biggish data

Living in UK or USA - second thoughts

(I didn't realise how much I minded the English weather until I moved to a sunny country )

One of the toughest things to deal with in moving to Scotland was no summer. Now, I can deal with a crappy winter as long as I have the promise of a nice toasty summer. Wind and rain, rain and wind. More wind. More rain. The damp. :angry:

However, last summer there was a bit of a heat wave and then there was the problem of no air conditioning.... it is a no-win situation for me. GH is a hardy native and fine-tuned to deal with such things so he doesn't notice.

Edited by Mrs GH, 14 December 2011 - 11:39 AM.

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2011-12-14 11:38:00

Living in UK or USA - second thoughts

Nich-Nick - thanks for the other threads; I'm having a look.

Cmoore - Congrats on finishing school! I think if we do go through with the US visa, we'll go back to Scotland at some point too. We're also saying the 3-4 years now, but I can see how it could easily start to be pushed back.

Mrs GH - Thanks for the other forum, I'll have to check that out. My fiance owns his flat in Glasgow, so that would give us a bit of an advantage, but it's finding a job that really worries me. I was on a post-study work visa there earlier this year, looked for a job for 6 months but could not get hired anywhere.

So it'd be interesting to see what people are choosing with the current economic situation.

Yep, I'm sat jobless in a flat in Glasgow as I write this.

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2011-11-29 11:06:00

Living in UK or USA - second thoughts

I will have lived in Scotland for almost 4 years when we move back to the US this February. The best way I can put how I feel about here is-- I have a deep respect and a tourists love of Scotland.

The job situation is dire here, very dire at the moment (as a matter of fact I was just made redundant yesterday

). It is very expensive to live here and very difficult to get into the property market. Not sure which part of the country your fiance is from?

I went the whole 9 yards-- finacee visa, limited leave to remain and settlement which, just like US immigration, is money, money, money.

The reasons, plain and simple, I moved here first were 1) my husband had gone back to Uni so it made sense and 2) the fiancee visa procedure for the UK was less hassle and shorter a time frame, as in I mailed all the stuff out to them and I got my visa in the post 2 days later.

There's another online forum which is www.uk-yankee.com you may want to check out if you're considering a move to the UK. If you need any more help just give me a shout

Edited by Mrs GH, 29 November 2011 - 06:14 AM.

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2011-11-29 06:11:00

UK Leavers Checklist?

We have Tetley. I just paid $25 (16 pounds) for 4 boxes of chicken OXO cubes.

You're kidding! $25! Ahhh, the comforts of home eh?

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-05 20:12:00

UK Leavers Checklist?

I haven't found any kind of check list, but I did post a little while back about moving from the UK to the US so that thread might be helpful for you.

http://www.visajourn...340079-the-move

I believe you can open a US bank account from overseas if you wanted to do that right away.

Edited by Mrs GH, 04 January 2012 - 06:46 AM.

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-04 06:46:00

you may not be trying to, but you are implying that a lack of a US visit is a determining factor in the issuance of a visa. this is NOT the case.

That is fine and I am pleased it's on the record now for others to see on this thread that it's not a determining factor in the issuance of a visa.

I have better things to do than come on and mischief-make, it's certainly not my intention.

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-07 21:09:00

no. the UKC never having been to the US is irrelevant and would have no bearing on the decision. the cultures of the UK and US are quite similar. if they had never met, if the meetings had been very short, coupled with weak evidence, THAT would have been a factor.

LND is one of the easiest embassies to deal with (if everything is in order).

please try not to scare others who have only had 'one sided visits' into thinking they will be denied or even flagged for this reason.

I'm not trying to scare anyone. Are you trying to say there is ZERO possibility that these questions wouldn't arise?

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-07 14:54:00

To clarify what I'm saying-- countries such as the Philippians are not able to travel to the US on VWP which is possibly why they might get more leeway with that. It might be looked upon more negatively if an individual from a VWP country has never been to the US.

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-07 13:48:00

I agree. But immigration law is very specific in its wording so the fact that he hasnt been to the US shouldnt affect the decision. How many filipino's have never been to the US until after they get the Visa, must be lots.

It might affect the decision if they take such things into account when deciding whether or not the relationship is bona fide, which seems to be where the OP's troubles are.

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-07 13:31:00

Right, but it seems a bit strange that someone coming from the UK and wanting to live in the US has never actually stepped foot in the United States before?

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-07 13:11:00

The OP had stated that her fiance had never been to the US before, I thought that was a prerequisite? or is it just generally meeting in person that is a must?

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-07 12:45:00

vaccinations

Ugh, such an easy mistake to make! I almost sent ours out with a wrong year of employment. It's easy to get confused trying to pin point dates so far back.

I think it feels like it's all really happening when they have their medical. Maybe because it's London and official it just feels that much closer to the interview!

I totally understand it's super easy to get really anxious about it (maybe even more so for women). I'm sure everything will be absolutely fine!!

We leave in about 3 weeks to go back to the States and I've been great-- only now anxiety is ever so slightly beginning to creep in about POE. I know it will be fine and almost everyone on here will tell you it's a piece of cake, but you just can't help it!

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-09 05:25:00

vaccinations

Excellent

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-06 17:09:00

Flights: One way or return?

We got super cheap 1 way tickets (cheaper than round trip) from http://www.lastminute.com

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-12 16:22:00

Connecting flights??

He will go through immigration at JFK which will be his "POE".

We have a 3 hour layover between our POE and connecting flight, I'm not too worried. I'm sure he'll be fine.

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-13 06:52:00

Medical at Knightsbridge tomorrow

Good luck!! Let us know how you get on

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-19 19:36:00

Medical Review Knightsbridge Doctors

I'm sure you will be ok and they just want to air on the side of caution with these things. You will be in the US in no time! x

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-20 10:21:00

The ol' 'Should I tell work about it' debate...

Situations change. Suddenly.

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-19 08:29:00

Wells Fargo London

HSBC is another you can open an account with. As far as I know you are able to open a US account from overseas anyway.

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-23 07:16:00

My mother in law has taught me to say It's a braw bricht,moonlit nicht,ta nicht. Then laughs when I do.
She also got me Jamie Oliver's cookbook and a funny book called Bumbags and Fanny Packs which highlights all of the differences in the language.
I do hope my hubby never loses his accent. I love it.

Oh and btw he never heard of the poem. He thought maybe it was from Glasgow?

Ahhhh!! Yes, it probably is Glaswegian. It's a small country but it's so different from city to city

I know, the accent is great! I'd say it can be one of the most soothing or frightening British accents

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-16 16:14:00

I have spent time teaching my SiL English swear words because, in her Californian parlance, "they're way more colorful and we just don't have sh!t like that!"

I've found there's just no American phrase that works as well as "taking the piss".

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-14 11:18:00

Those are good. Before we met when we were chatting I had no clue what mince was so he explained. Then he mentioned a lorry and I had no clue. He assumed these were normal every day words for everyone so he was starting to wonder if I might be a bit ...um.. special. Oh and tea=supper. I just thought his mum really liked tea because she would always say she had to go make the tea. There are some words I can;t find an equivalent for over here like Numpty. Now if I ask what a word means he says, what's a window?!

My husband's family laughed at me when I said I was cold because all I brought with me was capris and skirts and no pants!
I did not understand until later that they thought I said I forgot to pack underwear!

Numpty is just a fool, "ye numpty" I get told that a lot

My FAVORITE Scottish word is "Glakit" (which means gormless) that will not be going out of my vocab once we move back, it's too perfect.

Oost = dust
Wisht = be quiet or "Shhh"
Blether = chat
Wean = Glasgow dialect for child
Mingin' = gross
Off his heid = crazy
Slapper = an unattractive woman of loose morals
Jammy = lucky
Toaty = small
Ned = non-educated delinquent

I could go on and on, that's the beauty of UK dialect, it's so vast!

Ask David about this one-- as you start reading it he'll start reciting it

: You know ye cannae fling pieces oot a 20-storey flat, seven hundred hungry weans?ll testify, to that. If it?s butter, cheese or jeely, if the breid is plain or pan, the odds against it reaching earth are 99 tae wan.

Edited by Mrs GH, 13 January 2012 - 07:11 AM.

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-13 07:09:00

weight- 1 stone = 14 lbs

UK word to US equivalent--

cupboard = closet

chest of drawers = dresser

trousers = pants

fanny = buttocks

Edited by Mrs GH, 12 January 2012 - 04:31 PM.

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-12 16:30:00

What options exist for being together while we await I-130?

Thank you everyone for all of your encouragement! It is good to know there is so much solidarity in the visa journey community Although it is quite daunting to think of tackling yet another visa application....

So we thought of one more issue that we think might be pertinent and were wondering if any of you all had any thoughts. Do you think that going the UK visa route would impede any future efforts to immigrate to the UK? As in, if we get a UK visa for me and then are able to come over to America in perhaps 10 months or so - i.e., before the UK visa becomes a "permanently settled" visa - and then sometime years from now we decide we'd like to live & work for a bit in the UK, would our chances of being able to settle there be hindered by the previous visa history? My assumption is that we would just start again at square one with the UK visa, and while that might be a pain it is doable. We just want to avoid any situation that would keep us from visiting our families or possibly allowing our future children an opportunity to experience UK life altogether.

Thank you again for any advice you might have!

Tiff & Tom

I don't see any reason why you would not be able to obtain another UK visa again. As you say, you'd just start back at the beginning and apply for a new, valid visa.

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-25 07:53:00

Fiance's interview is in two days

Good luck!

Mrs GH

Female

Scotland

2012-01-25 07:44:00