luv2teach77

My fiance flew into Chicago O'Hare on January 13. He did not get a temporary work visa stamp in his passport. Is there any way we can fly to JFK to go through their immigration and get this stamp? or is there anywhere else we can get it? Please let me know as we are kicking ourselves for not going through JFK. Thanks

Once he activated the visa on entry through O'Hare, that is it. There is no way to re-enter through another POE to get the temp EAD without invalidating the K-1 by leaving the US. Get married and get the AOS and EAD applications in quickly and hope that they process his applications speedily !!

Mark

As previously stated his foreign drivers lisence will be good for 90 days (the same timeframe as his I-94).

I got my Illinois driver lisence within 90 days of arriving and presented my unexpired I-94, my passport and birth certificate and some items of mail addressed to me at my new address. I think I had my social security number when I applied but it wasn't a requirement.

I was allowed to sit the theory test and then take the actual test on the same day and left the local DMV office with my lisence that day.

A word of advice (and this probably applies to anyone in ANY state)... do not go to do your test or apply for your lisence at the end of the month. End of the month is tag renewal time and the lines are LONG !!

Mark:)

P.S... Where in Illinois are you living ??

Fox soccer channel shows at least 2 premiere league games on Saturday and Sunday. Setanta's residential package at the moment is only available on sattellite (not cable TV). I plan to switch when we get a house so I can keep up with the rugger !!

I've given up on sausages. The closest I can find to fresh pork bangers are fresh made pork bratwursts but they are still not quite the same.

Thanks for the Guardian link !!

Mark

I visited my Fiancee twice during the visa process, once for 10 days and once for 17 days. Like the previous poster, both times I brought a letter from my employer stating when I was due back at work, along with anything else I could think of to demonstrate ongoing ties to the UK. Neither time was I asked for any of this extra evidence and I was never sent for secondary questioning. The second time I also had my NOA2 but again was never asked to show it. I said I was visiting my Fiancee both times and this didn't raise any extra questions either.

The thing to remember is that ANYONE (pending visa or not) has to demonstrate to the POE officer that they intend to return to their country on or before the expiration date of whatever visa (in your case the 90 day I-94) they are entering on. Yes... the fact that you have a ending visa **May** increase the scrutiny under which you are viewed but it doesn't mean that you will be grilled and turned away. The best policy is to travel fully prepared with as much evidence that you plan to return and to answer any and all questions 100% honestly.

Your chances of extra questions will increase with the length of your planned visit. If you are planning on staying more than a couple of weeks then I would expect to be required to show that proof of ongoing ties. A few weeks or less and I wouldn't expect much more questioning than any other visitor.

Best of luck with your visit.

Mark

The six month expiration is for activation of the visa upon entering the USA. As long as your Fiance makes the move from the UK to the US within that six month window, he will have no problems. Whenever he arrives in the US and activates the visa the POE officer will scribble all over the visa making it void. The K-1 is a single entry visa meaning that once it is activated, the 90 day count starts from that day.

To clarify... In your situation, with your Fiance planning to arrive with a month left of that 6 month activation deadline, that won't give you a month before the 90 day count starts. The day that he arrives in the US starts the 90 day count.

As a side note the deadline for you to be married is the same date as the expiration date that will be stamped on your Fiances I-94 (90 days from the date of entry into the US).

Hope I haven't confused you there !!

Mark

t took me about 10 months from the time I arrived in the US on my K-1 until I started work. My EAD took from May - November 2005 to be approved and then I didn't secure a job until the end of January 2006. I applied for dozens of jobs, both online and in newspapers etc. and had very little in the way of feedback or responses from many of them. In the end I got in contact with a very good recruitment agency and within about a month I landed a very good job with a good company.

I feel that for me it helped to actually meet with a recruiter so I could explain my situation and clear up any confusion that might arise from my immigrant status (at the time I was applying I didn't have my GC yet). Once the recruiter was aware of my situation and could present my resume to prospective employers in a way that didn't make it look like they were taking a gamble with me, I had a job within a few short weeks.

Don't get dispondant if you don't hear anything back from jobs you have applied for. It seems the exception and not the rule that unsuccessful applicants will get any feedback on why they were unsuccessful. That was the most frustrating thing for me... sending in applications and having no idea what had ruled me out.

Also... don't hedge your bets. I was guilty of getting my hopes up on a couple of occasions which caused me to stop applying. On one occasions I waited 2 or 3 weeks only be told that I didn't get the job. I didn't apply for anything during that time and could have missed out something better. I would advise that you keep applying for anything you think might be suitable, even if you are expecting an offer from somewhere else. You never know how things might pan out and the law of averages says that the more jobs you apply for, the better your chances of getting an offer. Better to have to weigh up 2 offers at the same time than not have any offers at all !!

Best of luck with the job search !!

Mark

I get 10 days paid vacation here in the US plus the regular public holidays. I also get 5 sick days which can convert into vacation days if they are unused.

Back in the UK I had 25 paid vacation days and 10 sick days but my shift pattern meant that I only actually worked 15 days out of every 30. Part of the shift pattern was a block of 8 days off before the rotation started again. That basically equated to 8 unpaid days off every 28 days in addition to the 25 paid vacation days.

So... in total I had 121 days off per year compared to about 15 now.

I was actually pretty lucky this year as I was able to carry over 5 days of vacation to next year plus convert 3 remaining sick days into another 1.5 days vacation. That works out great because we plan to visit the UK next summer and this will allow us to visit for 3 full weeks.

It blows my mind that it takes so long to accrue vacation days here in the US. Back in the UK I was given an extra day every 12 months. Why make someone wait 5 years for an extra day ??

Mark

I was without medical insurance for the first 10 months I was in the US. Luckily the gamble paid off and I didn't have any medical issues during that time but it was always in the back of my mind that if something did go wrong I was screwed !!

I probably could have been added to my wifes insurance but until I was working, we really didn't have the extra money to pay the increased premium. I didn't have any insurance until I started work.

I am still trying to get my head around the whole insurance thing. Since August I have made several visits to my doctor for a persistent issue with my knee and having seen the costs of MRI's and various procedures BEFORE the insurance company pays for anything, I'm VERY glad that I didn't incur any medical costs before I had insurance.

Mark

Welcome to VJ !!

There a tons of Brits here so we can all appreciate what you're about to go through !!

Best of luck

Mark

Omoba, Living where we do in Metro St. Louis our AOS interview was in St. Louis so I'd guess yours would be too. You'll find out for sure when you get called for Biometrics.

Tracy, Glad to see that you and Chas finally have the ball rolling towards your K-1. There is absolutely NO excuse if you guys don't breeze through the process as you've had the best part of 2.5 years to get acquainted with the system !! Best of luck.

Mark

Hello Folks,

I haven't stopped in for a while so thought I would post a quick update to bring you all up to speed on what we have been up to since the end of October when I last posted !!

By the end of October we finally had the car situation resolved and the rear bumper was blemish free like it should have been all along !! Then there were a few quiet weeks before my Parents arrived for a week long visit from the UK over Thanksgiving. I was able to take off the whole week they were here so we had fun hanging out and enjoying the very mild fall weather.

The last weekend of November St. Louis along with a large chunk of the midwest was hit with a pretty crazy ice storm which knocked out power to over 500,000 people and made travel a nightmare. Luckily we only lost power for about 16 hours but some poor folks were in the dark and cold for nearly 2 weeks. Despite the damage and power issues, as an ice storm virgin I was amazed with how everything looked the following day. I posted some pictures in my webshots gallery if anyone is interested.

A few days later Debs and I flew to Vegas for 4 days which a nice little break. I had been invited to an IT "conference" being held at the Venetian and as work were willing to pay for my room and flights, we only needed to pay for Debs a flight. The hotel was amazing and of course Vegas was a bright and brash as we had expected. We had a fun few days and I even managed to get to some of the conference sessions !!

Since then It's been Christmas shopping and preparing for the big day. trying to get organized enough to be able to send pressies back with my folks was quite an accomplishment. Work suprised us all with a $250 visa gift card in with our paychecks last time around and we have a Christmas lunch on Thursday to look forward to. I'll only have to work 1.5 days during Christmas week so I'm looking forward to a bit of a break to relax and get over the obligartory overeating that is sure to take place.

For anyone who's interested the Ice storm pics and pictures from our trip to vegas are located below

I'm liking the new look areas to the forum.

Will stop by again soon

Mark

If you don't want to go down the secured route, look for a card that asks for household income rather than individual income. The first card I got in my own name asked for gross household income on the application which was great as at the time I wasn't working. I was approved for this card as the primary card holder with my wife as an authorized user. There was no annual fee and 12 months interest free on balance transfers AND purchases. Perfect !!

Mark

Met online May 2001, Met in person June 2003, Engaged June 2004, Married April 2005.

Congratulations Aidan !!

My 10 months as the lone Brit in an American office environment has been a very positive one. Take for granted the fact that you WILL stick out from your colleagues but rather than try and avoid this, I chose to embrace it. There are always jokes floating around "backwards Britain" etc.. but I give as good as I get I think its actually helped me to fit in. Its much easier to get yourself known when you stand out from the crowd so go with the flow and fingers crossed you'll have just as good an experience.

Compared to my last employer in the UK (IBM) my work environment is MUCH better than the office I left behind. Free starbucks coffee all day, free snacks (not always the best thing for a greedy guy!!) and more free lunches and events than you can shake a stick at have all been great.

The only shock to the system has been 10 days vacation compared to 24 in the UK.

Best of luck with the new job..

Mark

As you will be travelling using the Visa Waiver Program I would say that as long as you bring proof of significant ties to Germany and can demonstrate a solid need to return (I'd say your pending K-1 and your son would be a pretty cinvincing case !!) then you will probably have very few problems visiting.

Many people from VWP countries visit during the process (Including myself) and as long as you are fully prepared to answer any and all questions fully and honestly and can provide the proof I spoke about you should be good to go.

You are not staying for anything close to the full 90 days allowed under the VWP, nor do you appear to have any kind of history of multiple visits that could constitute abuse of the VWP. All of that works in your favour. A letter from an employer or school stating a date that you are expected back would be helpful as well. of course, you might not get asked to show ANY of this proof but having it ready will help you if needed.

Best of luck

Mark

I'm currently making $20 per hour which I consider to be a reasonable rate based on my experience and how new I am to the US job market. While I know that I am towards the bottom end of the salary scale amongst my co-workers I am sure that in the future my earnings potential will increase with each new employment opportunity. I expect that my salary will increase slightly in the new year as part of the annual pay review.

The other thing that I take into account is stuff like that fact that work now pay for my cellphone, provide me with a laptop etc.. All of that stuff could be coming out of my own pocket so the cellphone alone is worth $100 or $200 a month by the time you pay the line rental, call charges and the unlimited data package etc...

I was actually expecting a lower salary (probably mid 20's) when I first arrived in the US because that was what computer operator positions were paying in St. Louis. I was lucky to get a job in a slightly different field which pays considerably more.

Mark

Besides the usual address, name, D.O.B and social security details etc.. I have been asked if I am a legal resident or a citizen on applications but that is as in depth as they have got.

I wouldn't give out any numbers besides my SSN if I were you.

Mark

Woo Hoo !!

This is one of my favourite pics of Debs. It was taken in Paris on the night I proposed. Actually it was taken during dinner BEFORE I proposed.

I just think she looks amazing and her smile gets me every time. I have a copy on my desk at work

Mark

The thing that we found most frustrating was that my company basically made it as difficult and unattractive as possible to add my wife.

Basically our situation was that I was made permanent through a temp-to hire contract. I had medical insurance through the staffing agency and carried that on through the COBRA as I wasn't immediately eligible for insurance through my new employer (had to wait 60 days).

In the run up to the 60th day I started inquiring about the cost of having me and my wife covered under the company policy. If my wife didn't work and therefore wasn't eligible for medical insurance through another employer it would have been around $80 per paycheck to cover us both. The fact that she does work meant that they wanted me to pay the same $80 PLUS $250 per month to have her added. The added kicker was that even after stumping up all this money every month, the company policy would still only act as secondary insurance to my wife meaning we'd have to continue paying for another policy for her ourselves.

The flip side was that if I chose to opt out of the company plan, I would get an extra $150 every paycheck towards my own insurance. My wifes employer offered a similar deal and after consulting with an insurance broker, we are able to get all the coverage we need and its almost all covered by the money our employers pay to us for not taking their own insurance. Seems crazy to me that they would make it so difficult but in the end its panned out just fine.

Mark

My wife and I have just moved from having two insurance plans through our respective employers to having one together. We were paying around $350 a month in total for our two individual policies and neither of them had any Maternity coverage. Our employers were offering extra money every month to opt out of the company plans so now we are given around $350 (combined payments from both employers) per month by our employers to put towards our health insurance. We have just started a plan with Blue Cross / Blue Shield and are paying a little over $400 per month now for a policy that includes maternity coverage.

It is a real headache and even with the maternity coverage we cannot make any claims against that portion of the policy until October of next year. You should be aware of this fact before trying for a baby because it is my understanding that 99% of medical insurance providers will not cover any pregnancy or maternity costs unless maternity coverage has been in place for at least 9-12 months. We were lucky to find a great insurance and financial advisor who found us a policy that met all of our requirements for not much than we were paying already.

Best of luck

Mark

Check out this link.

It was posted on another immigration forum by a woman who was able to get pre-existing conditions recognized by a US insurance company after getting a letter from her UK doctor. It also explains how proof of National Insurance contributions (automatically deducted from your husbands wages and shown on his payslips) will often meet the requirement to be previously enrolled in an medical insurance plan because it effectivly shows 'enrollment' in the NHS.

I don't know if it will work in your husbands case or not but it certainly has some useful info and will give you somewhere to start.

Mark

QUOTE(LisaD @ Oct 25 2006, 01:59 PM) *

Yay! Congrats to Debs and Mark smile.gif

I dunno if it's a New York thing, or an Italian thing, but it's always considered good luck to throw change into a car...one penny, nickel, dime, quarter. You should never spend the good luck money tho...even if you're short of coins at a toll booth laughing.gif

Thanks for the suggestion, Lisa - I've never heard of it before but I'll go throw in some change laughing.gif

My kia should be a very lucky car indeed if thats the case. Does anything else 'thrown' into the car add to its luckiness ? I have assorted other junk including CD cases, old mapquest directions and soda bottles in addition to coins.

Anyway -- the G6 is a very nice car and the V6 model that you have doesn't

feel underpowered at all. Enjoy!

Yeah it feels pretty nippy which I like and corners much more like a european car than some of the American cars I've driven before. It actually feels like it drives round the corners as opposed to hanging on for dear life as it wallows and rolls around them !!

It came with a few optional extras which are a nice touch too like the premium audio which includes a 6 disk in dash changer and all sorts of car info like range and average speed and MPG's. It also has a power roof and I think that the wheels are better than the stock ones too.

All in all its a very nice car to drive and looks pretty good too.

Mark

16,000 miles on a 2006 model? How come?

It was previously a rental car out in California.

BTW, what the heck is wrong with Pontiac dealerships?! I had a nightmare

experience with them as well.

We bought ours used from a Chevy dealership but I sympathize if you had problems too. Our problems originated from two big scratches that appeared on the rear bumper the day we collected the car. The issues escalated as attempts to get those scratches fixed created MORE scratches !! It took a week to get the bumper back to how it looked when we viewed the car and now its fixed I want nothing further to do with the dealership.

I like the GTO but there was no way that...

a) we could afford one

B) my wife would let me buy one

c) I could justify letting my wife drive a 6.0 liter beast 50+ miles a day when I get stuck driving my 1.8 liter piece of sh*t Kia Spectra !!

Mark

Dealership is located in Illinois and I have no idea of the sales guy worked in PA previously

To be honest we had to deal with several sales guys of varying "importance", all of whom managed to live up to just about EVERY stereotype going. Once my license plates and spare remote come in I'll be sending a rocket of an email to the dealership owner about the service my wife and I received from his staff. Until then I'll be all sweetness and light

Mark