK 1 week later and hers still hasn't arrived. Maybe it's something to do with US customs?

I found out yesterday that I was approved for EAD! I went in for an infopass appointment to query why my surname was spelled wrong on my AP and what can be done to fix it. I have to send the AP and EAD forms back in (no fee) and ask them to change it. So annoying - they make an error (after spelling my surname correctly on every other notice) and I'm the one who has to spend the time fixing it! I hate USCIS administrative drones! At least the infopass was more helpful and informative than the telephone monkeys are!