Collie

Update: Passports were ready for pick up on june 26th, so from their date of interview, that was 15 days. I would definitely advise to plan accordingly to anyone who is booking flights!

Update: Passports were ready for pick up on june 26th, so from their date of interview, that was 15 days. I would definitely advise to plan accordingly to anyone who is booking flights!

The British Emporium is actually in Grapevine, Texas It is good for buying those things that you really just can't live without, but be aware that it is very pricey. They are extremely proud of their products! As a side note, watch the expiration dates on some of the shelved products too (speaking from experience, out of date monster munch are really gross )

Since my approval last week, and the subsequent storm of planning and scheduling and booking and general blue-a*se-flying, i've been experiencing a new kind of charm as I go about my English life. Everything I do and everywhere I go gets studied from a different angle, under a different light. What is this place I call home? What does it mean to me? Why do we persist in being so English?! A kind of nostalgia is already setting in and i'm really enjoying it.
Just yesterday I was at the lido, enjoying some sun and a casual swim with friends, and of course peacefully distracted by all the other people sharing this space for the afternoon. Its June and a barmy 22 degrees outside, so the place was very busy. So there we are, the British, all half naked and lying on towel-draped concrete and sizzling our bellies in the sun whilst licking Cornish ice cream before sploshing into the outdoor pool and apologising for barely colliding feet or hands with the dainty breast stroke swimmers going back and forth in orderly rows. There was a gentle hum of chatter as yummy mummies with toddlers swapped yoga tips, freelance creatives waffled about next weeks' shoot, and old guard gents moaned about it being too hot whilst constantly fidgeting with their tight speedos. And still, in between the variety of people there seemed to be a common bond. Everyone seemed to be shouting, 'the sun is out, and we're going to bloody well enjoy it!'
It was quaint, it was quirky, and a thoroughly English afternoon.
I am soon due to swap the lido pool for swimming in the Pacific Ocean in a town where 22 degrees is probably considered 'chilly', and this is admittedly something of an upgrade, but its not really the point.
Being English, or British as we're inclined to be known over there, beholds an identity complete with a set of peculiar traits and quirky virtues that I will always cherish and uphold. If for no other reason than i'm, well, English (British, whatever). Our offbeat charm and dry humour is world famous, whereas our politeness and our apologising and our moaning and, yes, our piss-taking, are all things we're proud of too.
Keep your Cadbury's and your Jaffas and your teabags. This is what I will really miss.

The hubby arrived in Boston last night, unfortunately the Border Patrol computer systems were down and we waited 2.5 hours for him to make his way through the International Arrivals...
But he his here, and real life shall begin!! We are so thrilled.
Best of luck to everyone still in the process, there is an end to it all and it feels incredible. Love you VJ Family!

I just wanted to drop by and let you all know that my husband's visa was (finally!) approved this morning at the consulate in Amsterdam! Thank you everyone here who has been so helpful during this entire process!
(As an aside, sorry that I haven't been around, but me and the girls have been super busy with kid type stuff, so I've been more active on facebook than here. Miss you guys!)

Planes will land at an international gate/terminal if a trip through immigration is required. Otherwise they will land at a domestic type gate. Everybody who got on the plane in Dublin was already cleared, so they are basically like a domestic flight for arrival.

Its not quite as easy as just that, but if you are willing to file all the paperwork and pay the fees then it is possible. My parents were in the same situation as yours and wanted to be close to their grandchildren, so we filed and completed the process. From start to finish, it took 15 months, but it could take less or more time depending on what backlog gets created at which center.

Congrats

I'm going to lump your questions together to try to answer what I can in the most efficient way possible
Their CEAC status shows Administrative processing, which I know from reading other posts is normal, but how long on average does it take to change to "issued" or whatever it is supposed to say? When will they be notified when their passport is ready to pick up?
-Time spent in AP varies, but for recent London approvals it's only been about a day to go from AP to Issued. Hopefully that'll be the case for you. In my husband's case, his interview was Monday, visa status was "issued" on Tuesday, and the visa arrived for Depot pickup on Friday. I believe he got notification from the courier Thursday. Shipping might take a little longer for your parents as they're farther from the embassy.
When do they actually pay the Green-card fee?
-Any time after they get their packages back. The visas will have the A- number that you need in order to register with ELIS and pay the fee. I'm hoping that paying it well before POE will mean faster green card processing later, and I paid our ELIS fee the day my husband picked up his paperwork. They can wait to pay it until after POE, but the green card won't be issued until that's sorted.
Will they get the sealed envelope back with the passport or how does that work?
-There will be a larger outer package which will contain the passport and another, inner envelope, which is the sealed one they're not to open themselves.
One last question and I should know this but I'm uncertain, but do they get a 2 year or a 10 year green card?
-I believe it'll be a 10 year green card, along with the other IR visa types.

My parents had their interview this morning in London and were approved Finally after 15 months, we are done. I will post a detailed review when I Skype with them this weekend, but they were asked the following:
Who I was
Where I lived
What did I do
When they were planning to go to the US
Where they were going to live when they got there
My Mum was also asked a trick question asking if she had been to Colorado before as there was someone there with her maiden name. Weird question to ask but she answered no and told the immigration person that you can't catch me out, lol!
Thank you to everyone who has helped me with questions along the way, especially Saylin and D-Wheels. I couldn't have got through all the paperwork without all your expert advice. To anyone else that is still waiting, keep the faith and you will be reunited with your family soon

My parents had their interview this morning in London and were approved Finally after 15 months, we are done. I will post a detailed review when I Skype with them this weekend, but they were asked the following:
Who I was
Where I lived
What did I do
When they were planning to go to the US
Where they were going to live when they got there
My Mum was also asked a trick question asking if she had been to Colorado before as there was someone there with her maiden name. Weird question to ask but she answered no and told the immigration person that you can't catch me out, lol!
Thank you to everyone who has helped me with questions along the way, especially Saylin and D-Wheels. I couldn't have got through all the paperwork without all your expert advice. To anyone else that is still waiting, keep the faith and you will be reunited with your family soon

Hi VJ Family!
This is just an update...My wonderful husband was APPROVED this morning during his interview at the London Embassy. 14 Months in this process and the only wait left is to get his passport back with his visa in it. Words cannot describe the relief, excitement and totally surreal feeling today.
There were many times during this process when it felt like we would never get here. Seemingly endless waiting, repetitive transatlantic flights, and crippling loneliness and frustration was starting to drive two normal, sane people to the brink. I'm so thankful for the endless support from this website with people who understand the process and feel the same frustrations. THANK YOU ALL for everything. I can't wait to begin life, with the love of my life.
When my husband gets the chance, he will post a detailed experience at the interview in London. But for now, we celebrate!!
To break it down in a way only VJ people will understand, I send positive vibes to all those who are...
WAITING FOR THE PASSPORT WITH VISA IN IT
WAITING IN AP
WAITING FOR INTERVIEW
WAITING FOR AN INTERVIEW DATE
WAITING FOR A CASE COMPLETE AT NVC
WAITING ON CHECKLISTS AT NVC
WAITING FOR A CASE NUMBER AT NVC
WAITING TO GET TO NVC FROM USCIS
WAITING FOR NOA2 AT USCIS
WAITING ON RFE AT USCIS
WAITING FOR NOA1 AT USCIS
WAITING TO BEGIN THIS PROCESS
Did I miss anything?

I was lucky enough to camp out in Monument Valley once, have never seen so many stars or such a beautiful sunrise. My wife the USC hasn't even been so would love to go back with her

If people do POE at Dublin please review it if you can in the POE review section like Rhirhi has done as Dublin is very light on recent POE reviews and it'll help other members. I'll be sure to do one myself when I fly in 4 weeks.

Just went through Dublin as POE yesterday. It was the most ridiculously easy part of this whole process.
The only bad thing was the amount of people down there! There were quite a few flights taking off before mine, two of which should have gone hours before but had been badly delayed.
Security is now a bigger operation before POE. The queue was huge but constantly moving. I did have to go through to secondary when I got to immigration but after waiting 20mins I was asked two questions- am I going there to get married and do I have a date for the marriage.
This took a little over an hour, from the time I joined the queue for security to the time I left secondary. I was left with a little under an hour until the plane took off and about 20mins til boarding was due to start so the timings actually worked out pretty well.
Have done a review if you want a little more detail

I don't understand why anyone would offer help when all you get in return is "I just want the right answer, not your answer."

Yesterday when I picked up my visa... There's an outer envelope with your address on it, inside there is the passport, a sealed envelope you can't open and a couple of pieces of paper. So you don't need to open the sealed document to get your passport out.

So I got approved at the London Embassy this morning! The interview went flawlessy and I'm delighted! I'd like to thank everyone on here who has been a help,especially Nich-Nick on the London side and all my fellow I-130 posters on here who shared empathy and support, you know who you are. Last but not least some of you are aware that my wife is the amazing BOS-LHR and I'd like to thank you for all the support and preparing an amazing petition with no RFE's or checklists. It's been a long 11 months!

It depends on your embassy. Some embassies are busier than others and will cap out much faster, especially if there is a few month backlog of folks waiting , like Egypt for example.

Every little step forward is worth celebrating!

Pure genius!!! :rofl:
Just sent this to my wife in the US (a fanatical dog lover) It'll make her day :lol:

I am an HR manager and I receive so many bad resumes that I sometimes just want to poke myself in the eye! Things that I look for are precise grammar (that tells me that you will be methodical and take pride in your work), being concise with an objective and a work history. I don't care where you went to high school or what your GPA was or what you got in your A-levels etc. I want relevant information about your work history, your successes/achievements/awards in previous positions, your professional affiliations and how you can benefit the company that you are applying to. Don't talk about hobbies - that is a huge turn-off as that tells me that you may not have enough time to apply, to the job. Don't list references - its a waste of space and I won't be obtaining a reference anyway as it is not legal until you sign my form if you are short-listed. Just put "references are available upon request". When I look at a resume, I read the 1st page and look for things that jump out at me that would make me short-list a candidate for an interview. I have too many resumes to read to thoroughly read the whole document. If I like what I see on the 1st page and you capture my attention, then I will usually continue to read the rest of the resume.
Never ever talk about salary. You can negotiate salary when you interview.
Use different fonts, use bold for the parts that are most important, do not list your address. A name and phone number/email is enough. Have a professional email. Usually your first and last name is a good one. You wouldn't believe the email addresses that I see come through my office like hotmama@Hotmail.com or bigmikesgal@yahoo.com etc etc. It instantly leaves the wrong impression with employers!
If you need any more advice, feel free to ask

I am an HR manager and I receive so many bad resumes that I sometimes just want to poke myself in the eye! Things that I look for are precise grammar (that tells me that you will be methodical and take pride in your work), being concise with an objective and a work history. I don't care where you went to high school or what your GPA was or what you got in your A-levels etc. I want relevant information about your work history, your successes/achievements/awards in previous positions, your professional affiliations and how you can benefit the company that you are applying to. Don't talk about hobbies - that is a huge turn-off as that tells me that you may not have enough time to apply, to the job. Don't list references - its a waste of space and I won't be obtaining a reference anyway as it is not legal until you sign my form if you are short-listed. Just put "references are available upon request". When I look at a resume, I read the 1st page and look for things that jump out at me that would make me short-list a candidate for an interview. I have too many resumes to read to thoroughly read the whole document. If I like what I see on the 1st page and you capture my attention, then I will usually continue to read the rest of the resume.
Never ever talk about salary. You can negotiate salary when you interview.
Use different fonts, use bold for the parts that are most important, do not list your address. A name and phone number/email is enough. Have a professional email. Usually your first and last name is a good one. You wouldn't believe the email addresses that I see come through my office like hotmama@Hotmail.com or bigmikesgal@yahoo.com etc etc. It instantly leaves the wrong impression with employers!
If you need any more advice, feel free to ask

Its approx. $100 to bring a pet to the US from the UK when they travel as excess baggage with you - not at all expensive. For me when I moved nearly 9 years ago, there was no option for me to leave my Border Collie behind - I never would have left her behind. Now my parents are about to immigrate in a few months time and they are bringing two cats. They have to fly a different route through different airports, but they too could never leave their furbabes behind.