macd

I've heard Americans say that so many times. I think it is a bit silly. My grandmother was actually Canadian, but I don't go around saying that I'm Scottish/Canadian at all... I understand that the US is a nation of immigrants, but saying "I am Scottish" just because your great-grandfather or even grandfather was is simply not true... I can appreciate that many Americans are proud of their ancestors. Actually I think they just WANT intensely to be regarded as Scottish, as they love the culture so much, so I will take it as a compliment. I've found that when I turn up at Scottish heritage events and mention where I am from, some people are mildly irritated and I swear they're jealous because I'm the real deal!

I work in a shop, and not a day goes by that someone does not ask me where I'm from, or the more blunt question "Are you English?". I was born and raised in Scotland by Scottish parents and I have maintained my Scottish accent. I don't mind people asking me where I'm from, and I usually get nice compliments on my accent. However I find it amusing that in this cosmopolitan country, I am regarded as a novelty because I'm foreign.

Ten times more irritating than claiming to be Scottish/Irish, etc. is when Americans refer to the whole of the United Kingdom as 'England'. This is obviously wrong to anyone who ever glanced at a map of the UK... I've had to explain this to quite a few people. One guy at work just did not understand that Scotland is a different place than England (or Wales or Northern Ireland for that matter). People tend to say "So, in England do you...?" I answer that I don't know what they do in England, as *shouts* I am from Scotland! Apologies to Americans reading this post - I know you're not all like this! And in any case I had the same problem when I lived in France, as was forever being called 'anglaise'...

Anyway, rant over. This is bringing out the Scottish Nationalist in me.

When my husband and I first got together and during the visa process I was happy to leave Scotland for the US. I was keen to have a change of scenery, and of course totally focused on being with my other half. Two years down the line, the novelty has worn off a bit and I am looking at ways we can move back to Scotland. Don't get me wrong - I like the States, but I would like us to move back in 2 years MAX. I miss my family and my own culture. Luckily my man likes Scotland. Like everyone else however, we have to think about what we can do for a living over there. As we will likely be starting a family over there, finances will be crucial!

Ooh, where exactly is that place?

I have some more recommendations for you:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-british-pantry-alexandria HUGE range of goodies (chocolates, biscuits, pies) They even sell big tins of Roses - something I never thought I would see here.

Eamonn's, also in Old Town Alexandria - Great fish & chips, and they also sell Taytos, and British chocolate bars

I assume you already know World Market, a great source for British food and drink : )

Scotland is under United Kingdom.

I moved over to the States because my husband was on a career track in the States that he couldn't follow in the UK. Also, I wasn't in a career which I was happy with, and I fancied a change of scenery. However like Holly and Patrick, I would prefer to raise my children back home, so I see us moving across the pond in the next few years. It's only fair after all

Thanks everyone for all your replies!

Taking pets abroad is a big factor in our decision to adopt a cat. From what I can tell so far, it isn't exactly cheap to travel with pets. That said, my man & I will have to weigh the expense against all the benefits of having a sweet cat to call our own

I have been here 2 years now and homesickness used to come and go, but now it's hard to shake. I find going home as often as finances and work allows helps a lot. I hope your trip home has boosted your spirits.

The food cravings can be painful - I know how much I miss fish suppers! If you ever come out east, we have an excellent food truck here which serves poutine! It tastes as good as any I had in Quebec.

Courage, la2011 ... je sais bien comment vous vous sentez

Hello all,

I moved to the States to be with my American husband, and I am now considering adopting a kitten or a cat. However, we may re-locate back to Scotland in the near future (if I have my way!). If we move back there, I would like to take the cat with us, so I am wondering what the procedure is for taking pets from the USA to the UK.

Does anyone have experience of this or can anyone link me to some resources on the topic? Any advice you can offer would be great!

Congratulations Helen! That sounds like a great job.

My first job here was as a Key Holder in a stationery shop. Then I went to photography school... and now unfortunately I am back looking for USA job number 2 Ultimately I would like my career to be in photography, but it's hard to find steady work... I will need a day job too. If anyone can recommend a good temp agency, I would appreciate it! I am not finding much on Craigslist and other job search sites so far.

Hi there Tam, I'm sorry to hear you've been so delayed thus far.

Packet 3 is really just the forms and checklist that you need to fill out and send back to the embassy. Seeing as you have already filled all that out, all you need to do now is post it all to the embassy!

Check out this link for more info: http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/iv/iv_15.html

(Packet 3 nowadays is often just a letter from the embassy which contains your case number and this link to online documents that you fill out and print)

Thanks for your advice macd. Just to let u know, I sent another email to the embassy after posting onto this forum, asking them when I could send in my forms. To my surprise, they sent a reply within 8 hours, which is as below.

"As long as you have a case number, which you do, you download the forms from the website and complete and return them to the Immigrant Visa Unit. If you wish to wait for official notification, you should allow a further 3 – 4 weeks. You will not be sent forms, however, you will be instructed to download them from the Embassy website."

Needless to say, I went straight to the post office after getting this email, to post off the forms. Now we wait and see what happens next. Thank you once again macd for taking the time to reply. It just nice that somebody actually understands your frustrations about this whole crazy visa process. Cheers!

No trouble : ) Support is why we are all here. God knows we all need each other, as only people who are going through this process can really understand. Glad you've got the documents off in the post now. Good luck with the next stage!

Yeah, tell me about it. We've had loads of strikes over the summer. They are such a pain. Info on the latest one here:

BBC news

There are so many strikes lately I can't keep track. I only know about this one because I was complaining to a friend about not getting any post, and she told me there are strikes down south this week. They should sort it out already! Grrrr

I think, and recent history proves, that London are just being overly cautious with their approach to Interview times.

Looking at the past month or so, here are the figures for Interviews being processed

Date Packet 3 Sent - Day of Interview....................... Days in between are worked out approximately

08/25 - 09/25 30 days!

08/21 - 09/30 39 days!

08/17 - 09/02 16 days!!!!

08/24 - 09/14 19 days!!!

08/14 - 09/16 32 days!

08/19 - 09/18 29 days!

08/14 - 09/10 26 days!

08/14 - 09/28 44 days

07/23 - 08/14 21 days!

Here's hoping that we all get ourselves off to see our loved ones ASAP!!!!

Thanks for that! I think I will be nearer the 44 day mark, as I have been waiting since August 11th...

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but I just heard that there were postal strikes in London yesterday, which means there will be backlog, which then means that correspondance from the embassy will be slowed up for the next week or so. Blah. Oh well, it's good to keep this in mind... I'm assuming we can call the embassy and be told our interview dates over the phone in the meantime. Keep the faith, people!

Well our package 3 is officially in London today.....woohoooo!

Congrats!

Thanks for the advice macd! Only we heard someone worse than we were expecting

Royal Fail strikes again, my fiance sent packet 3 next day delivery on August 27th, but the embassy said they didn't receive it until September 9th! Grrrrrr...

Then he said 6-8 weeks for packet 4 and then 6-8 weeks from then for the interview. So much for being here for Christmas

Yeah, the same sort of thing happened to us actually. I sent it recorded 1st class delivery on 5th August, and somehow it took about a week to get there. I'm with Ian and Lisa on the dates thing - the embassy is probably just covering themselves, so fret not! Frustrating as it is, at least you know what's going on now, which is better than being in the dark.

Hi,

My name is Tam and I have been following this forum for a long time (since my K1 petition as sent off) but have never posted on any of these forums. I currently am "stuck in a situation" and was hoping for some advice/suggestions.

Essentially, my fiance and I received the NOA2 on the 31st of July, which was then forwarded to NVC where it was stuck at AP for a bit. Finally on the 17th of August, it was finally forwarded to the US embassy in London. Now, since the 17th, I have been waiting for my packet 3 to be generated and this has yet to happen (even after waiting for almost a month now).

I have been on the phone numerous times these past few weeks with both the DOS and the embassy (via the premium line) only to be told that packet 3 has not been generated yet. Now for the confusing bit - there were two occasion where I was told by the embassy, there was a slight glitch and it showed on the system that I was currently awaiting an interview date. This is the part that confuses me seeing as I never sent in any forms to the embassy as yet. I was given a reference number and told to email the consular services. So I emailed the embassy, telling them its been a month and I have not received packet 3 as yet, only to be told to download the forms. That was it, no instructions or advice as to when packet 3 was going to be generated or when to send the forms in. So I called the premium line again today, only to be told to wait as my packet 3 had still not been generated yet, and to call in a week.

So to cut my long, confusing story short, my question is, what do I do now? I have filled out all the paperwork for packet 3 (just waiting to send it off) and all the documents needed for the interview have all been sorted. Anyone have any suggestions, or anyone else, who is in the same boat as me??? PLS HELP!!!!

Hi there Tam, I'm sorry to hear you've been so delayed thus far.

Packet 3 is really just the forms and checklist that you need to fill out and send back to the embassy. Seeing as you have already filled all that out, all you need to do now is post it all to the embassy!

Check out this link for more info: http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/iv/iv_15.html

(Packet 3 nowadays is often just a letter from the embassy which contains your case number and this link to online documents that you fill out and print)

So my fiance posted his packet 4 forms on Aug. 27th (next day) so they should have received them Aug. 28th...

What is usually the average wait between London receiving packet 4 and my fiance receiving his interview letter? I noticed a couple of yall here waited about a month, is that faster than/slower than normal?

We're getting impatient here haha.

Hi there haleywynne, our timeline is very similar to yours! Ha - "Impatient" is a very familiar word to me too at the moment! I have been waiting just over 4 weeks now for my interview date letter to arrive.

I would call the embassy if I were you, and make sure they received the documents and checklist, then ask how long it might be. They obviously won't give you a specific date that you'll receive the letter, but I find it is good to have something you can actually do so you're not just sitting around feeling really frustrated!

Two beautiful uplifting songs here, for all of us who are waiting...

I know someone else who has been waiting just a bit longer than you. Don't forget most of the consular staff are American and a lot come home in August for a vacation. Slows things way down, happens every year.

Packet 4s have started being sent out again. The person I know who was waiting theirs was sent out Tuesday just gone with an interview date later this month.

Ooh thanks for that - that is definitely a comfort. I called the embassy today and they said I should hear within the week... fingers crossed.

Well if I hear from them this week, that will be about 5 weeks since I sent in the docs and checklist, so that would be about right I will keep y'all posted

Yup, you really should wait until you have the visa in hand, unless you can afford not to live without your paychecks before taking off for the USA.

I am currently in a job which I cannot stand, but nevertheless am going to stick with it till I have my Visa. Seeing as I won't be able to work for a while once I'm in the States, I want to earn as much as I can right now, while I can.

It seems like this thread is so less busier than it used to be... where are all the Brits???

macd, get your fiance to call DOS from USA (which is much cheaper than calling London embassy). They should be able to tell you if there's anymore info on your file. They will also be able to tell you if an interview has been scheduled.

MARM...urgh...I can't believe you are still in this mess! I think back to when I was going through my interview process & you were giving advice! you must feel like you are in limbo! You are to me like Sara (Estadia), totally helpful to everyone else but going through so much stress & heartache yourself & still helping others. Good for you! People like you always get rewarded in the end! I hope your fiance gets out of AP soon.

Thanks MonkeyJuice! I will ask him to make the call. Good question too = where is everyone?! a bit quiet around here

Hello, I am currently waiting to hear from London about my K1 interview date. It's been over a month now since I sent back the checklist and packet 3 and have heard nothing...

So, I am wondering how long on average other London K1-ers have had to wait for the letter?

(Apologies if this info has already been posted somewhere else - I have searched high and low for it!)

I hope they'll get back into gear now that summer is officially over.

We hope hope hope HOPE HOPE HOPE so too!

Yes indeed!

HI!!!!

i got a letter requesting evidence from 2 years! but we only have a year and 6 months! i have pictures....do u think that would be a problem if we havent meet 2 years back?

I think they only need evidence of a relationship within the last 2 years. Can anyone back me up on that?

HI!!!!

i got a letter requesting evidence from 2 years! but we only have a year and 6 months! i have pictures....do u think that would be a problem if we havent meet 2 years back?

No, no problem. As long as you've met in person 'within' the last 2 years, not that it had to have been 2 years ago. I know...it is sometimes confusing. Good Luck to you.

oops! sorry k loveh! I didn't see your post there : ) I'm in bed with the flu and not concentrating so well. Looks like I was right though : )

August time each year things slow up as quite a few consular section staff take a vaction back home.

Things usually get back to normal fairly quickly afterwards. Been like that for a few years now.

Oh, that's a good thought. Thanks! That makes me feel better.

For those waiting unusually long for interview dates:

(Link: http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/faqs/faq_visa_iv.html)

I sent in my completed forms to the Immigrant Visa Unit, when will I be scheduled an appointment for my interview?

There is currently a back-log in the Immigrant Visa Unit of forms and applications waiting to be processed. If you have submitted the completed forms in connection with the administrative processing of your application, you should allow approximately three months for your case to be processed. During this period, we regret we cannot provide information on the status of the application or confirm if the forms have been received. On completion of the administrative processing of the application, you will receive notification of the scheduled visa interview.

say it ain't so...