*julez*

Thanks V33k! Whe I tried to call they said I needed my husband with me and I'm still at work. The VRU there says we are still in the initial review, too. I know the online status isn't reliable at all, but it is crazy to know that they can send out this random, awful BS and yet appear to have no record of it!

Thanks! I am just so annoyed because I know this mistake is theirs.

So, today my husband receives a letter from USCIS. He opens it joyfully, expecting an approval notice. No! Not even an RFE, but a notice claiming that he submitted his petition late without an explanation. UGH!

We mailed it May 3rd and received the notice of receipt dated 5/6. His card expired May 28th! How the #### is that late???? Stupid effing idiots. Now I have to make an infopass appointment to get this BS straightened out.

Also of note: The online case status still says initial review.

I am so angry!

Lisa, I am really sorry for jumping to the wrong conclusion. As far as I was concerned, if Maven says she met Melissa, then she met Melissa. So, therefore, I added 2 + 2 and got 10 when you said you thought Melissa was fake. I hadn't even considered that although Melissa really exists, she could be just focking with Maven, and all of us really. Again, I am sorry.

I am also a friend of the Maven and have met her in person myself. I find it offensive that you'd suggest she's lying about having met Melissa. Unless you know something I don't know, I think you owe Maven an apology for questioning her integrity.

Ah, grasshopper is learning!

Clearly, Starbucks is the answer! Now get goin'.

hmmm...maybe I meant clam?

Leave 'em on. It is great entertainment for the rest of us!

Calm.

Gah.

lol

How come stuff like this never happens to me?

My thoughts exactly!

By god, we'll have converted yankepeach to one of us before you know it!

Which is TOTALLY unfair, since you're the one who started all the fuss. As usual.

Yes, lets not create drama where there is none! I realize we're all feeling a bit bereft since Melissa & Julain seem to have taken their show on the road, but we need to find better ways to fill that void.

MEOW!

I really don't see where Muffin was being catty.

Honestly, I don't think there is anything wrong with telling someone to chill a little during the visa journey. So many people get worked up about every little thing, that sometimes it helps to have someone give you a reality check.

No police cert is needed for the US citizen as they are already a US citizen. The UK applicant must prove, through the APCO police certificate, that they are not an individual who had commited crimes involving moral turpitude.

The key thing to remember is that the UKC is applying for a visa, so is that is the person being vetted by the consulate during the visa interview process.

I think the key is what your ASC is. Why not track the ASCs that are backed up and see if there is a trend? For example, we have a few members in Arizona with no biometrics appointment. AZ is well-known for its large immigrant community, so it doesn't surprise me that there is a backlog there.

I would really love some nice, proper English back bacon. I think I will get some from the English Pork Pie Company when I get back from DC. They are right here in Buffalo, so I can just pop in and buy some, plus they have a nice range of sausages, pork pies, sausage rolls, etc.

http://www.englishporkpiecompany.com/store.htm?gclid=CPXr-YyU-qICFQMmawodfjgGmg

The really cool thing is that there was a nice write-up of them in the Buffalo News yesterday:

http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/07/18/1116811/business-with-british-flavor-finds.html

If any of you have a craving, I can assure you that the sausage rolls and pork pies are spectacular!

I'm glad to hear that things are going reasonably well for you. Suck about the nausea! Believe me that I completely empathize with you on that. On the gestational front, I have no news and don't plan on having any until one of my kids tells me I'm going to be a granny. Given that my oldest is 15, I think (and hope) I still have a long way to go on that front!

It sounds to me that you have adequate evidence. Be sure to have your itinerary showing your return flight. I've never been asked to prove anything on my visits to the UK. I know some people have been hassled, but it doesn't seem as commonplace there as it does in the US.

Mmmmm, custard tart.

I made a lamb hotpot for dinner this evening, and I have a steak and stilton pie ready for tomorrow evening. I confess to not making the piecrust myself. I hate making piecrust.

Oh, Mags! I have your butter chicken paste! I am back in Canada at the moment but I will mail it just as soon as I'm Stateside.

Um, Krikit, where do you get butter chicken paste? I want!!

Also, will you be back in DC July 26 - 30?

And, Mags, thanks fro reminding me that scrummy, yummy custard exists. Now I am craving sticky toffee pudding with warm custard.

If it weren't so darn hot I'd try making an egg custard, but I cannot deal with having the oven on these days.

What lock? Why? We're no where near 5,000 posts. Long live the Biggest Poll EVER!

Its always been LND.