ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
United KingdomInterview At Embassy :'(
How long has your relationship been going on? How intense has it been? When they interviewed him was he able to answer questions like what color are your eyes? What is your favorite color? When is your birthdate? They will ask him things about you and he better not have said he does not know, that's a red flag. My fiance was approved in London and she said they asked plenty of personal questions to show that the relationship was real and not just a person you sit in the same office with.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-05 11:28:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK

Bad medical care happens on both sides. Neither system is perfect, but at least in the UK, the system is there.


The system is there in the US too. No one ever complains about availability of US medical care, they complain about the cost of it.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-30 12:55:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK
My wife has a mole she wants removed. She tried in the UK and again in the US. Results?
UK said: "We cannot remove that, there are nerves and arteries involved and you risk your life."
US said: "Sure we can remove it, want me to do it now?"
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-25 12:30:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK

Health Care as a Human Right

I'm merely using this link for the quotes included, not arguing for or against universal health care. The U.N. considers it a human right, and so does common international human rights law. The fact that African nations are not taking care of their citizens is in violation of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Is it due to lack of resources? Most likely. Does the U.S. lack resources to provide their citizens with adequate health care? No. Priorities, priorities.


Who cares about what the UN thinks? Not America that's for sure, see link:

http://mainfo.blogsp...n-hates-us.html
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-11 00:32:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK

not one mention of the "benefit" of the tax deduction of all medical expenses. that comes right off the top of your taxable income and also makes your taxes less.or mention of mortgage interest deduction.
this is a family friendly country. even if you are working poor ....


Who does your taxes??? You may deduct only the amount by which your total medical care expenses for the year exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. If you make $50,000 a year you can deduct anything over $3,750. So if you have medical bills totaling $4,000 then you can deduct $250 and probably save $50 on what you owe for taxes.

http://www.irs.gov/t...pics/tc502.html
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-10 00:42:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK

When a government "taxes" its people a percentage of their earnings to cover national insurance, that is sorta how it works................


I agree 100%. But that's not what is happening. It also takes out the free choice if I am REQUIRED to have coverage. I believe it is unconstitutional to MAKE me buy something and tax me for it regardless. The screw up was trying to revamp medical coverages. They simply should have revamped the insurance industry.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-09 16:01:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK

Can't you? I've never worked anywhere where I was required to take a benefit that was offered.


Yep, it is here. They cover me alone but for family coverage, well then I pay that part.


Owning a car is a privilege, healthcare is a human right.


Says who? Have you been to Africa lately? Are the dying people suing doctors for infringing on their right to healthcare?


I think the fix is to make healthcare available and affordable to everyone no matter their working status. Tge piece I dont think has been answered is who pays for that massive reduction in rates. I've always felt that way. I don't know the realistic answer to that which will make everyone happy. I just know truly free isn't it.

given where we are today, i'm playing the game with the choices I was given. To me insurance is a high priority because I need health care. Sure, it'd be great not to have to weigh that in my list of elective priorities, but today it has to be.


Here is a basic solution: Take the national health care cost and divide it by the number of people receiving the care. Find the mean, so that half the people pay less than their cost half pay more, based on income. Then step the cost by income.

Here is a real simple example: Three people live in the country and want hearth coverage. They earn $500, $1000 and $1500 a year respectively. Medical costs annually are, say, $1200 for them all. The guy who earns $1,000 is in the middle of the other two so he pays $400 which is his fair share. The poor guy earns $500 which is half and so he pays only $200. The rich guy at $1500 pays $600. Now the full $1200 needed for health care is paid. Just like income taxes now, the cost is progressive. Everyone who uses it paid into it. Sound good?
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-09 15:54:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK

So if a person is paying nothing for health insurance, they should get no health care?


If I pay nothing for car insurance, how much coverage do you think I should get?

Also of note, my employer coverage that costs me $1,000 a month is the SAME that I can buy online for $400 a month. But I have to get it through work. Why can I not go buy it myself?
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-09 15:32:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK
If you have a house with equity, and sell it, you get cash to live on. In my divorce I gave my ex 60k, she lived on that for a several years while reworking herself to her new chosen life. Selling a house is not easy unless you are willing to not get top dollar. You need to decide what is more important.

As for healthcare for all, we have it. ANYONE can go to the doctor, get a check up, and write a check or pay cash for their healthcare. It is done all the time.

Oh wait, you meant PAYMENT for healthcare. Healthcare is not the question, it is affording it. There is a product you want and cannot afford. Gotcha.

Well let's simplify things. Let's say that there are 100 people in the country and medical care costs $100 a year per person. In that case, you can see that you will be taxed $100 a year. Or maybe $110 because there is overhead. Even if there are 300,000,000 people in the country, which there are, and medical cost is $200 a person per year, then your tax is $200 plus overhead.

But the reality is that while I paid $0 last year for medical care, a friend paid $400,000. True story. Well, his insurance paid it.

In the end, insurance is a form of gambling. For everyone who gets coverage over what they pay someone gets less so at the end of the day what is paid out to medical care staff and the overhead equals what was taken in. We hope.

In Germany insurance is mandatory. This lowers the price overall, as I'd be one of the people not paying into it and taking my chances. You see, there are plenty not paying one cent into insurance yet they collect. I sure wish I could do that with my auto insurance!!!

And if EVERYONE pays in and EVERYONE benefits, fine. Just like fire and police, we pay in and get the benefits of it available to us, needed or not. But if you do not pay in you get nothing. Simple.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-09 14:56:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK

:lol: Are you for real?

Have you tried to get a mortgage lately? Especially without a J-O-B job?

Robert, you don't know me very well, I don't think. I'm a 54-year old female who has been blessed to have a lot of ups and a lot of downs in my life. I'm a pick-myself-up-and-get-on-it-with-it sort of gal. I've had times with plenty of money and times where I ate ramen noodles (beyond the college years). So I'd like to think my highs and lows have given me first hand knowledge of how systems work, as well as an appreciation for being down but not out.


If you own the house outright have you not heard of a reverse mortgage which requires no job or credit? Or sell for what equity you DO have? Or go back to renting which statistically has been HALF of mortgage payments (maybe no so much after this latest financial round)? Today mortgages are tougher because the bank does not want to have another disaster. Can't blame them.

Rebecca, I have had highs and lows too. I was once homeless and relied on a soup kitchen for food. I got handed food stamps for ONE month then decided I better do something because no one is really going to help me but me, and I did. Food stamps are not a blessing, it's a trap! I used to do odd jobs for bus money and now I drive a Porsche. Wanna know who I have to thank for that? ME. Do not count on your boss, your spouse, your house equity, your stocks and bonds or your crystal ball.

And go read WHO MOVED MY CHEESE.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-09 14:28:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK

Not in my state. Owning a home will disqualify one immediately.


If you own your home outright then get a mortgage on it to survive!!! Holy cow you are sitting on a $300k asset and want tax dollars out of my pocket? No way! But if you have a mortgage on it and do not own it? Or like today with most people are upside down on it? Then you are exempt and the house does not count as property.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-09 14:09:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK

I bet they won't either.


I'll take that bet. I worked welfare for 7 years. If he has enough work quarters (3 years in the last 5 years), is unemployed not due to cause (like stealing from the till), and has property under a certain value, then the family is eligible for cash, food stamps, and medi-cal. To get welfare a parent has to be dead, disabled, absent, or unemployed. Absent parent was by far the greatest number of cases scenarios.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-09 13:59:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK

Tell that to the 45 year old factory machinist with a wife, three kids and mortgage on the day they close down the factory where he's worked for 20 years. Suppose the Army will take him so everybody can have Tri-Care?

You seem to miss the point that there are hundreds of thousands of hard-working people in the US who cannot afford the health care offered at their place of employment.

Did they teach you any empathy in college?


A 45 year old has probably made the decision 25 years before to NOT join the military for whatever reason. That's fine. They had the offer then and he passed it up. Life is about making decisions that you want to make. Getting a career and a marriage and a savings BEFORE having kids is a plan. Folks who have kids at 16 or 17, well those plans will give them a harder life. Not my problem.

Civilian health care for me is $1k a month now. I hate it but that was the cheapest option. It went way up when obama mandated coverage to age 26 and coverage of pre-existing conditions. Someone has to pay for that care. There are so many unemployed now that employers can offer minimum wage and no benefits and get plenty of takers for the job. Once employment levels increase and labor becomes scarce then employers may have to offer benefits or more money.

A 45 year old with a wife and kids a mortgage who becomes unemployed will qualify for welfare/TAD.

The trick? Stay skilled and salable. Always have skills that are in demand, don't get stuck in a rut and expect to always be in demand. Ask any TV repairman or Fuller brush salesman.

Empathy? I'm sad that bad things happen to good people. I'm sadder that people expect things for free.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-09 13:40:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK

Yep. I was one of them.


I joined the Army and they paid for my degree. They're still hiring.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-09 11:43:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK

Only if you work. Everyone gets treatment regardless of whether they pay NI or not. Plenty people get it completely free and other people pay for them.


Fixed it for you.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-08 15:49:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK
Nothing is free. NHS does not get its money from insurance premiums but thy get if from somewhere!
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-06 13:48:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK
Didn't the guy in the UK who runs the medical system die while waiting for medical help? I just signed up my spouse and kids through my work insurance. It's a little over a grand a month. :crying: But then again we do not pay 20% sales tax and $11/gal gas, so we are still better off.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-03 15:10:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK

If you have a CostPlus World Market near you, they sell Malteasers and Flakes, and I think Crunchies too! And they'll be a little cheaper than most British stores. :)

Now, next we need to get shops to start stocking Wispas and Jaffa Cakes...

I was scared to pay with cash for months upon first arriving in the US, because I nearly always forgot about adding tax.


Thanks for the info, I know where a CPWM is! One thing my fiance can't get enough of here is FREE REFILLS on sodas. She says England will never do that!
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2011-09-14 12:56:00
United KingdomAnyone wish they were back in the UK
I visited my fiance four times this year, that is coming to an end as she will be here soon!

But from my trips there are plenty of things I miss:
Yummy bacon! Not the streaky kind!
Crunchies
Irn Bru
Maleteasers
Flakes
Sausages
The price you see is what you pay, taxes are always included
Antique shops with things older than 1950
Very inexpensive cell phone / mobile services
Harrod's
Cute little police cars and ambulances

Things I don't miss:
Expecting a head on collision at any moment
No one knows what root beer is
Cold
Gray skies
VAT
Congestion charges for going to London on a weekday (actually I got a ticket!)
Tiny cars
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2011-09-14 12:27:00
United KingdomGetting started when you have no US family or employer!
Lots of posts just like that here: http://www.british-e...d.php?tid=23180
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-03-05 11:14:00
United KingdomI don't know what to do
You can buy the card and email him the number on it.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-03-14 14:54:00
United KingdomInterview dilemma :(
We asked for expedition because the kids needed to start school, they too said we had to send an email, and the date was moved up one week. Then we planned on a Monday interview and to have the Visa by Friday to fly out. Those plane tickets are VERY expensive at the last minute. There are just so many variables that you have no control over. Entering the US for the sake of a faux wedding is something you need to get by the immigration officer when you get here. Don't you just hate close calls?
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-08-17 15:03:00
United KingdomNutrition Degree transferable?
Degrees will generally transfer but individual classes and credits will not.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-08-17 15:06:00
United KingdomTime line
I'd look at the timelines of other members and base your expectations on them.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-08-17 15:08:00
United KingdomWhat did you do with your old U.K. driver's license?
It makes a good photo ID when someone wants a 2nd piece of ID for any reason.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-08-17 14:59:00
United KingdomBritish Back Bacon FOUND!
Seems that FRESH & EASY is the American chain of Tesco! We have real bacon again! Just had to share!
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-11-14 14:34:00
United KingdomWhat is your interview date @ London Embassy?
We got an earlier appointment by calling and asking, they said no, you can only get it by email, but no one ever emails, so we did and they cut a week off of our time. You have to call them and ask for the email address though. You also need a reason that passes muster. Can't tell you what to put there.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2011-10-04 13:42:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusChild support for a Ukrainian baby?????
My personal advice, if I were you I'd walk away. You have been used and with a child having an American father the kid can lay claim to the US for immigrating one day. Of course she will tag along. Unles of course you have feelings and are connected to the kid, but in that case maybe argue for custody. It's so sad that she is using a kid as a weapon.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-01-17 17:09:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusIs being 'hard headed' a RUB chick trait ?
Posted Image
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2011-12-22 12:37:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusIs being 'hard headed' a RUB chick trait ?
I bet she would treat HER stuff with more respect.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2011-12-22 12:18:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusFather's permission for child to emigrate

I haven't really used this site much. How can I locate and e-mail Gary and Alla that you mentioned.
Thanks.


http://www.visajourn...-gary-and-alla/
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-02-02 13:47:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusFather's permission for child to emigrate
We had the same thing but in the UK. We got a note from the biological father stating that he agrees to let the children emigrate to the US. if we did not have that note a court would have to get involved. In our case he had not paid support and we held that over him for leverage. He was happy to be absolved from the debt. If he will not voluntarily sign a form allowing the kids to leave the country a visa for them will be tough indeed.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-02-02 11:55:00
Mexico, Latin & South AmericaSole Survivor of Horrible Crash Gets Good News

"The family wanted to obtain legal status but had no laws to help them do so."

We have plenty of ways to obtain legal status, but they involve not breaking the law in the first place. You may as well have a bank robber ask for laws so he can keep his gun and money and walk around free.


"Our thoughts and prayers are with Miss Lidiane Carmo as she deals with the tragic loss of her family," Gonzalez said, according to CNN. "Reports of her facing deportation are completely false."

Unless they plan to hand her a green card or citizenship it is still going to be a hard road for her. Hmmm maybe she will get adopted by a USC.


Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-02-03 11:09:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)Fingerprints
Thankfully you have nine other digits to help with the identification.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2011-08-21 15:59:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)Fingerprints
Yes they want to be sure you are the same person throughout the process.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2011-08-18 15:22:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)Fingerprints
I used to work at a US Embassy and anytime someone was going to the states we ran police checks, Leahy checks (to see if you are a war criminal) and checked for past visa abuses. If you came to the US 5 years ago and overstayed your visa you could not come back for 7 years. Of course it would be great if one background check provided everything, but everyone does not always talk to one another. A military check may produce different results from a police check or a passport check or a medical check.

Just figure that if you are hiding something, they will find it.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2011-08-18 12:09:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)Fingerprints
Every time they take another step with your packet they run background checks. It may be a delay, but they also look to see folks who are running FROM something instead of just running TO someone.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2011-08-17 16:46:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)Fingerprints
Probably to make sure you are the same person throughout the entire process and no one takes the place of the immigrant.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2011-08-17 15:54:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)i-864 help need so bad
There is plenty of good advice here but let me add a little about taxes. What you pay is not a fixed amount. You have a business so you have business expenses and deductions. My mother had her own business and ended up NEVER paying taxes because of all the deductions she was allowed. Now since you failed to file you may/may not lose those deductions. But get right on it.

Secondly, there are STATE taxes in many places. I am in California and they ramrod you too, and are not as kind as the feds/IRS with tax issues. As a business you may also need a business license in your city or county, and the business may need a tax ID.

You need an accountant.

If you do owe back taxes, and I have been in that position thanks to my accountant not carrying a number when adding and bang, I owed $3k to the feds. Plus penalties. I told the IRS I would pay a certain amount each month, they sent me a paper to sign, and I paid as agreed. Very simple. I owed the state money as a result and they simply took it out of my paychecks. NOT fun.

So remember in addition to paying taxes you have legitimate deductions too which can help alleviate the hit.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2011-09-30 11:38:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)Additional Processing?
it means you have a long wait ahead.
Robert&KarenMaleUnited Kingdom2012-08-17 14:07:00