Gary_UK

In reply to the original request. There should be no issues traveling to see your fiance'(ee') up to and during the point of recieving packet 3.

My packet 3 arrived two weeks before a pre booked final visit to the USA to spend some time with my loved one and to help with wedding plans and had a couple of questions asked by the border guard.

I have never been shy in the 5 times since we became engaged while visiting the states, to say I was spending time with my future wife and told them we were going through the K1 process. which oddly always seemed to result in an odd and knowing smile & nod then had my passport stampted and away I went.

I have never had issues getting into the country. And I suspect that our K1 appeared on ther screens when my passport was scanned but that is only guess work on my behalf.

My policy is to be honest and open and its always worked for me.

p.s.

With regards to the visa wait times. You need to factor in a 9 month process from start to finish. For some its longer and others it's sooner. but 9 months is a healthy estamation. As you will see from our timeline. We submitted December 1st last year with view to getting the visa around July time. Providing all of your paperwork is in order.

Interview times will also be dictated depending on when you plan to travel. We sent in our packet 3 nearly 2 months ago but wont be planning to travel till October hence why I have had such a late interview date ( this friday ) instead of last month.

Hope this helps.

In reply to the original request. There should be no issues traveling to see your fiance'(ee') up to and during the point of recieving packet 3.

My packet 3 arrived two weeks before a pre booked final visit to the USA to spend some time with my loved one and to help with wedding plans and had a couple of questions asked by the border guard.

I have never been shy in the 5 times since we became engaged while visiting the states, to say I was spending time with my future wife and told them we were going through the K1 process. which oddly always seemed to result in an odd and knowing smile & nod then had my passport stampted and away I went.

I have never had issues getting into the country. And I suspect that our K1 appeared on ther screens when my passport was scanned but that is only guess work on my behalf.

My policy is to be honest and open and its always worked for me.

Could pose a problem if your POE is Dublin. As I am planning on flying via ireland to save any wait when I arrive on native USA soil. But after reading this thread.. maybe I should reconsider Chicago as my POE.

Thanks for the good luck wishes marm.

Starting to look up the finer details of my journey on Friday. e.g. when will the chosen tube station open ? where is the goulds pharmacy etc. I know others have posted this information but I think its part of the "preperation" to look this info up anyways.

On the question of gould's, according to google maps. the pharmacy on North Audley St is listed as opening times of 8:30 am.

My interview is for that time. So have I got to look for some alternative safe place to store my phone and keys ? I have tried to call the pharmacy directly but its constantly engaged. Has anyone got any personal experience of using them ?

That and the fact that when the passport office return your old passport they cut a big corner out of the thing to show it has been superceeded. Rendering your lovelly new visa page useless.

Instruction letter from the consulate trumps the instructions on the multi-purpose forms.

Keep your documents with you, and hand carry them (+ copies) to the interview at the consulate.

THANK YOU for your speedy reply!

I was also confused about that.

Just as an FYI. I as a precaution submitted copies of my police report birth cert. etc. and other paperwork just in case.

it did not affect or delay anything in the process as I have the originals to take to the interview at the embassy.

Nothing to worry about if you do or you don't ( Didn't for me at the London Embassy )

Hi everyone.

Been a while since I was on VJ. counting the days till my k1 interview ( week friday ) and assembling and re-assembling the paperwork

in preparation for the big day.

while doing so. I remembered that I have to provide a couple of US style passport photos on the day. I know in the past there has been some hubub with certain types of passport photos which applicants have had done on the day or just before at some of the local photo places around the London Embassy so thought about using someone like "passpic" to get that task taken care of in advance.

I did use their service a couple of years ago when I renewed my UK Passport without problems but....

Has anyone used this service or one like it to obtain US style photos ? and if so, did they have any problems with them. ?

I posted my Packet 3 to the address provided on the checklist and got this message ...'Your item with reference SCXXXXXXXXXGB was delivered before 07:23 on 21/07/09. As the item was redirected, it will have taken longer than usual. Please ensure the correct address is used for future mailings'.

Can anyone who has sent special or recorded delivery tell me if they got this same message please?

Thank you for your help in advance.

Mine said the same thing, but it got there just fine.

Thanks a lot for that, makes me feel at ease.

yup mine did a wobbly too and it still got to its destination without problems.

To be honest I would pitch the service of the USPS over Royal Mail. any day !

For Danielle and I we play an online RPG game which is great. Afterall we met thanks to that game. It's good fun to go on co-operative missions together.

The mighty skype with web cams and headsets are the daily norm. To add to that I have a teamspeak server set up on a machine that never gets turned off. Its great because either of us can hop on as and when and we can hear each other sleeping. it makes us feel a lot closer somehow.

We both sleep with headsets on but recently I seem to manage to get the cord entangled around my neck so if I remember ill place it right by the bed so it picks up whatever. ;o)

When either of us are away from our PC's I have to thank "3" here in the UK for a stunning phone service. I have a PAYG mobile phone that supports MSN and Skype. So we can call each other while out and about as well as keep in constant contact through MSN. for £5 a month I am NOT complaining.

As for other things we get up to. occasionally we will watch youtube video's together. and fun websites like "failblog" And also at times watch the same movie. on our "date " nights. If her work allows the time for it. whether that's a DVD or something we both have a copy of.

"Date" nights are soooo important. phones and blackberries get turned off.. doors locked and for a few hours we are more together than any other time. No interruptions and no distractions.

Cant wait to get my interview over and done with and can count the weeks so that all of the above is a distant memory. We will have the real deal

Not sure what your circumstances are or how regular you want to do the transfers.

But what I did and it worked very well till we had a joint account set up was to use a "prepaid travel money card". This was something I ordered here in the UK. and is effectively a prepaid credit card. I can load it online with dollars from my UK bank account and its instant. and FAR cheaper than using western union or those robdogs paypal.

Not sure if this is something that's available in other countries but here you can get a US dollars card or a Euro card. As its under the "visa" banner so it works in ATM's point of sales terminals and its safer than carrying cash about.

There are limitations with "prepaids" as I think most are only good for 2 years and they can only take up to 10,000 of currency over the lifespan of the card. But it may be an alternative for you.

Hope it helps

Hi.

I have been reading the post. And with regards to the transferable credit history. No you cannot transfer your good standing to the USA. I guess some may see that as a blessing or a curse ( shrugs )

I myself have spent the last 5 years rebuilding my credit after a run in with a less than helpful credit card company while i was out of work resulted in the barstewards logging my payments as " non payment" buggering me well and truly ever since. It has something to do with the data protection act so no there is no way a UK financial company can volunteer your standing to them.

I was planning on doing a similar thing and printing a hard copy of my Experian credit report which may help in the early days. But it's a guess at best so I am resigned to the fact that I will have to start rebuilding my credit score yet again when I am stateside from 0.

What may help and I don't think i saw mention of it in this thread ( sorry to those if you have ) is that We have managed to open a joint bank account, during my last visit stateside, which I have already transferred a chunk of my savings into to help pay for the wedding and while I look for a job while over there. For us, that was a big help. As the manager of the bank has already given suggestions on what the bank can do to help me gain a useful credit score.

My US bank manager has suggested that I get a CC from them as soon as possible. and with a small credit limit of say $500. make a largish purchase of say $400 and then pay it off over 2-3 months. DON'T pay it all off at once. then after a short while the limit should increase. make another largish purchase and pay it off over a few months again. Time, patience and a little money savvy will be the best solution.

Hope this helps.

Woo Hoo Yorkster nice to see a fellow K1 going into the embassy on the same day as ME

Drop me a Private message and let me know if your other half wants to meet up before going in ? perhaps some company if you wont be there yourself will make things easier. ? (killing time etc)

I'm planning on being at the embassy for 7:30 (I am almost resigned to the fact I wont get much if any sleep the night before so might take a slow drive down to the outskirts of the underground off the M40 and take a leisurely trip in.

If you don't want to then that's cool too. Id rather make the offer than not

Good luck. !

I'm in the same boat. I want to book my ticket now for early October but part of me is saying don't till I get the visa!.

Only problem is that at the moment 1 way tickets through aer lingus are going for £341 inclusive. and returns are more expensive. I normally fly with KLM but their prices are double the cost for a single than for a return. I want to fly "Air Fungus" as my POE would be in Dublin. And I like the idea of being cleared before the last long haul to Chicago.

I'm checking expedia, opodo and a few others daily in case there are any better deals and I'm kicking myself that I didn't book the flight a month ago when it was £250! It then jumped to £415 and has now returned to the £341.

I know there there are rumors of fuel prices going up soon which I am sure the airlines will pass onto the customer. So its almost a daily gamble if the price goes up or down.

At the moment I don't know what is worse... looking at the flight costs or counting the days to the interview.

hi paul1979 thanks for the numerical reply. that has answered the question nicely

Just as an off topic here. (and i think i will need to talk with a money man about this too ) but I guess there is also the question about state pensions. I know that a friend of a friend works 99.9% of his time outside the UK and therefore pays no UK taxes but still pays into the UK govt a "contribution" to keep his state pension ticking over. He is not yet of pensionable age. But It sounds like a good idea for those of us who didn't opt into a private pension scheme for whatever reason.

As I said I need to do some research on this and hope to post something here when i know more.

congrats to john & mary. well done guys. !!!

Those little red stars are getting closer.. 36 days and counting to my interview ( cringe )

I keep coming over to check for this, and am glad that things worked out alright. Wow about the divorce! At least it was exciting!! And the good feelings now that this part is over and you can be together soon are just fantastic, huh??

I was very excited at first about getting the visa, but now it's sunk in that I still won't see him for some time yet and it seems so very far away! (sigh)

You have my sympathies too.. we had to wait 6 months from NOA2 because of school and work. But just to give you some perspective, it has gone really quickly and I can't believe I'm leaving tomorrow! Your time will come very soon.

CONGRATULATIONS ELLIE!! I'm glad it was so anti-climatic for you!

Now you can relax a bit.. well, when you have that visa in hand.

Awesome sauce !!! CONGRATULATIONS !! I am so happy for you guys. !

Just dropping in to check on Ellie!

Today's the big day, hope she's got some good news to share, I'm sure she will!

I'm guessing that's a really nice glass of wine she is enjoying right now.

I'm doing the same thing just checking to see if there is any news...

C'mon Ellie

just in case you didnt know , if you were working this year you are entitled to claim all your tax back. I dont think alot of folk know about it, but i'm just gonna put the link here. The form is P85, you need your p45 ( maybe p60) to send with it . you may not get your tax back while you are here, but when I rang them they said they will forward it on, and/or pay it directly into your uk bank account.

this is an expensive process, and ( arrrrrrrrgh , i'm gonna say this) every little helps!!!!

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/r_and_d.htm <<<<<<< this is for information about the process

and this is the actual form >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/p85.pdf

( no I dont work for Tesco!)

I had no idea that this form even existed !

Just out of curiosity.. how much tax do you get back and from when does it start ? I am guessing it is going to be the april of that year or do they refund a year from the date you leave the country. ?

This could be quite handy. Although I am wondering as I am not planning on taking up US citizenship for a while that by doing this would prevent me from

getting any kind of medical or health cover if i visit my folks while in the UK at any stage in the future ?

Looks like after the two days of havoc and mayhem in London thanks to the tube strike It's going to be followed

up with a day of postal problems. 10,000 posties are going to drop their sacks next Friday....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11...ing-strike.html

As if we arent suffering enough as it is...

Sounds like the queuing system has changed since my interview so I apologize for misleading you Gary. Good luck with the interview.

Nah no worries. Its intresting to see how even the most simple of issues regarding the visa program changes over time and its also credit to the whole VJ community as to how well we are all kept up to date about those changes.

Its what we are all here for isnt it? I for one would have "come a cropper" a few times already with changes in forms and paperwork, and thanks to others who have reported those changes have saved mine and im sure many others worry and sleepless nights.

Damian P - I am thankful for your input on this. I will have a play with google maps and google earth when i get back from the office this evening. I am hardly a regular visitor to the "Big Smoke".

It's easy enough to drive from Birmingham, so it's all down to your personal preference really.

Oh, and they won't let you get in the queue that early they'll turn you away and make you come back. For a 9am appointment I'd get there about 8.30am at the earliest.

oh ! i didn't know this. so even if i join the ( what im expecting to be a lengthy queue ) thinking that if i join at 7:30 get in side the building for 8:30 isn't the case then ?

And there's no way in hell I will be squeezed out of a lane.. the car is 15 years old is worth less than a respray of a shiny new beemers front bumper. So if they squeeze I push back and usually win !. I love driving old cars in situations like that. I'm no psychopath but its handy not being paranoid where i park. ( or should that be abandon ) ? or be worried if some member of the unwashed decided to do some petty damage to it. Its also going to be handy for when i leave as i can either sell it for a pittance or just hand it into the local scrap dealer

Where are you travelling from?

Birmingham. so straight down the M40 / A40. on the map it looks like a breeze.

Doing the math a hotel room is going to cost £70+

I'm still going to have to pay for tube fare £7.50 + £3.50 parking at least

so working on the basis I'm going to be er... rather awake the night before I was considering capitalizing on that and drive into London in the early hours.

miss a lot of the traffic and have a place to chill and calm my nerves before my 9am interview time. Id like to be in the queue to get into the embassy

for 7:30 or close to it.

so I'm weighing up the pro's and con's

worse case scenario its going to be about 15-18 pounds parking fee and that's it.. (plus the fuel I use) but its an old diesel so its good on gas (55 mpg)

Thanks everyone for the congrats...we cannot explain how happy we are to finally get the passport back from the UKHO...and now we are praying harder for a fast turnaround from the US Embassy as well (courier pick up scheduled for tomorrow! )

But we have a small dilemma we are facing regarding my fiance shipping some materials here to the USA. He wants to ship clothes and other personal items from London (a small dvd collection, durable home-wares, etc) to my address here in the USA. Unfortunately we cannot use ExcessBaggage, AllFreight, SevenSeas, and other similar sites because the options we have been offered do not suite us; 1) My fiance cannot ship his stuff here on his name because we are not sure of the date of his POE yet, and he will be traveling to Pakistan for a short trip before his POE in the USA as well. 2)My fiance cannot ship the stuff on my behalf (based on the fact that I am both the sender and recipient) for the same reason that I will be with him on the trip in Pakistan so I will not be here to pick up the shipment. So bottom line is that we have to find other ways to ship his stuff.

We are currently contemplating using FEDEX to ship 25KG of his things (or more if possible) to me here in the USA...FEDEX offers 25KG boxes and the rates aren't too bad either: we got a quote for 113 GBP for 25KG with insurance and next day delivery (FedEx International Priority®).

So did anyone ever use FEDEX and would like to share their experience or can recommend a similar service to us?

Thanks in advance!

MARM

Let me know how you get on with this. I might look into it myself if i run out of suitcase space lol

I have been looking through these forums for a few months and I know that a lot of people talk about the journey to the US Embassy in London where one of two choices seem to be popular...

1) Travel to London the evening before and stay in a hotel as listed on the VJ Web site...

2) Travel to the edge of the tube system and catch a train into London..

Sitting at work today I was talking with a colleague about what an ####### it is going to be, getting into London for my interview.

Finding that hotels are quite expensive and I'm not keen on riding trains but the congestion charges makes it a no no driving

into the city, But with the likes of the tube drivers causing industrial action chaos I might have to risk it... he said...

" why don't you drive down to park lane and use the car park " !!!

After doing some research there's a blummin great big car park under Hyde park on the east side of the park itself. whats best of all is that its a 5 min walk to the embassy from the entrance to the place AND parking charges seem to be quite good considering where it is.

Icing on the cake is that there is a "congestion free corridor " which if your know where you are going you can pop into the city. do your interview and head out without coughing up silly money to "uncle ken's "legacy!

I have put a link to the map I was looking at

Here...

Seems too good to be true.?

Of course I am thinking of being there somewhere near 6-7am so I don't think that getting in there will be a problem.

What do you think ?