Stuwoolf

On 11/11/2020 at 3:56 AM, fip & jim said:

Bread - so far Aldi "artisan" loaves are the best every day substitute for us. 

 

Bacon - I have never found an acceptable substitute. A colleague of my husband very kindly sent me some bacon she had home cured (Canadian style), which was more like ham. Very disappointing. You could do an internet search for a butcher near you that may do speciality cuts - British bacon is from pork tenderloin whereas American is from pork belly. I found this online store but I haven't used them yet: https://www.scottishgourmetusa.com/ They are based in North Carolina and shipping may be delayed due to covid restrictions. A pound of bacon is $14 from them.

 

It's also worth looking for Aussie food in the US. They have the same problem as us with finding food here too sweet. My local Meijer carry a brand called Boomerang's. If you like chicken I suggest looking for air dried chicken. I find regular chicken here watery and lacking in flavour. I found an Indian store (I had difficulty finding spices) that also has some British biscuits and chocolate. Over the years I've learned to keep an eye out for stores run by other immigrants and stock up when I can. Costco is good for cheddar and meat. 

 

I think missing food is part of homesickness. I found that keeping a few items for when I feel I need comfort helps on bad days (marmite, gravy granules, chocolate) and I get teabags on subscription, all from amazon. If you live near a larger city you may find a deli type store that carries international brands. You adapt eventually. 

 

Thanks.

Tried the Aldi Artisan bread and it was ok but could have been better...then I realised its Salted Butter I have (I'm an UNsalted kinda guy!). "Slightly" doesnt seem to be available so will try Unsalted. Found the Aldi line of Never Any which says no hormones or antibiotics added. Will see how it goes.

Thanks again.

Not sure this is the right place so please move or delete of not appropriate.

As much as I intend to try local foods, right now I am looking for equivalents to UK brands and tastes.

Hovis/Warburton White Bread?............I find the US bread a wee bit sweet

Back Bacon? Maybe its only streakie bacon here?

Maybe a list for others would help? Or maybe a list already exists, if so, apologies.

Source: https://uk.usembassy.gov/information-for-nonimmigrant-visa-applicants-following-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/

Please note that effective November 5, the United States Embassy in London has limited visa appointment availability due to COVID-19 restrictions announced in England. If you have a scheduled appointment please check your email account regularly, including any junk or spam folders, as this is how applicants are notified about any changes. You can also sign in to your Visa Appointment Status account to check the current status of your appointment.

Really sorry to read this. Sincerely hope, if you are caught up in this change, things straighten out very soon.

Good luck everyone🙂

THE FINAL ACT.

Today I arrived at Miami airport and submitted my Immigration Packet to the Immigration Officer at Passport Control.

The Passport Control line at Miami airport was huge! However it didnt take too long.

I got to the Passport Control desk and submitted my passport, open at my visa page, along with the Immigration Packet sent to me by the London Embassy....unopened, of course!

The officer took my pic and asked my wife and I to wait for a second officer to take me to the next stage. The second officer arrived and asked us to follow him in to a side room. There were about 10 others in the room and most of whom were receiving what appeared to be some sort of interview. The second officer retained my Packet and passport.

About 40 minutes later I was called up to a booth in that sideroom and the officer manning the booth asked what address did I want my Green Card sent to. I gave a different address to that which was on the Packet. This was not a problem. The officer updated his IT Record with my revised delivery address.The officer explained my Visa would act as a Green Card for up to 12 months or until my GC arrived, usually within 6 months.

That was it! The officer handed back my passport and my wife and I left the sideroom to go collect our luggage. The officer even gave us helpful directions on where to go. Everyone was very pleasant.

So there you have it. My Visa Journey began on March 05 2020 and was brought to conclusion today, November 04 2020 at Miami Airport.

Once again, a sincere thank you to all who have helped and encouraged me. It was all worthwhile.

4 minutes ago, Xyrstine said:

That is super cheap... 

Apparently so. When we looked previously for flights for No1 Step Daughter, the prices offered  UK side of the pond were always better. Of course Excess Baggage has to be added and that will at least double the price...and its almost all mine😂

3 minutes ago, Dags said:

This all really scary! I hope that they will open December calendar and allow us book an interview slot at least. 
 

thanks for the link! I keep hoping it wouldn’t be affected this time, but I think we all know deep inside what we’re going to find out tomorrow 🥺

I feel your pain. I really do.

As others said to me (and I know its not easy) try to stay positive.

Good luck.🙂

7 minutes ago, Cauldron said:

Hey everyone.

 

Any guesses on how this second lockdown will impact the embassy this time???

No idea. However I would check embassy website tomorrow, as soon as they open. Hopefully they will give some update?

This is what I had been using. Hope its of use.

Good luck.🙂

53 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

Unfortunately very expensive. 

Flights are few and around £350 a skull....about $460 ....so not mega expensive. I guess as crunch time approachs it may be time to bite the bullet and get yer money oot!😂

Will give it 24 hours or so to see whats ahead and which airline is doing what.

I guess its gotta be an american airline or, maybe second best, an airline running on behalf of.

Will wait n watch for 24 hours and see how the land lies.

Anyone wanna buy a car😂😂😂😂

33 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

Have you considered leaving  by Wednesday based on the address by Boris Johnson. Uncertainties lie ahead for sure if the new lockdown doesn’t achieve what they expect.

😂

Great minds think alike😉🙂

2 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

A state quarantine then. Getting complicated. What is you final destination? Your profile says Florida, so why were you looking at Newark? 

Initially NJ to see my wifes daughters then Florida. With all the virus/quarantine going on plans change almost daily.🥴

I have emailed BA to see whats going on. Obviously we have lots of excess baggage eg 2 x guitars, 1 x golf clubs so hopefully BA can give a clearer response.

Having said all that, I will not be convinced a flight will get to a destination until it touches down and we - and hopefully all our luggage😂 - are on that flight. Unusual times......

Thanks for you response🙂

17 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

Newark is a United hub so seems like a better bet since Newark was your original destination.
Direct flight Round trip LHR-EWR  24Nov is $403.  10 am departure.

Thanksgiving gets very busy so don’t dally.  
 

Thanks for this. There doesnt seem to be any availability - I guess I did take too long. As a result of requiring to isolate for 14 days in NJ (didnt know this), the date of departure can be no later than Nov 10. Have been looking at Nov 9 but United dont have a suitable flight - travel time is 20+ hours (overnight in Dublin). An overnight in Dublin in better times would be most welcomed however right now, in the present situation, its not inviting at all....never been to Dublin (except the airport) I hear the pubs are a bit special! Even thought about Gla - Dublin and catching the flight from Dublin but the timing isnt right🥴

Will have a look at JFK where there may be better hunting.

I guess its a case of see whats available and just get on with it....it could be a POE at NJ or anywhere along the East Coast. Hey ho.....

Thank you again for your help. Most appreciated.

18 minutes ago, Cauldron said:

Sooo. Had my visa refused. Despite previous assurances, they do want a police record from Vietnam despite the fact that I never maintained residence for more than one year at a time. This will be a very complicated process. As per my understanding today, I will have to get a letter of attorney authenticated at the Vietnamese embassy in London, get my passport back from the US embassy and then send this, plus a form to my friend who will then have to go to the Justice office there and then wait for the record which I will then have to get translated and then certfied and then POSTED back to me because the interviewer insists on originals. So yeah, almost 20 weeks pregnant after four long hard years of trying and now have spent almost the entirety of the pregnancy separated from my husband and living with my parents. There aren't even words! 

 

Does anyone know anyone on this forum who has to go through the same? Could really do with some insider info. 

 

xx

I feel your pain!

We had a situation whereby we needed my Panamanian born wifes certificates from the authorities in Panama. Luckily my wife still has relatives there however Panama was in an almost complete Lockdown. We emailed a letter authorising the bearer (her aunt) to be given the certs. The certs then had to be couriered to us in UK then translated. Total cost was around 500! Then we didnt need them 😂😂😂

Hey ho.....pleased you have found a workaround🙂

Good luck.

3 hours ago, JFH said:

BA are mit serving EWR temporarily. UA still are out of LHR. Or there are several options for LHR - JFK. 

 

I work for an airline. I would stick to major hubs only at this time - JFK, LAX, SFO, MIA, ATL, IAH and avoid places like DTW, MSP, EWR, BOS. The risk of cancellation for less-used gateways is too high. 

Thank you this is really informative. Particularly helpful from someone in the airline industry.

The options we have looked at are Glasgow - LHR then West Palm Beach. Miami. JFK. Newark. Orlando. Ft Lauderdale. Some of these flights require a 2nd stop via Amsterdam and Atlanta.

I presume, if the list had to be rated as most likely to fly, it would be,

1. JFK

2. Miami

3. Newark

4. Orlando

5. Ft Lauderdale

6. West Palm Beach

Grateful for your opinion. (I understand its an opinion and you cannot be held accountable!)

Thanks🙂

1 hour ago, JFH said:

BA are mit serving EWR temporarily. UA still are out of LHR. Or there are several options for LHR - JFK. 

 

I work for an airline. I would stick to major hubs only at this time - JFK, LAX, SFO, MIA, ATL, IAH and avoid places like DTW, MSP, EWR, BOS. The risk of cancellation for less-used gateways is too high. 

Great advice. Thank you🙂

4 minutes ago, The4Sands said:

I flew United from LHR to EWR at the end of September no problems, although a flight at the same time to Dulles was cancelled and a lot of those people ended up on my plane. Ten days ago I took a Delta flight from LHR to Philadelphia with a stop in Atlanta with no problems. Today my husband and kids are flying non-stop from LHR to Philadelphia. 

 

In all the research we did for all those flights, we found that trying to fly from anywhere other than Heathrow (was looking at Manchester, New Castle, Edinburgh and Glasgow) was too risky. It's a pain in the backside to go down to Heathrow the night before and stay in a hotel, but I think you might have the best chance that way. 

 

Obviously that's only one person's experience, hopefully others will be able to chip in. 

Sound advice. I have a Plan B which is to leave from Heathrow.

Thank you🙂

15 minutes ago, Dags said:

thanks a lot!  it's driving me crazy. I'm checking it like multiple times a day lol 

Thats probably the best thing to do.

Good luck🙂

18 minutes ago, Muffinji said:

On a side note - I was reminded by the consular officer that interviewed me to make sure my transit country is not in the banned list. 
 

and with United - check your flight from transit country. 
Because I previously had multiple cancellations because flying out of SJC means I will end up having a transit of >24 hours in japan which is usually ok. 
but during covid it’s not because it means I’ll have to quarantine in japan before I can leave. 
flying out of SFO solved my problem because transit was for the same day. 

Thanks.

When looking for flights I always seek out Stops of no more than 2.5 hours, so quarantine shouldnt be an issue if transiting thru Amsterdam or Dublin. Or will it be an issue?

We had a flight booked for Nov 24 - Glasgow-LHR-Newark. The flight was BA. It was cancelled by the airline.

I know its a fluid situation but does anyone have a strategy to book a flight which has a good chance of actually flying?

My thoughts are trying to book the LHR to US leg with an american based airline eg United, American Airlines or even via Amsterdam (KLM) and Delta. My thought process is a foreign based air line eg KLM (Dutch) or United (US) are more likely to want to be back on home soil and therefore more likely to actually fly from UK.

Any thoughts on this?

With the current flight uncertainties it is very difficult to comply with a POE statement made at interview. That is for example informing IO that the intended POE is Newark when its much more likely to get a flight to, say, Miami.

What impact, if any, would such a scenario have?

4 minutes ago, Dags said:

Congrats!  question : did you struggle with fining an interview slot when booking it?

Yes, it was not so straight forward, although the issue for me was not so much availability but my readiness (was awaiting foreign police cert and then the translation) and slotting in an available date to my work schedule, making arrangements to get there (Glasgow to London is a helluva drive!). As mentioned previously, frequent check of the Booking Calendar and refreshing the screen works wonders.

Good luck.🙂

A few days back someone asked how long it took to receive their passport from the Embassy after their interview. This is my timeline.

My Interview took place at 10:10AM on Monday October 26.

Received an email 2:00PM on Tuesday October 27 advising the courier had my documents. Checking the tracking link for the courier,  my docs were scheduled for delivery to me on October 28.

My passport, with Visa attached, along with the White Envelope (not to be opened!) were delivered today, Wednesday October 28 at 2.10PM.

The visa journey is complete....now the next stage of the journey.

Thanks again goes to all who have given me advice and support. Much appreciated.

Good luck everyone🙂

On 10/20/2020 at 4:28 PM, nickyducky said:

So yesterday I had my visa medical. Very smooth process. I actually ended up staying over at the Holiday Inn Express Oxford circus, which is actually on the same block as the visa medical building. Literally like a one minute walk. 
 

as of this morning there still wasn’t any interview appointments available, but my wife was checking all the way home in the car refreshing the page and wouldn’t you believe November dates were released!! Needless to say we booked immediately, so as of right now, my interview will be November 16th. We could have gotten earlier but since Wales will be in a 2 week fire lockdown next week, November 16th gives us time to get through that and see what the situation is. 
 

crossing my fingers for no more holdups

Regarding hotels.......on Sunday Oct 25, we stayed at Travelodge Vauxhall as it is 10 mins walk to Embassy.

The Travelodge is located adjacent to a bus terminus. Its not possible to stop you car and unpack any bags. Thankfully St George Warf car park (£38 for 20 or so hours) is about 5 mins walk away, in the same direction of Embassy. 

IMO close proximity to the Embassy was the hotels only good point.

The room was fine except for issues with bathroom, ie no soap for shower, loose toilet seat and light out above mirror. In addition, next day I noticed there was a plastic bag covering the celing mounted smoke detector in the main room area. Rather odd, not to mention unsafe.

Quite honestly I was annoyed and embarrassed I had subjected my wife to this place. Had I known of an alternative hotel available we would not have stayed. With this pandemic I will  definately not us a bus or, unless there is zero option, a taxi.

As we scrambled across a busy road to get to the Travelodge, just before we passed thru the bus terminus, a rat scurried past us (about 8 feet away)......that did not make for a happy hotel guest that night. Thankfully my wife didnt see it. When I told her, after checking out, to my surprise, she wasnt too bothered. She said the rats in NYC subway are as big as cats!😂

I recall reading somewhere, in big cities we are never more than a few feet away from rats......aint that the truth!😂😂😂

Anyway, that was our experience.

Good luck everyone🙂

4 hours ago, Cauldron said:

Congrats! Just read your report. Can I ask, when you said asked for your DS60 do you mean the let r confining you have filled the return? Also, did you have to do the copies of your police report? 

I took a print of the DS260 (was it necessary? Who knows, bit it gave me comfort) and the Confirmation Page. I think a copy of the DS260 can be printed when you login to the embassy website (as you would do when looking for an interview appointment date)

I was asked for copies of Police Reports. Along with the translation (from German)

I would suggest taking 1 copy of every original document taken to the interview. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Perhaps the Interviewing Officer would run off a copy which would be great. However, if the IO didnt and insisted YOU present the copy, then you could be in a world of angst.

Its individual choice but personally I prefer to have a copy and not need it.

If you stick to the list produced by os306 and the subsequent discussion,  you shouldnt go far wrong.

Good luck🙂

Well, thats that then! Woohoo. Had my interview today, Approved, and will receive the business "within about a week".

Thank you to all the help I was given from Visa Journey.

Thank you.

My report is here

3 minutes ago, os306 said:

Had my interview earlier today and was approved. The whole process took about 30 minutes and, in line with what others have said, was painless. I’ll post a review up shortly.

 

Many thanks to the people on this forum who assisted with my questions and queries. Good luck to those of you still waiting!

Excellent news. Congratulations😊

Its been a (Visa) journey and at last you are at the destination.

Good luck🙂