Mr&Mrs G.

My journey has finally ended today, a big thanks to all at visajourney who helped and supported me when I first applied for an IR1 visa. When I joined visajourney I was a lot more active but I have not been posting in a long time although I still availed of the fabulous information this forum provides.

I had my interview today at the Raleigh NC office and it all went smoothly. I arrived 10 minutes early and checked in and then they sent me to the second floor for my interview. I waited about 20 minutes then I was called in for my interview, the officer was very nice and was very pleasant. Basic English test, read a sentence then wrote a sentence before moving on to the civics test.

3 questions only and civics test passed.

1. Name a native American Indian tribe

2. Name the capital of NC

3. Name the capital of the USA

Basic questions followed, like have you ever been a member of a militia or a prison guard. There was approximately 20 questions like this all with the answer "No"

No request was made to see any of the paperwork that I had brought only a quick look at my green card. I was told I passed my interview and that there was a same day oath ceremony downstairs. All told the interview was between 10-15 minutes. 

Downstairs for the oath ceremony which started within 5 minutes of me sitting down. I took the oath of allegiance with five others and I was then handed my naturalization certificate. 

The most stressful part of the day was wearing long pants in near 100 degree heat, it was great to get back into my shorts once I left the building. The only downside to the day was that no family were allowed attend or view my oath ceremony. 

Best of luck to those of you who are still on your journey, hopefully it will end soon for you.

18 hours ago, dmnc said:

Anyone has a recent update from the Raleigh office? I am just wondering what is the earliest case the Raleigh office is currently working on.

Thank you!

https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/citlist.php?cfl=0&op1=3&op2=d&op4=1&op5=5,10,11&op6=All&op7=Raleigh NC

On 9/26/2021 at 9:58 AM, MrMizo said:

We have applied on August and still stuck on "we received your case notice and receipt notice was sent", I can tell already that they are having issues finding my case file for removal of conditions back in July of 2020 😕

I applied August 27 and just received my biometrics notice today, appointment for October 26. I was hoping they would reuse them and save me the 110 mile drive to their office. I guess some are not so lucky.

3 hours ago, JP John said:

In NC they give you your Ontario dl back, but it is basically useless once you have your new one.  I got mine when I first arrived using my Visa and I-94.  It was only valid as long as the I-94 was.  I renewed it when I got my EAD.  It is only $5 for a DL here in NC so renewal ir more of a hassle than an expense.

 

NC refused my Irish licence and had me do a driving test, they told me NC doesn't do exchanges. I also had to pay $40 for the licence after passing the test.

I don't understand the part that Mueller was unable to clear Trump of obstruction, his job was not to clear him it was to find evidence to be able to bring charges. Clearly he was unable to do so and he should have made that clear in his report. I look forward to hearing his excuse for framing it that way.

45 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

This thread really should be in Off Topic.

Will move unless someone posts solid rationale as to why it belongs in CEHST.

Cersei believes the white walkers crossing the wall are not a threat to her lands, seems very relevant in the current climate 😜

1 minute ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

I would imagine a party is secrelty being held for him somewhere for taking one for the team. 

The party is Saturday and being held by the NAACP and definitely not in secret, an image award of all things. 🤪

Only let off the hook a couple of days and they are giving him an image award 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2019/03/28/jussie-smollett-up-naacp-award-host-anthony-anderson-hopes-he-wins/3298234002/

Smollett is nominated for the 2019 NAACP Image Awards, scheduled for Saturday. Six-time host and "Black-ish"star Anthony Anderson told Variety on Wednesday that he hopes to see the controversial actor there.

“I hope he wins," Anderson added. "I’m happy for him that the system worked for him in his favor because the system isn’t always fair, especially for people of color. So I’m glad it worked out for him." 

12 hours ago, Póg mo said:

Occasional cortex seems to be holding her own ,  perhaps she isn't as stupid as people like to claim.

 

On a side note. Did you know AOC has a small astroid named after her? How many of you, can claim that?

 

https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1106346140176449536?s=20

I think she is as stupid as people claim, along with her two buddies they seem to have mouths that utter words before the brain can catch up.

Her "thoughts and prayers" Twitter post in relation to the shooting in NZ showed no tact or intelligence at all. 

And, on Thursday, Pelosi offered something of a strained excuse for the 37-year-old Omar, saying at a news conference, “I do not believe that she understood the full weight of the words.”

I guess that's what happens when its being your kids to work day. 

8 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

English-only outside the regional forums.  

Which English would that be, spell checker on my phone is going nuts with weird American English spellings. 🤔

3 minutes ago, jg121783 said:

Do those things tell you your co2 emissions so you know how many carbon credits to buy from Al Gore to prevent global warming?

Not too sure about Al Gore but I have emailed AOC to find out if it's acceptable for the GND 😜

BAFX Products Bluetooth Diagnostic OBDII Reader/Scanner for around $25 was the one I picked up. 

It's got some of the best reviews and some good apps available for free though the Google store. There is also an IOS version available. It has the option for live data so you can leave it plugged in and monitor the vehicle as you drive. Clears codes but if the issue is persistent they come back like mine. 

24 minutes ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

The vsc comes on automatically when the check engine light comes on.

 

Replace your fuel cap and clear the code. You can buy a cheap bluetooth code reader and code clear off amazon for under 40 bucks. You would be surprised how many lights and vsc codes are caused by fuel cap leaks 

 

Bought a reader a few weeks back and have been consistantly getting P0157 and P0606 which is o2 sensor and pcm error codes. Both of those have been replaced and the codes persist, only difference between both banks is a slight voltage drop on bank 2 at the o2 sensor. No loss of fuel economy, maf sensor is cleaned and good, my mechanic is just scratching his head. 

Thanks for the tip for the fuel cap, it's a cheap part so worth a try, will order one now. 

18 hours ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

4runners hold value like crazy. I will say its outdated,  but getting a do over in 2020. Cant even get a power lift gate on a 4 runner. Women love them for some reason 

Used car dealer done me bad, 20 minutes after driving it away the dash check engine and vsc lights popped up. Sales guy doesn't really want to know so I have been trying to get it sorted locally. 

So far I have had it with a Toyota main dealer and two independant mechanics and none can get the lights to go away. I have replaced the pcm and bank 2 catalytic converter and o2 sensor, final decision from my mechanic is the truck is driving excellent so just run it until the real problem shows up. 

But you are correct they are very basic and mine has no creature comforts, great off road because it's a body on frame design. Still plenty of parts available to keep them on the road which is what I wanted. 

Ban SUV's? 

One was on my wish list before I moved over, loved the idea of driving on the beach and some trails.  Insurance and road tax along with gas prices would have made it impossible in Ireland.

Finally picked up an older 4runner just before Christmas and I ain't parting with it, and if some idiot runs out in front of me and gets killed well that's on him not the SUV.

AOC and Michael Cohen in the same sentence doesn't really encourage one to want to read the article.

Yesterday was embarrassing for the dems on that committee, some of the questions were ludicrous. 

4 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

Doesn't matter.  Trump is a fat orange Nixon and a mango Mussolini!

Jim is that you? 🤫

Wait until she figures out that there is no 3 billion to spend in her community. Someone needs explain to her what a subsidy actually is 

"We were subsidizing those jobs. The city was paying for those jobs. Frankly, if we were willing to give away $3 billion dollars for this deal, we could invest those $3 billion in our district, ourselves, if we wanted to. We could hire out more teachers. We can fix our subways. We can put a lot of people to work for that amount of money if we wanted to."

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/02/14/ocasio-cortez-takes-a-victory-lap-after-amazon-scraps-plans-to-build-in-new-york/23669970/

If the intention is to tax the rich then why is Bill Gates saying the top 400 earners currently only pay about 20% income tax. Surely it would require a more targeted taxation plan on assets rather than income. I'm guessing this 70% rate won't catch the mega rich it will get those in categories below whose money is income based rather than in assets. 

"The one thing that never gets much press: The IRS shows the statistics for the top 400 people of the highest income and the rate they pay ... It's about a 20% rate, so it has nothing to do with the 39.6% marginal ordinary income rate," Gates said. "So it's a misfocus. If you focus on that, you're missing the picture."

https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-taxes-income-tax-wealthiest-americans-2019-2

On 2/13/2019 at 9:14 PM, Póg mo said:

I am surprised people are so ignorant of this. I had learned about tax bands etc,by the time was in the 9th grade, in Ireland.

Im curious what year was that? 

I hadn't got a clue about tax bands when I left school, not a mention of it in the classroom neither. Just to make sure it's not because I'm an old git with an old education I asked my daughter's. One is in her first year of college and she learned nothing about tax bands in school. Another of my daughter's gets lost when she looks at her pay slip, she also learned nothing about tax bands in school.