Scandinavians Part 2

[Paul & Mallory 1,398]

On ‎5‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 5:15 AM, LizM said:

Hej alla. Just checking in here to say thanks for all the help I've received from the this forum so far. I picked up my visa yesterday and I'm leaving Sweden for the US on the 24th of May. It all feels so surreal.

 

Until then, please let me know what I need to bring from Sweden that I can't easily get in the US (good chocolate is already on my list) . Cheers & good day to you all!

Yay!!! That's right around the corner!!!

Paul will be here next Wednesday and I don't even know what to do with myself, I'm so excited.

 

He's definitely bringing chocolate! Mainly for me though... lol We have an Ikea nearby which sells the regular milk chocolate, but not all the different flavors. Also - if you do have an Ikea anywhere nearby, it'll be awesome! He's found a lot of things all the times we've gone there while he's visiting that remind him of home. The food market also has a lot of traditional food and whatnot. They even have princess cakes (I fell in love with those over there!) They're frozen, of course, but I think they taste pretty close to the real thing.

 

Paul isn't really super materialistic.. he's mostly bringing clothes and stuff. Of course, he's leaving a majority of his winter clothes behind.. don't need so much of those in South Carolina.  I think his main thing is sentimental stuff.

 

23 hours ago, LizM said:

Good stuff. I was thinking about a brush with a handle for hand washing the dishes, too. We use them here always but they seem to love using just a sponge over there? And yes if we're thinking about the same kind of cloth here, then I must agree - they absolutely last forever if you boil/wash them every now and then. Quite excellent.

 

I would bring Swedish children's books but I think my fiancé would become a bit suspicious of my real intention with them  

We have those brushes here! If not at Ikea, anywhere like Target or Walmart for sure has them. I actually use one of those at home myself  

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

45 minutes ago, Paul & Mallory said:

 

We have those brushes here! If not at Ikea, anywhere like Target or Walmart for sure has them. I actually use one of those at home myself  

 

They are pretty standard fare even if you also have a sponge.  

 

 

I wish our Ikeas were closer.  We do have one in Minnesota, but it is a 5-6 hour trip.  We usually go to the one in Canada that is 2.5 hours away, but it is a hassle especially now that I haven't renewed my passport.  Well, it is a hassle in general with 3 kids and no gigantic SUV.  If we bring the pick-up truck there is no room for stuff inside and if we bring the car, no room for big stuff.

 

A lot of the supermarkets in MN/ND have Scandinavian foods, so at least there is that.

[Paul & Mallory 1,398]

39 minutes ago, N-o-l-a said:

 

They are pretty standard fare even if you also have a sponge.  

 

 

I wish our Ikeas were closer.  We do have one in Minnesota, but it is a 5-6 hour trip.  We usually go to the one in Canada that is 2.5 hours away, but it is a hassle especially now that I haven't renewed my passport.  Well, it is a hassle in general with 3 kids and no gigantic SUV.  If we bring the pick-up truck there is no room for stuff inside and if we bring the car, no room for big stuff.

 

A lot of the supermarkets in MN/ND have Scandinavian foods, so at least there is that.

Oh wow - 5 hours is a lot lol I live about an hour away from ours in Charlotte (I live in South Carolina but close to the NC border). Still a drive, but at least doable for an afternoon. Paul has already asked we go there the weekend after he gets here, lol. You can take the man out of Sweden...

 

Having anything Scandinavian nearby is helpful! Ikea is really the only place we have; no other stores or restaurants with anything Scandinavian, so it's good we're close to ours. He's also Filipino, and we found an Asian market in Charlotte that he loves, for that genre. I imagine we'll be frequently both pretty often  

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

45 minutes ago, Paul & Mallory said:

Oh wow - 5 hours is a lot lol I live about an hour away from ours in Charlotte (I live in South Carolina but close to the NC border). Still a drive, but at least doable for an afternoon. Paul has already asked we go there the weekend after he gets here, lol. You can take the man out of Sweden...

 

Having anything Scandinavian nearby is helpful! Ikea is really the only place we have; no other stores or restaurants with anything Scandinavian, so it's good we're close to ours. He's also Filipino, and we found an Asian market in Charlotte that he loves, for that genre. I imagine we'll be frequently both pretty often  

 

An hour is about the distance everything is away - doctors, work, where we do the bulk of our grocery shopping, etc.  It is an easy drive when the whether is good and often times I'll only pass a handful of other cars or as is the case now, tractors and ag planes.  

 

I wish they'd open one in Fargo because that would only be 2 hours away, but alas no such luck.  I used to be a big fan, we'd eat there once a week in Denmark and then America before we moved.  I was definitely spoiled in Denmark because it was only a couple of miles away and on our bus line.  I also made my husband go with me to the mothership in Älmhult.  But, I guess as I get older there is less reason to go - we have all the furniture we need and only buy to upgrade, so there is just tchotchkes.  It would be nice to have a bigger place for the kids to run around in winter and get a cheap meal. 

 

The food here is a little more Norwegian oriented - within a few blocks of my house there are several places that sell lefse or the equipment to make lefse and krumkake, etc.

Edited May 10, 2018 by N-o-l-a

[mspmn 9]

On 2018-05-09 at 4:15 AM, LizM said:

Hej alla. Just checking in here to say thanks for all the help I've received from the this forum so far. I picked up my visa yesterday and I'm leaving Sweden for the US on the 24th of May. It all feels so surreal.

 

Until then, please let me know what I need to bring from Sweden that I can't easily get in the US (good chocolate is already on my list) . Cheers & good day to you all!

 

Congrats!!

 

For me the product I was going to miss the most was Filmjölk. Fortunately we found that there is a company, Siggi’s Dairy, that makes what they call Swedish style filmjölk - non-fat drinkable yoghurt here in the U.S. I would say that it is pretty similar to the mellanfil back home and come in plain, raspberry, blueberry and vanilla. The flavored ones are a bit too sweet but the plain one do the trick for me. They carry them at Whole Foods, at least here in the Minneapolis area and they used to have them at Target but that didn’t last long.

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

1 hour ago, mspmn said:

 

Congrats!!

 

For me the product I was going to miss the most was Filmjölk. Fortunately we found that there is a company, Siggi’s Dairy, that makes what they call Swedish style filmjölk - non-fat drinkable yoghurt here in the U.S. I would say that it is pretty similar to the mellanfil back home and come in plain, raspberry, blueberry and vanilla. The flavored ones are a bit too sweet but the plain one do the trick for me. They carry them at Whole Foods, at least here in the Minneapolis area and they used to have them at Target but that didn’t last long.

 

I was certain I had seen them at Target, but they seem to be constantly switching up their yogurt/dairy sections.  They must of cut it when they made more room for non-dairy options next to the milk.   I'm just glad they have skyr, my kids eat that by the boatload.  

 

Speaking of which, about a year ago Target got rid of Wasa crispbread.  My local store only carries light rye, so that was kind of annoying.  

[Scandi 3,971]

23 hours ago, LizM said:

Well, Wettex are on my list now  Thanks guys!

 

Another question, I checked the requirements for AoS, specifially the I-485 form, and it asks for your birth certificate again. First of all, I ordered additional birth certificates to bring with me to the US for the AoS. But when I marry a few things will obviously not be correct on the birth certificate anymore, such as the civil status for example. Did you all wait to file AoS until you had a new birth certificate with updated info? Because I'd rather file asap after marriage, but I also don't know if it's good to submit a doc that says I'm single when I'm not.

 

Also read some people have had problems submitting the English version of the Swedish long form birth certificate, that they're RFIEd for the Swedish version with a certified translation - ridiculous really, but I don't want an RFIE as it resets the timeline. Do you think this will do: 1. Swedish long form birth certificate, 2. my own translation including signed certification that I understand English etc, and 3. print from the Tax Authority website saying this is all you can get in terms of birth certificates?

I shipped off my AOS package the same day I received our marriage certificate (that can take up to two months in LA, we were lucky that it only took four weeks for us), the very same day I also shipped off the letter to Skatteverket. About two weeks later my marriage and new name were registered in Sweden.

 

So yes, I sent my "old" personbevis (the English version with every little info Skatteverket has on me) with the AOS package as no info had changed with Skatteverket by then anyway. The only thing I did was to attach a regular post-it note to the personbevis where I wrote that's the only type of BC we have in Sweden. It was never any issues.

 

I made sure to bring an updated personbevis (and no older than 30 days) to the interview though, which was a good thing as that was one of very few things he actually asked to see. 

 

Many people go through this process without mentioning anything to Skatteverket though, they never register their marriages in Sweden and it still works just fine. Personally I think it looks good to have a personbevis that shows both your US address, civil status and even the name of your spouse. Looks good immigration wise that is, as extra "proof".

[mspmn 9]

9 hours ago, N-o-l-a said:

 

I was certain I had seen them at Target, but they seem to be constantly switching up their yogurt/dairy sections.  They must of cut it when they made more room for non-dairy options next to the milk.   I'm just glad they have skyr, my kids eat that by the boatload.  

 

Speaking of which, about a year ago Target got rid of Wasa crispbread.  My local store only carries light rye, so that was kind of annoying.  

The grocery stores around here carries Wasa and also Leksands Knäckebröd which is a favorite of mine, so I’m lucky I guess ;-)

 

Did you know that Costco sells Arla Havarti Cheese/Hushållsost, sliced, by the big pack. It takes me about two months to get through but if you have kids I imagine it would be convenient.

[nullaccount234 882]

12 hours ago, Paul & Mallory said:

Oh wow - 5 hours is a lot lol I live about an hour away from ours in Charlotte (I live in South Carolina but close to the NC border). Still a drive, but at least doable for an afternoon. Paul has already asked we go there the weekend after he gets here, lol. You can take the man out of Sweden...

 

Having anything Scandinavian nearby is helpful! Ikea is really the only place we have; no other stores or restaurants with anything Scandinavian, so it's good we're close to ours. He's also Filipino, and we found an Asian market in Charlotte that he loves, for that genre. I imagine we'll be frequently both pretty often  

Oh I realize I'm spoiled. Will be 10-15 minutes away by car to the closest IKEA. I too have asked to go there my first weekend haha.  But it's really because we need to get some stuff for the new apartment, such as a sleeper sofa, curtains and some kitchen equipment. 

 

I think I will bring some photos to put on the fridge, some hand made glasses (Orrefors) and a vase (Iittala), candle holders (Skultuna), just a few things like that to make it feel like home. But otherwise mostly clothes and shoes.

[nullaccount234 882]

5 hours ago, Scandi said:

I shipped off my AOS package the same day I received our marriage certificate (that can take up to two months in LA, we were lucky that it only took four weeks for us), the very same day I also shipped off the letter to Skatteverket. About two weeks later my marriage and new name were registered in Sweden.

 

So yes, I sent my "old" personbevis (the English version with every little info Skatteverket has on me) with the AOS package as no info had changed with Skatteverket by then anyway. The only thing I did was to attach a regular post-it note to the personbevis where I wrote that's the only type of BC we have in Sweden. It was never any issues.

 

I made sure to bring an updated personbevis (and no older than 30 days) to the interview though, which was a good thing as that was one of very few things he actually asked to see. 

 

Many people go through this process without mentioning anything to Skatteverket though, they never register their marriages in Sweden and it still works just fine. Personally I think it looks good to have a personbevis that shows both your US address, civil status and even the name of your spouse. Looks good immigration wise that is, as extra "proof".

Oh, one month? I knew it varies depending on where you are but I wasn't aware it could take that long. I looked into it before and it seems like in NY getting married at the City Clerk's office we'll receive the certificate just after the ceremony. Will double check that however.

 

Good to know though, I will be sending my old one too then. The rest can probably be worked out later on. Thanks for you help.

[Paul & Mallory 1,398]

13 hours ago, N-o-l-a said:

 

An hour is about the distance everything is away - doctors, work, where we do the bulk of our grocery shopping, etc.  It is an easy drive when the whether is good and often times I'll only pass a handful of other cars or as is the case now, tractors and ag planes.  

 

I wish they'd open one in Fargo because that would only be 2 hours away, but alas no such luck.  I used to be a big fan, we'd eat there once a week in Denmark and then America before we moved.  I was definitely spoiled in Denmark because it was only a couple of miles away and on our bus line.  I also made my husband go with me to the mothership in Älmhult.  But, I guess as I get older there is less reason to go - we have all the furniture we need and only buy to upgrade, so there is just tchotchkes.  It would be nice to have a bigger place for the kids to run around in winter and get a cheap meal. 

 

The food here is a little more Norwegian oriented - within a few blocks of my house there are several places that sell lefse or the equipment to make lefse and krumkake, etc.

I wish we had more of that down here! Paul's a chef and we joke about him opening up a Scandinavian place down here... but it would actually be pretty awesome, and he'd have the market, as it is now. I fell in love with the food over there and miss a lot of it. It's VERY different from southern food.. LOL. Sometimes I think I'd prefer it, but it could also be because it's something I haven't had before and don't have often now.

 

I agree with the necessity thing... I remember Ikea being way more intriguing when I was younger, first moved out on my own, and I was constantly going there because I had my first place, which was pretty empty back then lol Ikea is the way to go when you have space to fill up. Which isn't so much the case now, but I still love going even just to wander around the showroom. I love how the set stuff up. Paul's leaving a lot of material things behind; mostly because he's moving into my house, where there's already a majority of the basics and necessities. But we are going after he gets here not just because he likes to visit the nostalgia, but so we can stock up on any remaining necessities. Little things I actually hadn't even thought of until now that it's getting closer. Like extra bed pillows... extra toiletry items... even extra kitchen items. Living alone all these years and not being much of a cook myself, I hadn't realized how bare minimum my kitchen was until I met Paul, LOL. But it's also a fun thing to do together once he's here for good, so it's kind of nice.  

 

Side note: the kids area in Ikea is awesome and I wish more American stores had that!

[Paul & Mallory 1,398]

33 minutes ago, LizM said:

Oh I realize I'm spoiled. Will be 10-15 minutes away by car to the closest IKEA. I too have asked to go there my first weekend haha.  But it's really because we need to get some stuff for the new apartment, such as a sleeper sofa, curtains and some kitchen equipment. 

 

I think I will bring some photos to put on the fridge, some hand made glasses (Orrefors) and a vase (Iittala), candle holders (Skultuna), just a few things like that to make it feel like home. But otherwise mostly clothes and shoes.

Technically, the trip to Ikea is to stop up on stuff for us, too, but I know he likes the familiarity of it also. I mentioned in another post.. there's some stuff I actually hadn't even thought of, until now that it's getting so close, like extra bed pillows or bathroom products. He left a lot of stuff here when he visited last time because we already knew what our plans were, but not everything. He left some clothes here also; mainly "summer" clothes, since he didn't need very many of those in Sweden. I think females are more prone to wanting to bring décor items to spruce up a place than men are. Not saying men don't think of those things, but they're usually more interested in practical stuff. Being the chef out of the two of us (because I'm definitely not), Paul's biggest concerns are actually in the kitchen lol. My kitchen now is pretty pitiful compared to what he's used to, so that's another thing we'll be stocking up for at Ikea  

[ESGW 2]

Hi everyone, it's been a while since I was active while waiting for my green card.

 

Now it's time to file for naturalization and I was wondering if any of the Swedes here have done it recently? I'm worried about the Marriage Certificate since it in our case will be the Extract of the Population Register. When filing for my green card the person who went through our case didn't recognize it as a Marriage Certificate and I had big problems getting them to understand that this is the only thing we have in Sweden. Have any of you filed for naturalization and used the Extract from Skatteverket as proof of marriage?

[MalachiPDX 111]

On 5/10/2018 at 5:28 PM, mspmn said:

 

Congrats!!

 

For me the product I was going to miss the most was Filmjölk. Fortunately we found that there is a company, Siggi’s Dairy, that makes what they call Swedish style filmjölk - non-fat drinkable yoghurt here in the U.S. I would say that it is pretty similar to the mellanfil back home and come in plain, raspberry, blueberry and vanilla. The flavored ones are a bit too sweet but the plain one do the trick for me. They carry them at Whole Foods, at least here in the Minneapolis area and they used to have them at Target but that didn’t last long.

We just found out about Siggi's filmjölk too!  Being lowfat its not as great as the full but its something We had unsuccessful attempts at making our own. 

Edited May 17, 2018 by UsSwedlover

[Paul & Mallory 1,398]

PAUL IS HOME!!!!!

 

I'll let him come and share his POE experience himself when ready, but I will say this - it was TORTURE. He was held up for over an hour after his plane landed, and I was a mess not knowing what was going on. I did Facebook Live the whole thing for family back home and folks here who wanted to be a part of it, which helped. The people watching and commenting kept me company while I was waiting. And I'm actually glad I have that moment on video, because it was quite possibly the very best moment of my entire life. As soon as I saw him coming down that corridor, it felt like 100 bricks were lifted off of me and I couldn't get to him fast enough.

 

We went to Ikea the next day (not even living here 24 hours and that was the first place we went ), but it was fun! Picking up necessities and things he needed. He didn't bring everything with him and decided to just buy new stuff here. It felt nice to be normal and domesticated like regular couples for a change!

 

I'm loving having my Swede home for good, his Swedish radio and hockey games playing in the background (Sweden won this weekend!!!), and our nights at home cooking together back again. This is what it's all for and all about!! Hang in there to everyone still working towards that finish line, and good luck to all the POEs to come!!!