bevray

"Good timing - by May it will be beautiful again. I love the spring and summer here, winter is... well... a little too long for my taste!"

Well... I am coming from Canada so we're used to cold!!!

I had been driving for over 25 years in central london and had to take my test in reedsburg WI. This was the day after a big snow storm and the instructor just made me drive around without worrying too much about parking or emergency stops etc. The one thing he did point out was you must stop completely at the stop signs and not slow down and coast like we do once we develop bad habits over the years. Good Luck, Wisconsin is great and the people here are so friendly and helpful.

thanks everyone for your comments I really appreciate all your advice.

I am preparing my appeal and will take on board all the information given. I found out from a previous employee that my boss has previously been accused of sexual assault in the workplace, but cos he has the money or the arrogance it didn't go anywhere as the employee did not have the funds to persist with the claim. He is very experienced in law suits and knows how to play the game when it comes to investigations. Also he knows that knowone who still works there will say anything to help us as in this economic climate they cannot afford to loose their jobs. I will post back here when I have an update on what is happening, and again thanks for your support.

Bev

Dont know if anyone can offer advise on my situation regarding employment here in usa.

Short story, I have worked as an executive recruiter in wisconsin since arriving here for the last 20 months. My employer runs the company with his wife along with other businesses and since working I managed to invoice for placements the highest out of all recruiters (staff came and went). So I was successful in my field, My boss's motto was always to use negative comments to motivate staff. Most days was like walking on eggshells waiting to see what type of mood he was in before you either joined in with his banter or kept your head down and stayed out of the way. I put up with this as I needed a job and I liked what I was doing. Over a month ago they were investigated by the department of labor for not paying us the correct hourly rate, this was due to an ex employee turning them in. They had to pay us back-pay and the day after we received this we were called into a meeting and told in no uncertain terms "you people are going to pay the repercussions for what past employees have done to us". He then continued to use expletives and got more and more aggressive and was verbally assulting a female co-worker because she tried to explain we had nothing to do with it. Anyway it was the straw that broke the camels back and I got up, said I couldn't listen to his abuse any longer and left. My co-worker went back but two days after she quit too as she could not take the continued abuse. I then applied for unemployment, was interviewed and explained what had happened, after reviewing I received a notification stating that I had valid personal reasons to quit, after investigation they believed the employer had done nothing wrong but my benefits had been accepted. A week later they sent another letter stating there was an administrative error and my benefits were denied. I can appeal which I will do, but is this acceptable here that you have to be exposed to swearing and screaming as part of the working conditions. My husband says that it is against the law to use foul language in public and you can be ticketed for it. I am not a prude, I worked in the construction industry back in the UK for many years in a male dominated environment. I did not want to leave my job I had almost two years tenure would have been acruing another weeks paid holiday, had placements about to go through which would have bought a large commission but the stress I was put under was not worth my sanity. Has anyone challenged and won on appeal.

Did you get a notice of administrative error - or was it a notice that your employer had appealed the deputy's decision granting your benefits?

In either case, appeal and appeal NOW! You probably only have a few days to file the appeal. Gather any evidence you have. Be prepared to face your employer at the hearing. Be prepared to have them possibly lie about your work performance and about their behavior in the workplace.

Be vigilant and dogmatic. Do not let the ba$tards wear you down. You are entitled to your benefits. Seek legal assistance if you feel you need it.

Dont know if anyone can offer advise on my situation regarding employment here in usa.

Short story, I have worked as an executive recruiter in wisconsin since arriving here for the last 20 months. My employer runs the company with his wife along with other businesses and since working I managed to invoice for placements the highest out of all recruiters (staff came and went). So I was successful in my field, My boss's motto was always to use negative comments to motivate staff. Most days was like walking on eggshells waiting to see what type of mood he was in before you either joined in with his banter or kept your head down and stayed out of the way. I put up with this as I needed a job and I liked what I was doing. Over a month ago they were investigated by the department of labor for not paying us the correct hourly rate, this was due to an ex employee turning them in. They had to pay us back-pay and the day after we received this we were called into a meeting and told in no uncertain terms "you people are going to pay the repercussions for what past employees have done to us". He then continued to use expletives and got more and more aggressive and was verbally assulting a female co-worker because she tried to explain we had nothing to do with it. Anyway it was the straw that broke the camels back and I got up, said I couldn't listen to his abuse any longer and left. My co-worker went back but two days after she quit too as she could not take the continued abuse. I then applied for unemployment, was interviewed and explained what had happened, after reviewing I received a notification stating that I had valid personal reasons to quit, after investigation they believed the employer had done nothing wrong but my benefits had been accepted. A week later they sent another letter stating there was an administrative error and my benefits were denied. I can appeal which I will do, but is this acceptable here that you have to be exposed to swearing and screaming as part of the working conditions. My husband says that it is against the law to use foul language in public and you can be ticketed for it. I am not a prude, I worked in the construction industry back in the UK for many years in a male dominated environment. I did not want to leave my job I had almost two years tenure would have been acruing another weeks paid holiday, had placements about to go through which would have bought a large commission but the stress I was put under was not worth my sanity. Has anyone challenged and won on appeal.

Her income was under the limit and we did file the foriegn income exclusion form but there is some confusion on the part of the IRS how to interpet thier own rules. Evidentily they think that if you are a resident alien you are exempt but if you are a nonresident alien you are not exempt. We were married in 2006 but as you all know the visa process is often long and she did not move to the US, get a green card and become a resident alien until 2007. The last we've heard from the IRS they are considering calling her a resident alien as soon as we got married and therefore we have filed properly and we have no more tax liability, but and that is a big but, that is not the final ruling. We were told by our IRS auditor that they are waiting for a reply from someone in Texas that is the only "expert" on this in the entire country. How does the average citizen have a chance at figuring this out if only one person in our goverment knows???? This is a very serious matter since if this income is taxed here, even if foriegn taxes can be deducted, it will be a huge amount and amending our 2006 return may not be allowed. Thanks for your replies and again, they may be targeting foriegn earned income and this may have huge implications for all of us here on visa journey so be advised.

Bev and Ray

My wife, who is from England, and I were married in dec 2006 and she recieved her green card and moved to the US in July of 2007. To help prove we are really married for the visa and because we thought it was the right thing to do we filed our US taxes for 2006 married filing jointly. When filling out the forms we were led to believe by the IRS as was our accountant that my wife's UK income was exempt. This week we get audited because, according to the auditor, of her foriegn earned income. The auditor explains that she studied the tax codes for a week and thinks that because she was a nonresident alien her income is not exempt and is therefore subject to double taxation, here and in the UK! As you might quess we were shocked! Our accountant argued that if that is the case we filed that way due erroneous advice from the IRS and we should be able to amend that return to married filing seperately, and I would lose her deduction but her income would be exempted. It is not allowable to amend a return married filing jointly to married filing seperate so that was left up in the air. The next day the auditor, who I will say was extremely nice and very helpful, called to let us know that although waiting for the absolute final answer it looks like we have in fact filed properly and we won't be subject to a huge tax burden. Has anyone else had any experience in this area we would be very interested to know how it was handled. And for anyone in this situation double, triple and quadruple check with your accountant and the IRS ( take names, dates and times!) before filing. Our auditor said they must be targeting foriegn earned income because she had four more files like ours on her desk! Thanks in advance for any input!

Bev and Ray

Has anyone been audited by IRS? We married in December and filed jointly as we were informed this was the correct thing to do. After being advised how to fill out tax returns after requesting an ITN number as I was still living in the UK, we included my UK income believing that this was below the allowed limit for overseas income and have just been audited today. The tax inspector said we got flagged because of this. As I did not have a social security number or a green card the IRS want to include my income from UK and tax it! She admitted to us we were mis informed by the tax office and that she is still not sure what the ruling is. We should have filed seperately and then my income would not have come into play. We are now in a catch 22 position, we cannot change our return and file seperately but it doesn't seem fair that they want tax on money that was never earned or even bought into this country. I gave her my P60 which shows the tax has been paid, and I had to explain how our tax system works. If they dont know how to interprete the forms how are we expected to understand them.

Anyone had similar problems

Bev and Ray

My wife came from the UK on a visa waiver for a vacation and we got married in LasVegas. She did not have a SSN and they never asked for it and we subsequently went through the CR-1 visa process and the USCIS, NVC and US Embassy in London all approved her for a visa with no questions asked. After our marriage an immigration officer in Chicago pulled her out saying that our marriage was illegal but they let her through customs after about 15 minutes of checking her out on a computer. So go figure, there is no rhyme or reason to this process and absolutely no consistency in the system. Good luck!

We had sent in extra proof of our relationship with our I-130 and when my wife entered at the POE in Chicago the very rude immigration officer went thru all of her packet, reading our e-mails and proclaimed the only reason for her file to be so big is that there was a problem or we sent in way too much information that was not needed. Go figure?! Bevray

After a good flight virgin atlantic heathrow to chicago took my place in the visitors line and was greeted by a young man who put my envelope in a pink file along with my passport, I did not need the white visa form they made me complete on the plane although you do need to fill in the customs form. He told me to collect my luggage and then find an officer who would direct me to a waiting area to be processed. I did just that and there was one other couple ahead of me but nobody at the desk after what seemed ages a rather bullish young man sat at the table and asked for both our files. We both handed them over and sat down. He then put on blue gloves and proceeded to open the envelopes. After the young couple in front of me had been processed he called me to the desk and on opening my envelope asked me why there was so much paperwork in the file, he said there would only be two reasons for that one was we sent in information that was not needed or two there were problems! I told him whilst he was going through the paperwork that my husband sent in as much information as we had for proof of relationship, as he went through the paperwork he looked at the copies of emails, telephone bills and muttered "that wasn't needed" He then asked me a few questions like what job I did what my husband did and where we would be living. I then had to sign a form have fingerprints taken and that was it. He told me he was stamping my passport stating I had been informed my visa was conditional and that these conditions had to be removed etc. He then handed me back my passport no "welcome to America" but my husband welcomed me when I walked through the doors to my new life.

Thank you VJ for all your help and support. Good luck to everyone still waiting.

Bev and Ray

Well Bev has her visa in hand and will be on the plane to Chicago on Sunday, our visa journey is almost over for two years and I felt like sharing some final thoughts. For new VJer's there is a wealth of information here that can really help you get through this process faster and with less stress. This is also someplace where we are all in the same boat and we all experience the same highs and lows and we should all feel safe to express our worries and frustration. No matter how trivial they may seem I can guarantee someone else feels the same. Another thing we have all witnessed lately is that this very long and difficult process meant to bring loving couples together can also add a lot of stress which may actually add to any problems that may be present in the relationship. The best thing we can do as a "community" is to be supportive and allow our fellow VJer's to rant, rave and obsess when they need to and not take anything personally. And when we post our problems don't take another person's failure to understand as a personal attack, it is ok for us to disagree with respect. Our real experience on this forum has been filled with honest people who will give you their best advice with their best intentions and we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. And I know this is hard to believe but this process seems a lot better from this end than it did from the start! We were really blessed to get our visa in hand in only 168 days and we truely wish you all a fast and happy journey through this process. Thanks again and good luck to all! Ray

congrats best of luck to you both

Bev

CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hi all just got back from interview and had to share good news with you all APPROVED cannot believe it 166 days from filing to approval of I130. We have been so lucky but would love to thank everyone who posted with advice over the months. I have to say after a sleepless night and butterflies in stomach the interview went really well. At the first desk I handed over my paperwork they didn't need my husbands divorce papers only mine, they already had his 864 which had a big red approved stamp on it. They only needed one photo he did say the paperwork being sent out has not been updated yet. Then when I was called to the second window for the interview the young man just asked me to sign the DS230 part 2 swear I was giving true information then I think he felt like he had to ask questions so asked me where we met, how long before we were married where I was going to live in the states and had I been there? He didn't even seem to wait for me to give my long drawn out answers before he asked the next question. Didn't want to see any proof of our marriage ( I think most of this is already checked before you get to this stage). He then explained about the infamous envelope and told me what to expect at the POE and that was it congratulations and it was over all in less than 5 minutes.

Good luck to all those who are still taking this journey and to those about to start.

Bev

Hi just got back from my interview this morning. My interview time was 8.30 and I arrived at the embassy about 7.20 there were about seven people in front of me and at 7.30 the lady started to check paperwork and direct you to the right line. I got into the embassy about 7.40 and I was given ticket no 001 so was the first for imigrant visas. I was called at 8.00 to handover paperwork and have fingerprints taken and then waited till 8.20 I was seen before the 8.00 appointments. Interview took less than 5 minutes and then over to the courier pay. Good luck for tomorrow.

Bev

Hi just got back from my interview this morning. My interview time was 8.30 and I arrived at the embassy about 7.20 there were about seven people in front of me and at 7.30 the lady started to check paperwork and direct you to the right line. I got into the embassy about 7.40 and I was given ticket no 001 so was the first for imigrant visas. I was called at 8.00 to handover paperwork and have fingerprints taken and then waited till 8.20 I was seen before the 8.00 appointments. Interview took less than 5 minutes and then over to the courier pay. Good luck for tomorrow.

Bev

Kins

can I ask when you received your interview letter did it state as mine does if you sent I864 to NVC it is not needed for the interview? I noticed you handed over yours. My husband has sent me a photocopy of the I864 he sent to NVC along with copies of his last three years accounts. I am just worried they will want an original copy and my interview is Monday. I have highlighted the part on the letter to show them if they question the copy. I just dont understand they want the same information over and over again. I thought the paperwork was sent from NVC to london which includes the I864.

By the way congratulations and have a good flight.

Bev

My interview was last Thursday, I paid for delivery before 8am (an extra £20) and I got the visa Saturday at 7.50am. Pretty quick! I wouldn't book the flights till you've had the interview, unless you book refundable flights, and they won't save you any money anyway.

Thanks for all your help I wasn't intending to book any flight until after the interview but will hold off and wait patiently till my passport is in my hands.

My fiance's interview was this past Friday - they told him it'd be Weds or Thurs before he'd get his passport back. We'll let you know when he gets it - but we're waiting to book until then, too. Sucks cos he may get a bad seat on the flight over, but oh well.

Better that than having a non refundable ticket and no passport...!

Thanks that would be great I thought as I live in London it may arrive a little quicker. Is there a facility that you can pay to express the delivery?

Bev

Noticed you were asked for I 864 at interview on my papers received from London embassy it says if you sent I 864 to NVC you do not need to bring to interview. As my interview is on Monday I am now wondering should I have this - I do have a full copies of my husbands last three tax returns and the I 864 he sent to NVC will this suffice?

Bev

Can anyone tell me how long it is taking for courier to deliver passports back am desperately waiting to book flight as the

prices seem to be going up every day. Interview is Monday but dont want to tempt fate by booking flight till I know I have been approved. Looking to travel the following week.

Bev

Have my interview on June 18th at 8.30 is there anyone who has same date same time would like to meet up for coffee before our big day ahead?

Bev

My interview date June 18 at 8.30 anyone else going to london on that day who would like to meet up for coffee before the big ordeal happens!

You could add us: CR-1, noa-2 3/6/07, p-3 sent 5/16/07, medical 6/1/07. p-4 rcvd 5/30/07, interview 6/18/07 8:30am

The interesting thing is Bev had recieved packet-3 for the K-3 and returned it on the 5/22/07 and the NVC sent the CR-1 to London on 5/23/07 and the interview packet she got today was for the CR-1!! So they do automatically switch the interview from K-3 to CR-1. ray

My wife is a UKC and we got thru the NVC in less than 2 months for the I-130 and the I-129F from NVC to her letter fom the embassy in about 3 weeks. I don't think they are slowing anything down it is just that there really isn't any "normal" time for this process and no way to predict? It is frustrating, all you can do is use James's shortcuts for the I-130 and call the NVC a lot to keep track of where things are. The voice response message is often way behind so don't hesitate to call an operator. Good luck and a safe journey! Ray

I should add that there is a lesson for us all to learn here. Things do change so be sure to double check what we get here on VJ with what the USCIS/NVC provides and ask questions on the forums!! There are a lot great people who have or are going through the same things and are happy to help! Ray

I sent in the required forms without the tax release form and found out monday that the case was done and should be on it's way to london! So it is not needed! Thanks everyone!! Ray