barrel_roll

Hi,

I'll be moving to Florida later this month, and one of the first things I aim to do is buy a new car. I was wondering if it's legal to do so without a US driver's license? I'm fully licensed in the UK, and I'm aware that there's a certain amount of time you're allowed to drive on a UK license in Florida (though I'm not clear exactly what this time limit is), but does this extend to buying a vehicle and applying for insurance? Will I even be able to get insured without a US license?

Cheers.

The semi never stopped. I guess he didn't even know it had happened. No-one who saw it happen stopped. I guess they were too busy to check whether we needed help.

For ####'s sake. What is the matter with people? I'm glad you're both okay, mate, that sounds horrific.

From a practical standpoint, even if there were any women here that fit your description, none would be willing to talk to you because the entire visa process hinges on proving to the American government the validity of the relationship, and this is a public forum.

Achingly, I filed my I-129F one month after you and received my approved visa in late January. It's like a lottery.

ultimately this is a socialist vs. capitalist argument, and if you want to have two years off fully paid when you have a child - you can always move to Sweden... you'll also be taxed at 50+ per cent (I believe) though...

When the topic of socialism comes up in America it always amazes me that most working or middle class people mention taxation, as if what they save in tax makes up for the absence of national healthcare, a minimum wage bordering on slavery and appalling social benefit systems. The truth is the only people benefiting from low taxes are the people most deserving of more taxation: the rich.

They never got over McCarthyism.

Well nobody moves to America for its progressive social policies...

Arrogant, rich old man in 'outdated prejudice' shocker.

I've deleted this post and PM'd the thread starter the original message.

As above, my fiancée attended and was part of the interview process. In our case, I definitely think it helped and at worse bringing your other half can't hurt.

We filed towards the end of September. Got the text this afternoon from the courier service that my visa is being delivered tomorrow morning. Goal!

Am I the only September filer to have the visa in hand? Ours was like divine intervention, or as close as you can get with the US government; from I-129F to visa in four months.

Also, to anyone wondering if having your fiancé(e) present at the interview helps, in my case I think it definitely DID. They didn't ask to see any proof of the relationship whatsoever despite us bringing loads of photos and other ####. They didn't even ask to see the letters of intent, oddly. This whole process, medical aside, has been strangely effortless for us. We filed the original I-129F at the end of September, and four months to the day later we've got the visa.

Hey guys. My interview was actually this morning, not tomorrow.

We were in and out of the embassy in under an hour. The interview itself took approximately 40 seconds after which we were approved immediately. Totally painless. Piece of piss!

Nothing. Just explain that you don't have an interview scheduled and give them your case number. They may quibble over it - they did with me, despite surely dealing with thousands of people in my situation every year - but insist.

Does anyone know if there's any likelihood that the embassy would move my interview forward a bit if I called and explained the situation?

I sent my checklist in on Friday and we called the State Dept. today to see if we have an interview date. We do: January 24th. We asked for December 12th - January 6th, but never mind. At least we have one.

It's 40 days, not 30. Mine arrived after about 34. I recommend taking it in to a police station because you get the receipt on the spot, whereas if you send it by post it can take weeks just to get that, and the 40 day wait commences from the date on the receipt.

Just to let you guys know and to ease the mind of anyone who goes through this in the future, they accepted the psychiatrist's letter and approved my medical early this week.

Could you answer my post on the last page, Rosemarie? We're pretty worried here. Thank you.

And had they misplaced them? Did you receive any correspondence from the embassy to say whether they'd received them? Had they received them at all? And did you send them to this address:

Immigrant Visa Branch

United States Embassy

5 Upper Grosvenor Street

London

W1A 2JB

Do your packet 3s contradict mine, then? I notice the instructions on mine are dated August 2006, but they specifically state that the forms should be sent in before the checklist and that no other forms are required to be sent with the checklist.

And of course there's nobody at the embassy I can call to ask, because the last time I did that the woman on the other end was so inept she thought I should still be talking to Vermont.

Now I'm getting concerned. It took me a long time to fill out and print all those forms and I sent them recorded delivery to the address listed in packet 3. I don't even know if they received them because nobody signed for my parcel even though Royal Mail lists it as delivered. I've got the letter from the embassy to prove that they asked me to send them all and not bring them to the interview, but reason doesn't seem to figure into this process much.

The fact that we've all had some communication from the embassy and some of us think the forms should be taken to the interview, others think they should be sent straight away and still others think they should be sent with the checklist shows just what a ###### Kafkaesque nightmare this entire process is. If it were for any other purpose than to be with my other half I'd have given up in frustration long ago.

I sent DS-230 part I in with the other forms they requested BEFORE the checklist because that's what the letter from the embassy says. I'm looking at that letter right now and step four simply states to send in the checklist when you have everything compiled - nothing more. DS-230 part I, DS-156, DS-156K and DS-157 should all have been sent in ahead of time when you first received packet 3.

really?? I thought you brought the DS-156, DS-156K and DS-157 to the interview, you send them in ahead or with the checklist? we are ready to send in the checklist because we have everything compiled!

Not according to packet 3, which once again I'm looking at in front of me. I'd trust a letter from the embassy over their website. And the letter states:

STEP ONE

Please complete and return the following forms to us straight away. Failure to do so will delay the processing of your application. They can all be found on the Embassy's website at =

http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/.../visaforms.html - and should be completed online and downloaded.

DS 230 Part I

DS-156

DS-156K

DS-157

Step two is to collect together all the required evidence and documentation. Step three is to arrange the medical. Step four is to COMPLETE AND RETURN THIS DOCUMENT CHECKLIST TO US.

I sent DS-230 part I in with the other forms they requested BEFORE the checklist because that's what the letter from the embassy says. I'm looking at that letter right now and step four simply states to send in the checklist when you have everything compiled - nothing more. DS-230 part I, DS-156, DS-156K and DS-157 should all have been sent in ahead of time when you first received packet 3.