doghandler

Hi my lovely November 09 friends

I just feel I should let you know, it's not worked out for me. Believe me, there is no one more shocked than me! If I hadn't bought a house here (outright) and brought my dogs I would have gone back home before now. Working out what to do day by day. It's not all in my hands, though.

I won't be on here much, but I so very, very much need to express what you all mean to me and when I can get on here, I will. I'll tell my story one day, but not any time soon.

Always thinking about you guys and wish you all so much happiness xxx

I had a bad experience with John Mason. I paid £2500 for a full service, a few bits of furniture and about 20 boxes. As I was leaving the UK the day before as I had to travel with my dogs, I had arranged for a friend to be at my house to receive the crew from John Mason. I paid for a full packing service as I did not want my friend to be inconvenienced. When I asked my "international move manager" at John Mason (who was useless, could barely speak on the phone, it was always like drawing teeth, she was like a shy child), how long the packing would take, she said "not long, they are very fast".

When I arrived at Newark Airport, and in the immigration line at "soft processing" awaiting to see an immigration officer at my POE, my phone rang. It was a removal company I had never heard of asking me "how much stuff do you have for the move tomorrow?". John Mason had not bothered passing on this information.

John Mason had contracted out my job without telling me. When the contracted company arrived at my house they told my friend they had been told by John Mason that this was not a packing job, the stuff was packed and they just had to lift it. They guy said, before he spoke to me at Newark Airport they were only going to send 1 man with a small van!

My friend had to argue with them and they then had to pack it and took 6 hours (in my opinion "not long" doesn't mean 6 hours, and I didn't have that much stuff). However, the contractors were 3 elderly men. If you hired them independently, they would not cost as much as John Mason as they are not in the same league. I just feel ripped off.

I complained to John Mason. They then stated their policy is NOT to inform the customer if they are contracting out a job. So, beware of this, if anyone else is thinking of hiring John Mason.

You don't need a US Drivers license to drive in America. In most states you can drive using your French drivers license for up to 1 year. South Carolina allows 5 years...

"(6) A citizen of a foreign jurisdiction whose licensing procedure is at least as strict as South Carolina's, as determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles, who is at least eighteen years of age, who is employed in South Carolina, and who has a valid driver's license issued by that jurisdiction may drive in this State for five years if the foreign jurisdiction provides a reciprocal arrangement for South Carolina residents. The provisions of this item also shall apply to the dependents of foreign nationals who qualify under this section."

So go ahead and have fun driving your car around.

Oh what a helpful, knowledgeable young man you are! THANK YOU! You are more knowledgeable than the people who work at SC Dept of Motor Vehicles!

Congratulations Anwesha on you being married now. Lovely.

As for SSN/driving licences/AOS - not lovely! I went to see about getting my SSN last week. I live 26 miles out in the country so to go into the city takes effort! I went, room full of folks, was told to take a number and sit down (no seats left!). Waiting time? Around 2 hours. Well girls, I so could not face it, so I left! Will have to try facing again next week.

APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course! There was never any doubt of that! But you guys get the Nobel Prize for PATIENCE! 9 months. That's a pregnancy!

Congratulations! Enjoy the feeling! Now, get your woman over here and let the torture of applying for SSN, driving licences etc begin! She's got all of these joys (not!) to to look forward to! x

I wish >< . Drue told the lady he could get me a translator certificate in 24 hours via the web, so I could certify my own translation , but the lady was smart, and said I they wouldn't accept that

I cannot stand hearing this! The driving place told me that we have to take a test to get a licence in SC, but said they weren't sure and to call the "international office in Rock Hill, SC, whose phone service just tells you to leave a message and they will call you back. Well, 7 days have passed and I'm still waiting for the call back! Can't stand it!

I went to get my SSN number last week. Went into the place, was told it would be a 2 hour wait, at least, no seat free! Couldn't face it, so I left! I live 30 miles from this SSN office, will have to steel myself to try again next week. And Mr Dog has to take the day off work to drive me, cos I can't drive myself as no licence, and it's $120 for a taxi there and back, no buses. Aargh!

Miss Jess (glad to see you survived Glastonbury, that place is not for the faint hearted!) - shipping

I used John Mason as I had furniture - and I wish I hadn't. They are one of the top companies and are not cheap, but as I was travelling the day before my removals because of my dogs and I had to have a friend stay over night at my flat and do the removals for me, I didn't want any hassle for her and I didn't want any cheap cowboys being a total nightmare. £2,400 for the contents of my whole flat, including packing it all.....but that's not what happened.

John Mason contracted out the job without telling me. If they had, I would not have paid so much. So, I was waiting in line at immigration when my phone rang and it was the contracted company asking me how much stuff did I have, cos John Mason hadn't bothered telling them! My friend told me 3 elderly men from Blackpool (still cowboys!) turned up to do the job but had been told they wouldn't have to pack anything! Scathing, emails of complaint being fired off by me to John Mason as we speak.

Naddy - good luck on the driving licence, let me know what happens there. At least you are used to driving on the same side of the road! I am not and am terrified of taking to the roads, and also of getting lost as I live way out in the country, but the sooner I get driving the better as I will be a prisoner in my own home and small town! Not good!

THANKS..SO HAPPY

That is great news heisable. Was thinking about you. We know you were dealing with one of the toughest embassies in the world.

Just Crissie left (I think) from our gang now to get through! Happy Sunday everyone x

Hey ya'll! Sorry I haven't been around for a while, but I have been lurking! Congrats to everyone that has been approved I hope everything else goes smoothly! Well if I could ask everyone to keep there fingers crossed my fiance has her interview on July 16th at the Jerusalem Consulate! Hopefully if all goes well I will have my fiance and our daughter here by Thanksgiving for our big family reunion! My brother is bringing his family over from the U.K. I haven't seen them in 3 years! Wish us luck.

Hey Stet!

We SO will be thinking of your girl on 16th July. What a long wait for interview date she had! Talk about having to have the patience of a saint.

I'm in the USA now, they let me in just over a week ago!

Shout us the news on the 16th x

Mrs Megger, you put my mind and KisK's at rest about all the change of address thing. But they dont' half scare you to death with the "Failure to report a change of address is punishable by fine or imprisonment and/or removal" stuff! But as I've wasted half my day looking it all up, here are the links:

Beneficiaries are to complete an AR-11 online here:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=c1a94154d7b3d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

and US citizen has to print off and send in a completed I-865 here:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=1ba892623014d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

and that's enough of all that boring immigration stuff for one day! Time to pour myself a gin and tonic and marvel once more at all your TV channels!

I'm going to apply for that SSN next week, see how far I get with that, then start picking a day for wedding. I want my dogs present (they are my only family) have to find somewhere which will allow them!

Naddy - you still don't have EAD? Anwesha - did you say you got yours at POE? They didn't give me one either. Oh the randomness continues.

Good Morning America! Mrs Dog and her hounds are now Stateside!

So good to be able to reconnect with you all!

Battling with IT and phone connections as we have moved to our new house in the back of beyond out here in South Carolina - Hickory Grove, beautiful countryside, but I wish I hadn't seen the movie "Wrong Turn" as I go walking with my dogs in the woods here and it feels like I am on that movie set, am always on the look out for those hillbillies with axes!

Dogs survived their 18 hours ordeal in crates and now settled fine.

Mr Dog has to get up for his work at 3.30am every morning. He relies on me to wake him as he manages to sleep through his millions of alarms and bleepers, this results in starting the day with me shouting at him and slapping him round the face - as married life should be!

Because we've changed address, I am currently spending my first morning on line having my brain fried by my first immigration issue - the instructions about the requirements about changing address with USCIS are not clear and contradictory. Have completed the AR-11 online but one set of instructions says to submit a paper copy too to update the "master list" (whatever that is), another says not to. No change there then! Ah well, if I manage to end up out of status, ICE will never find me out here!

Am about to kick back the rest of the morning, enjoying reading all your news and posts! x

Tony - your girl will be with you now so am sure you're dancing in the street!

Mrs Dog is leaving Scotland in a few hours time and heading your way AT LONG LAST! - so won't be on here for a couple of weeks.

Heisable - hope you're not still waiting.

When I come back on here, I hope we've heard from our Mr HandA. He's missing in action in Egypt and I've been missing him.

Lots of luv to all our November crew x

Greetings from Scotland from Mrs Dog for the last time!

Mrs Dog and her dogs are leaving the UK in a few hours. And has she finished her packing? Hell no. So, will be up all night, packing and cleaning. You've all been through it, the last 48 hours are hell. So much to do.

Answesha, I'll be looking out for you at Charlotte Airport tomorrow.

So guys, give me a couple of weeks before I get back on here. It will take me that long to figure out the IT and get the laptop going. But the poor thing has been battered to death last 8 months, it could do with a rest!

I have never done any online dating in my life. But I have fallen genuinely in love with all you all over the last 8 months. Goodness knows what I have done without you all.

South Carolina - brace yourself, Mrs Dog and her dogs is on her way!

You guys - wait for me here! Lots of love xxxx

Hello everybody,

This is only my second time of posting, and was wondering if anyone could help.

I received the rather unexciting packet 3 from London (K-1 visa) (by unexciting i mean just a sheet with a couple of websites on it), and I have now been through the forms and almost finished and would ideally like to send this out today. I just have a couple of questions:

1. The DS-156 (not the DS-156k i understand that you do not sign that) but do you sign the DS-156? I am assuming that you do - there are no instructions not to sign it.

2. Do I send any passport photos (US style) with packet three, again it does not say anything about sending them but there are a couple of spots on the forms that require them or are they attached on the day of the interview?

3. IV15 and checklist - Just a quick one on this. The checklist has a tick box exercise on the front however not everything is relevant to me i.e. military records, notorized statement so therefore I just leave them blank i assume. Also on the second page I do not have an intended date of travel nor do i have a wedding date due to the fact that I have no idea when and if the visa will be granted. Do i just detail - 'to be arranged with visa authorisation'?

I find that I get so stressed about filling out a form but due to the importance, all common sense goes out the window!!!

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you members of VJ.

Hi

1. DS-230 - Sign page 2. Throw away p.3-4 if you are a K1. Those pages are for totally different visa applicant.

DS-156 - Electronic online form. Print and sign.

DS-157 - No signature line on this form, so you can't sign it.

DS-156 - This form has an oath if you read it. You will hold up you hand in front of the officer and swear the truth in front of him and he witnesses you signature.

2. You don't have to attach the passport photos, I did, but not everyone does, but you have to bring the photos with you to the embassy on the day you attend.

3. The checklist - tick the boxes which apply to you and leave blank the ones which don't. They allocate interview dates on the basis of your intended travel date. If you leave that blank, you may have a long wait for an interview date.

Congrats, now i'm quite bothered, thedx haven't received my visa to deliver at all, anyone had this?/got any ideas?

Mine took 2 weeks to get from embassy to courier company.

Departure points are determined by the airline, not the airport. No all airlines carry live animals. Heathrow is mentioned a lot because it has an animal reception centre with specialised staff. I'm flying with Continental from Edinburgh. The airline tells you what flights you can get on. In Continental's case, I had to get certain flights, certain planes with a specific hold big enough for my dogs crates. But I think there is less restrictions with cats, simply in terms of space!

Some airlines won't allow you to book your animal yourself without using a petrelocator, British Airways for one. Also, their check in time for animals is 4 hours, Continental is 3 hours.

Confirmed. The Brits don't know they are born with such cheap telecommunication costs!

Good luck with AOS Naddy. Why do all official photos turn out awful? I don't even look human on my passport pic.

This may not be true everywhere, but anywhere that I've lived, there's basically one company that has a monopoly on the area's cable TV/internet (here in Miami, it's comcast, for example). A total pain in the butt, because they can just charge whatever they want, and you pay it or are out of luck.

Generally, I think you can expect to pay about $50/mo for just internet, but I don't really know about TV or landline phone... Have you thought about just having a cell phone and no landline? That's the route many people are taking, presumably because it's less expensive...

Thanks hun

Yep, that's definately my first culture shock. You've confirmed it. It DOES cost that. That's one thing the Brits should be thankful for. In the UK, internet alone can be a low as $10 a month. I'll tell them to stop bitchin about their tiny bills right now!

Hey buddies! Hope you're all good. I've got only 7 more sleeps to go!

Am totally off-topic here, but to all US citizens, I just want to know what your monthly bill is for TV/phone & internet. I've just been quoted $105 by AT&T a month for basic TV package (just free channels) unlimited long distance calls and internet. Comporium was even more expensive. I think this is my very first culture shock, cos the costs of these things in the UK would be half of that! I cannot believe it! All opinions welcome!

Thanks Naddy and megger. The reading up on the all the requirements never ends!

KisK - lovely to hear from ya. MRS KisK!

megger - you made me laugh with your "football" knowledge. I hate it! That's one aspect of UK culture I'm happy to never see again.

Let me know what you girls did with applying for SSN. At what point did Ewan and you Naddy, do it? Before or after AOS application? Some people have had real problems, mostly to do with encountering workers in SSN offices not knowing what they are supposed to be doing, lots of conflicting experiences, some people given the run around, some even getting turned away being told they are not eligible on K1 visas etc.

Thanks for the tip. As it turns out, I needn't have asked, cos my passport was just delivered

I thought they were supposed to see my ID though? They just left it with reception downstairs...slightly worrying, I mean it's 'only' my passport...

I had the same experience. When the courier came to my door he said he needed to see ID. When I said, OK, I'll just go get it, wait there, he said, don't bother, just tell me what you would have shown me! Shocking, really!

Kids...the motherload has landed. Passport was delivered to work today

arwilson, GOOD LUCK tomorrow. You'll do great!!

Hallelujah! Now, Miss Jess, apart from the obvious concerns over your dad's health, you have no more worries! It's finally OVER! Enjoy.

arwilson - ditto. The boredom of the wait is the worst of what is in store for you tomorrow.

I have 12 more sleeps till I leave the UK! And what with the World Cup and Big Brother dominating my TV, that's reason enough to go! Talking about family dramas, my step-daughter to be has chosen now to go off the rails on a teenage rampage! Looks like I'll be spending my first few weeks in the States supervising that "you are grounded, lady" thing!

No kidding...J's plane ticket to come over for it cost me £730 Stupid bloody August. Thank god I found out I got a raise on Friday. Obviously he is worth it but I can't help seeing it as a good few weeks' worth of unemployment survival...

My dad was agreeable to Plan B but reserved the right to come over in October, but my step-mum has taken my inch and turned it into a mile and is now saying that in her book there is no way he will travel. I'm inclined to agree but I felt absolutely awful trying to tell him what to do which is also basically impossible. Now I'm under massive pressure, cos I know my step-family will be furious with me if he does decide to travel, but I don't want to force my dad to miss his one chance to give his daughter away. Gah. Family politics are exhausting!

OK, rant over

I hear ya. It comes down to the "rights and risks" debate around older people with health concerns. Ultimately, it IS up to him. No one should be furious with you. You haven't done anything. Family politics, yada, yada....

Miss Jess

Bloody marvelous news. It's DONE. All in all, it "only" took 7 months and 2 spontaneous combustions. And you look like Cheryl Cole. And you are far to gorgeous to be slumming it in a HOSTEL!