Rubycon

Perhaps it is a different student loan that the OP has compared to mine, but I doubt the terms and conditions would be that different...

Perhaps your terms are different if you're from Scotland? I'm not trying to be a joker, its just that higher education arrangements for Scots can be different than from us Englishy types.

Alright - loans from the Student Loans Company:

Okay, for one thing it is you're responsibility in all cases to notify the Student Loans Company of your earnings if you're outside the British tax system, which obviously you are - if you don't you can make yourself liable for a kind of "emergency" repayment amount, which is somewhere in the region of £250 per month. So, if you're planning to get in touch with them you probably need to pretend that you've been living off your husband for the last two years (I presume from your post that you have been employed during this time)!

I think you should normally receive an annual self-assessment form from them. Perhaps it got lost somewhere. Or perhaps the SLC never sent it - they are, after all, renowned for being pretty incompetent. Now, if your earnings fall below the equivalent of £15,000 per year, you're under no obligation to pay back your loan. Of course it still accrues interest (so, effectively, the Labour government introduced a system whereby the lowest earners end up paying back the most - yes, thats right, I'm on to you tossers). You can, however, still make so-called "voluntary payments" if you're earnings fall below the £15,000 threshold.

Keep in mind that if you "disappear" off their radar they can still track down members of your family and demand repayment and other such nasties (although, as far as I know, they have no direct claims on any assets located in the US). So, unfortunately, there's no running away from them. Interest will have certainly been mounting up the last two years. If you're in the position to pay off the loan, then count yourself lucky and do it - then you will never hear anything from them again!

Thanks for the luck guys!!! I haven't got butterflies.....its more like a swarm of killer bees!

*sings to herself..... AHHHHHHHHHHHHH FREAK OUT!*

Nah, i've got everything ready and i'm rearing to go!

Good Luck Rubycon!!

:thumbs:

And right back at you!

Aww..! Thankyou people! Its really good to know that we're not alone in this.

...anyhow, I think I'm organised - I have photocopies and originals of all the paperwork, train tickets, cash in case the embassy's card machine is broken again...

I'll probably start stressing about something later this evening though. Right, I have to go check the checklist again!!

As I understand they will take the phone from you before you go into the Embassy (judging from other people's experiences). I plan to take my mobile (sorry darling, if you're reading this...CELL PHONE) on Friday.

Anyhow, wishing you the very best of luck!!

Always late to post, but here goes -

I think my angle on this is the stress of having to do the move by myself - my SO is unfailingly supportive, but ultimately its me who's got to ensure that me and my stuff makes it to Chicago!

In some ways I feel very calm about the whole thing - I've been thinking about the move for months now, and I think that preperation has stood me in good stead. I have a sheet of paper on my wall showing the dates that everything has to happen (shippers collecting stuff, etc.). I also have a pile of completed forms to mail on the day I leave (overseas voter registration, HMRC forms, pension forms, Student Loans Company forms, all that sort of stuff).

What's driving me crazy is just waiting for the interview. Whatever the embassy says, it is really difficult not to take any irrevocable steps in advance of being approved. In fact, I don't think there's one irrevocable step I HAVEN'T taken! My job contract has expired, my tenancy on my flat expires at the end of the month, I've closed bank accounts, booked air tickets, trains, the lot.

Stress shows itself in strange ways - this morning I woke up CONVINCED that I'd left a load of washing in the washing machine from two days ago. I toured around the entire boarding house (I work in a boarding school) asking people if they'd seen my clothes. After about half an hour of searching in different rooms I decided to check my flat again. And there they all were, neatly folded and put away in the bedroom!! I belive if you're above 30 thats known as a "senior moment"...

...one of the exam bodies which produces and marks A-level and GSCE exams.

Wierd, I wonder if you marked some of my papers..?

The company I work for has given me a cheque written from an account held right here at the Russell Square Midland Bank!

Yes, this sort of behaviour is bizzare. I've never understood how I can pay in a cheque from an account held at the very same bank and it still take so long to process. I mean, they put it through the whizzy thing right then and there while you're standing at the desk!

Stony silence, then I was told that this was not America, there were very good reasons for the rule (yeah, like making money off of accountholders!) and that it was hard to believe that American banks would trust their accountholders enough to give them anything before a cheque had officially cleared. Oh, and that I should stop crying, it was embarrassing!

Why I ever, EVER stuck with Midland/HSBC through the years is a mystery to me!

HSBC did used to have some pretty piss-poor customer service. I had to fight just to get a functioning Switch debit card out of them (note - not credit card), despite the fact that I paid a monthly wage into the account and had never gone overdrawn. On the same account, I also tried to get an overdraft (again, while I was paying in a wage) of £100, and I failed their credit check!

It was therefore a pleasure to close my HSBC account about two weeks ago!

NatWest, however, have been fine. They've given me credit cards and a whopping great overdraft (which I'd rather not use!!). In fact the only thing they've been useless at is giving me a reference letter to use in my interview - you know the one that shows your current balance, etc.

There's always the chance that you may appear on some computer system as you are in the immigration process.. (or is it me that is paranoid?!) Saying that I've travelled to the US on visa waiver with no problems or hassle during my I-129F process.

However, I was advised by an immigration lawyer in the US to carry a copy of my employment contract with me. Obviously it will need to show either that you're on fixed term or permanent contract (thus indicating a strong tie to the UK). Be careful with paperwork though - it is generally a bad idea to be carrying a resume or the like with you, as it can be construed as evidence of intent to stay if they want to screw around with you.

Perhaps if you'd rather not carry your contract around you could say to your employer that you need a letter stating permenancy of employment for a credit agreement or something like that? I've had to ask my employer for financial references before.

To be honest, though, my fiancee has had more hassle from UK immigration than I've ever had from the US chaps, and we usually let pretty much anyone walk in.

Well, just a big shout out to everyone who's on interview this week - it seems like a particularly busy one! Wishing you all the very best - perhaps I'll see JandC on Friday...

Just booked my taxi to Birmingham New Street station - it arrives at 4:45am!!! No sleep for me then!!

I'll probably upset some people by saying this but I think Big Brother is an example of the very worst type of television. Put a bunch of past-it, no-name, pseudo-celebrity, circus-freak morons in a house together, film them as they eat, sleep, converse (in the loosest sense of the word) and shag for hours upon hours upon hours on end - and a huge proportion of the British public will sit glued to their screens. The TV company bosses really must be laughing their heads off at us.

In my opinion reality TV - and Big Brother in particular - is among the very worst, degenerative media productions of our society (and a most telling simulacrum).

Also online banking in the US is pretty useless to. It will take 3 business days to tranfer funds from one bank to another.

I think this is a case of rose-tinted spectacles... have you tried paying a credit card online in the UK recently? 3 business days. Or how about transferring funds to a different bank? At least 3 business days. Oh, and did you try cashing a cheque recently? 5 business days to fully clear. In fact, the only thing I can do with online banking instantly is transfer money between accounts at the same bank. Great fun, but the appeal wears off quickly.

The fact is that ALL banks will drag transactions through, as your money makes money for the bank while it is in transit. Simple. With today's computerized banking systems there is absolutely no reason for these things to take the time that they do. The banks impose the wait times so that they can make money from your money while ensuring that you can't access it.

But, then again, I still believe that the US government is developing weapons based on technology taken from the Roswell crash sites. That's what comes from being part of the X-Files generation...

So there are flights to LHR at 4pm, 6pm and 9pm. I have him on the 4pm - and although there are often delays at ORD, longhaul flights are usually given priority. Hmmm. I am still undecided. I will think about it over the weekend.

What is the worst that happends - we miss the interview and have to reschedule. Hmmm.

You don't want to miss the interview without informing the consulate - I'm sure they won't take kindly to it! No, really, missing your interview leaves you entirely in their hands as to if - and when - they would re-schedule your interview. I can imagine them claiming some kind of abandonment of the case if you missed the interview (I do not know this for sure - but it doesn't sound outside the realms of visa possibility).

...I can imagine that he doesn't want to leave Arlington Heights in a hurry though!

By the way in my experience any delays on the return leg are not usually at O'Hare, they're coming back into Heathrow - and I've flown BA, AA and United.

Hmm.. its possible if ALL modes of transport run to timetable! I assume he's getting into Heathrow? Remember that if the plane lands at 6am you should give yourself anything up to an hour to get through immigration and collect baggage. Add about an hour to get into central London (possibly longer as it will be a weekday rush). So - with a bit of luck - he could be where he needs to be by about 8-8:30am.

I opened a regular checking account for myself in the US and did not have to supply a social security number. Apparently this is acceptable as the account is non-interest bearing. So I'd guess that its not really due to the Patriot Act, more a tax issue.

Back at Christmas I opened a checking account with Harris, who are a small-ish Chicagoland bank. To begin with, I was surprised how easy it was to open a US account as a UKC (much harder to open an account in the UK these days). They messed up my UK address as their computer wouldn't accept a UK postal code, and my first couple of statements and my debit card went missing - however they were fine about sorting it out and since then I've had no problems. So overall I've been pretty impressed with their customer service.

I was rather alarmed to receive a box of 100 cheques from them (free, incidently)! They're very pretty and they have my UK address on - but when I move in a few weeks I have to change my address - what a waste of cheques!

Yanking this one back to flights for the moment -

Yeah I've done the huge gamble and booked my flights even before I've had my interview (but I just couldn't miss out on the BMI sale to Chicago!).

My gran is flying with me for the wedding and I booked two returns (the one way ticket for me is more expensive than the return!), then I started wondering if it would cause problems when I didn't turn up for the return flight... so for those of you who've just gone "oh yeah, I wonder..." I called BMI and they said as long as I give the Chicago desk a call on the day and say that I'm not flying it won't cause any problems.

Just a little tip to avoid the kind of random panic that I had..

I currently live in Stourbridge in the West Midlands, although I was born and brought up in the Yorkshire Dales. My S/O (Disco) is from Chicago. We're soon going to be living in the northwest burbs in Chicago!

"...I live in Aurora, Illinois, which is a suburb of Chicago... excellent?"

Wow I'm surprised at the amount of people here who met in pretty unconventional circumstances.

Disco and I met as postgrads at university here in England. She was this crazy artist girl and I was a geeky muso. We were good friends for a few months before we started dating (well, making out while purporting to watch Predator, anyhow). She was cute and exotic!

And that, as they say, was that. As far as I'm concerned we are now the most yukky, horrible, vomit-inducing PDA-prone couple I NEVER wanted to imagine!

Everyone here sympathises!

I feel slightly guilty saying this now, but I've just put my finacee back on the plane after she came over to the UK to surprise me for 10 days (thankyou little monkey)! It had been 3 hard months since we'd seen each other (and I know that's small change compared with some people's situations). We had a lovely time, but it never gets any easier doing the Heathrow run...

The only two practical pieces of advice that I can give are: 1. Throw yourself into your job when you find one. My job has been invaluable in keeping my mind off the long periods of seperation. 2. Try as hard as possible to keep some kind of social life - your friends are occupied with their own lives but someone will throw you a lifeline. Also don't feel ashamed of having a social life if your S/O isn't having one, and don't feel jealous if the situation is reversed - you've both got to do what you've got to do to get through this period of time.

Failing that, bourbon has been working out pretty well for me lately!

I'd definitely agree that a Hershey's bar doesn't come close to British chocolate. Most of the big brands have been mentioned, but lets not forget 'Divine' which is a Fairtrade brand - its absolutely gorgeous. I have developed rather a taste for Reese's bites though - nothing we have over here compares to them!

Dammit - now I've got to run to the store for choccy!!

Well hello all

I'm sure this has been discussed before, elsewhere, but I (and probably other soon-to-be interviewees) would appreciate any thoughts or experiences you might have on shipping personal effects between the UK and US. Which companies would you recommend?

I'm guessing people fall into two camps:

1. You shipped your entire house contents.

2. You sorted and threw away everything that wasn't essential, and shipped just a few boxes as "excess baggage".

I'm going to fall into the latter camp. I've spent months getting rid of loads of stuff on ebay, and I'm only going to ship 'bloke essentials': books, DVDs, CDs, clothes, and a few other items. I'm hoping that its only going to be 3-4 boxes. I need to do this as cheaply as possible. I don't mind waiting a few weeks for my stuff to turn up.

Thoughts please! After browsing some sites, Seven Seas seem to offer the best price for what I'm looking for...

Yeah I'm gonna whinge about the weather, too - I mean, hello? Its JULY! And its COLD! And I have to wear a JACKET when I go out!?

My SO calls me in the middle of the night because its too hot and humid in the Chicago burbs for her to sleep!

Yeah, cooking for one. Its too much effort. Take-out it is, again, then.

"nasi goreng" - sounds like a Welsh delicacy..?

Kinda related to this topic - has anyone had any experience of how the Student Loans Company deal with overseas payments? I'm on the cusp of calling them to say that I'm going to be leaving England (if the interview goes well this will be late August/early September).

I'm a little concerned that they're going to make unreasonable repayment demands, especially given that I'm pretty much forced into 3 months employment while AOS/work authorisation is pending. I'm guessing other people were in this situation - did the SLC really believe that you were unemployed?

I tend to lurk here unless I've got anything useful to say.

I think the nature of the VJ community is that we're a lot of people under a LOT of pressure.

I said in previous posts that frustration with long distance relationships, and the fact that our futures seeming so fragile in the hands of US immigration, mean that anger sometimes boils over.

I don't think that there's any excuse for going out of your way to make someone else feel bad. Yeah HA can be a little outspoken. But as we're the only bunch of people who actually have any idea of the pressures involved in this process (hardly a day goes past at work without me wanting to tell someone that they in no way understand the situation I'm in and to shut their cake hole) we should instead go out of our way to be supportive to each other.

That is why this place exists.

On a slightly lighter note, if you've got anger... go here: http://www.khaaan.com

Edit: I'm not trying to say that I understand what HA is feeling in her situation. I'm talking about visa situations. Sorry for any confusion.

I went to an independent photographers in Lye, West Midlands (see www.portrait4u.co.uk) to get mine done. I called the Snappy Snaps in Birmingham and they said £15 for two (and of course, if you read the paperwork, you have to have three - despite the fact that my photo for the medical was cut to a different size!), so I thought I'd pass on that.

The place in Lye charged £20 for three - not exactly cheap but they are excellent quality, bang on spec, and your image is kept on their files if you need reprints. Recommended if you're in the West Midlands.