biggish data

How to get a mobile phone set up in the USA / Interview

I am just about to call T mobile UK & enquire about transferring my contract over there. I am in the midst of my 18 month contract over here so I would have to terminate it & pay the cancellation fee. I believe it's possible to transfer your contract to T Mobile US though but I am going to find out if it's beneficial financially as it might be cheaper for me to get a new contract out there using my UK phone, providing I get it unlocked.

I also used AT & T pay as you go every time I visited & it was great. The SIM is valid for 12 months once you purchase it. $50 credit per month gives you unlimited texts & calls within the US. An additional $10 gives you 100 mins per month to call any UK land line so you can keep in touch with everyone at home & if you choose to unlock your UK phone & put the pay as you go SIM in, not all the features will work unless you add on another $10 for a data package. I just used the simple $20 handset that comes with the SIM as I hadn't unlocked my UK phone yet but I will once I move. So that's $70 a month which my fiance said was great value as he already has gets a subsidised bill through his work & he still pays more. Calling the UK is expensive unless you get a call abroad package. Not all my friends & family use skype so it was a good option for me.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-08-14 09:55:00

Letter from Embassey

Rob, they don't give you things out of the packet. They check to see if the file is all there and you were properly approved for a visa. Generally it would only be a photocopy of a BC in there anyway, but it remains part of your file.

If you go to a naturalization interview some day, your entire immigration file will be on the desk---I-129F packet, London file, AOS, EAD, AP, removing conditions packet, and N-400 packet. And they review it all, looking for discrepancies or errors that would preclude you from being granted citizenship.

That's interesting to know. What a long journey it is from I-129F to citizenship.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-11 12:10:00

Rescheduling interview with London Embassy?

Thank you so much for posting! So helpful & definitely a great way to get prepped & pass the time whilst waiting for my K1 interview! Posted Image

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-13 10:26:00

Congratulations! I sent my packet 3 a few weeks after yours so I hope I get mine soon too! Posted Image

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-18 09:45:00

Update

After phoning the DOS number (202-663-1225) last week to be told that I was ineligible for an interview I re-submitted the whole of packet 3 and made sure that it was delivered and signed for. I phoned the DOS just minutes ago and was told that I am now elible although they could not tell me when an interview date would be arranged. So, for now it seems, I am playing the waiting game once more. An early October POE is looking less and less likely.

*sigh*

You never know, you might get an interview next week! It's happened to others so stay positive. I also phoned DOS yesterday & a nice guy said they had indeed received all my packet 3 info & medical results on Wednesday & that I should expect an interview date any day. I know he cannot tell you anything else but he was very positive & friendly on the phone & it made me feel more optimistic. My fiance is also really positive so chin up Charlotte Posted Image

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-05 12:26:00

You don't have to get the shots to get a K1....BUT....because you didn't get them completed and fully recorded on your DS-3025 immunization record by Knightsbridge, now you will have to find and pay a civil surgeon in the US to copy all shots on a form I-693 and sign off. Some are lucky and find one that doesn't charge much ($30-$50) but many, many, many more have huge hassles. Here's one of the more typical stories in this story/reply http://www.visajourn...ost__p__5351965 there's a few posts after that one saying USCIS rejected thee same thing Knightsbridge told you to do.

Thanks for posting that link Nick. I do remember you telling me it was ok to wait for the MMR booster & my form should still be ok for AOS. Until I'd got to the medical, I had no idea my tetanus was not up to date for US standards though, I just wish I had paid extra & gotten it done at Knightsbridge now as I trusted what the woman said about having no problem submitting my NHS records in the US! They will have sent my results to the embassy now. I guess I need to find & pay a civil surgeon Posted Image

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-08-30 15:45:00

Thanks for starting this thread, I am also anxious & hoping I get an interview sometime next month. Charlotte I also want to leave on 6th October but I think you have more chance than me of leaving on time. I have sent off my DS 2001 but technically the embassy won't get my medical results or my form until Tuesday as it's bank holiday. Photo - I did have tetanus missing but I will be having it shortly & at the medical they said to make sure I have proof of having had it from my GP before AOS to submit with the forms & I should be fine. As I understand correctly we don't need to have had all the shots now, but we need to have had them by the time we file for AOS?

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-08-26 10:05:00

No no, the quote is individual. It's with UPS or Fedex etc. You can pick as many boxes as you like, but the price goes up. They just wont take a box if it's 45 kilo or more. Just a health and safety thing. They don't give like a maximum allowance. It's X price per box at this weight.

The prices I got were

24 inch cube x 4 @ 30 KG each = £400
20 inch cube x 4 @ 30 KG each = £264
20 inch cube x 6 @ 30 KG each = £398.14

That's door to door, no further costs (bar X rays or something), like a regular UPS courier shipment. All I do is fill out the CBP3299 and hand it to the driver. Same as any other parcel pickup.

Ok I'm with you. Thanks for breaking it down. Do you by any chance know how they treat fragile items? So I just got a quote from John Mason for a whopping £980 for 15 of 18 x 18 x 30' boxes.... Posted Image

No idea if that's a rip off or not but think it might be slightly better value? Also door to door including packing service.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-08-13 10:24:00

So long as one of them isn't over 45 kilos... no problem.

Wow that's generous! So do they have a limit of how many boxes you can send? I guess it's good if you don't have any fragile stuff right? As it's going regular postal service I assume? And if it is then do you even need to fill out a customs form? Aren't you just going down to your PO & sending it to your fiance with her name & address on the boxes? You just tick "personal items" on the customs sticker that the PO person will stick on the boxes & then your fiance shouldn't get charged duty I believe.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-08-10 19:49:00

Thanks! Considering it's with UPS and door to door, I'm wondering just what I'm not getting if I do the CBP3299 myself compared to allfreight or excess baggage or something

Hmm I am sure you'll be fine but I do know what you mean, passing all your worldly possessions on & then just praying they all get to the other side in one piece is rather stressful! What's the weight limit on your boxes for UPS?

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-08-10 08:40:00

230 quid is basically the single cheapest price I've found. And even better, that's a price by AIR freight, in three days. Cheapest anyone else seems to do like the big names is nearer 500 quid and that takes 4 to 6 WEEKS. So 4 20 inch cubes would be good for me I think

3 days is brilliant, you can't go wrong I suppose for only a few boxes. Good luck with it

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-08-10 08:15:00

Found this for instructions on the CBP3299. So looks like I'll have no problems airfreighting things with P4D or Transglobal.

4x 20inch cubes at 20 kilos each comes to about oh, 230 quid.

http://www.wilcan.com/us_3299.pdf

Hi Photo,
Wow that's a lot isn't it? I am still learning about all of this so I really have no idea, but 4 boxes & over 200 quid does sound a lot...Thanks for posting that link to the customs form with instructions too.

I think I have realised over the past few days with looking round my house that I am going to have rather a lot. Doing it by air is not going to be cheap for me so I will be going the shipping route. Anglo-Pacific have started to hound me with emails & calls since I asked for a quote. Although it was reasonable, as I live out of their depo areas, I will also have to pay a hefty pick up charge which I think they said was £14 per box...am going to keep looking for companies local to my area. I think this is most certainly the most stressful part of the the whole K1 process Posted Image

Edited by LeedsUK, 10 August 2012 - 08:13 AM.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-08-10 08:04:00

Haven't gotten a quote from them yet VJers but some of the negative reviews in this thread about them freaked me out! I don't think there's a single company out there that at least one VJer hasn't had a horrendous experience with! Posted Image

It's very troubling as I just don't know who to go with. I haven't got a huge amount of stuff but it's not small either, about 10-15 boxes I reckon. I got a quote of about £515 with Anglo-Pacific but the reviews have put me off now...

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-08-08 18:33:00

Hi all,

Just wanted to share my experience of shipping my things over from the UK to the US.

Like everyone, I was a little intimidated by the number of agents out there. Not only that, but the spectrum of people's experiences seemed pretty broad. In the end, I chose to go with Excess Baggage; their website seemed professional and people's opinions seemed mostly positive. Plus, they supplied all the boxes I'd need and provided a door to door service.

Their website shows all the various sizes of container you can request. Basically, you mentally box all your possessions up, then e-mail them for a quote. I wound up needing 18 boxes (most were small ones for books and DVD's), with a couple of larger boxes for clothes and one big bike container for my framed movie posters.

Once you are ready to proceed, you give them the go-ahead and they'll take an initial fee and arrange for a day to deliver all your boxes. The only niggle was that the courier could come at any point during the day. Not ideal if you work all day and live alone. So I had to leave a note on my door asking the courier to call me when he arrived, as I worked just a couple of minutes from my flat. Fortunately, he did, so I got my flat-packed boxes, along with four HUGE rolls of bubble wrap and eight rolls of parcel tape.

I never thought I'd use all that bubble wrap, but I ended up using every bit!

It was hard work packing everything, labelling the boxes (your name, ref, item number and destination) and noting the contents of each box on the forms without error. Took me a good 8 hours and the knees of my jeans were literally worn away from all the kneeling, but I got there in the end.

The courier came the next morning and took everything away. It's shocking how bare your place looks afterwards! I then finished off the customs forms and faxed them to Excess Baggage. They billed me for everything and that was pretty much that.

Subsequently, I quit my job, moved out, went for my K1 visa interview, was approved (thank God), made the jump across the pond and got married to my good lady. With all those life-changing events, I'd virtually forgotten about all my stuff til I got a call and an email to inform me of its impending delivery. I had to pay $20 to the delivery company and the van pulled up a few days later. All the boxes were intact and the contents undamaged. In total, it took about 10 weeks for them to arrive (they say 12 max).

All in all, it cost me around £900. Sounds a lot, but that's for EVERYTHING, and a door to door service from Leeds, UK to Appleton, Wisconsin.

I'd definitely recommend Excess Baggage. They supplied all I needed, their processes were straightforward and their fees reasonable. Their website made it very clear what forms I had to complete and even contained a helpful guide for doing so. As for their service, I have nothing but praise for them. The lady who handled my move was called Jade and she was polite, went out of her way to assist me whenever I had a problem and was ALWAYS contactable. Seriously, I don't think she ever left the workplace.

So, whoever you decide to use, I hope your move goes as smoothly as mine did.

Nick

Hi Nick,
Thanks for posting your story. I am from Leeds & am stressing about finding a reliable shipping company that will give me a reliable door to door service that also won't break the bank. I know your experience was a while ago & I am hoping that Excess Baggage are still reliable!

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-08-08 16:06:00

Finally heard back for our interview date, but I was extremely suprised to find that it was scheduled for November 15th considering we submitted packet 3 in late August. We had already planned a wedding for November 23 and family have bought plane tickets assuming that this process would be long over by then. We never thought that the interview could be scheduled almost 3 months after we submitted the last of our materials to the embassy considering what others have experienced on this website. Does anyone have any experience/success moving up their interview date? Thanks!

Congrats on your interview date. I know when it's further down the line than you expected, it can be disheartening. I felt the same but then it was just a massive relief to have a date & no longer be in the waiting boat. I submitted my packet 3 in late August too, they didn't honour my provisional wedding date & my interview is next week so that's a whole 9 weeks since they received my packet 3 but we have all heard of the delays & even though I was told my packet had been received & logged within a week of me sending it, we can't predict all the checks & admin they do until they assign an interview date. We have made no concrete wedding plans as we know how risky it is so we have pushed our wedding forward now but still have made no plans until I am safely in the US with my fiance. Good luck Posted Image

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-10-10 14:55:00

I have been checking in occasionally on the visa line and still have not been assigned an interview date. We sent our Packet 3 including the DS-2001 to the London Embassy delivered August 24th, so at this point I am a bit worried it is taking so long. Is there anything I can do to speed along the process or make sure things are progressing? Thanks!

I know this wait is the hardest but don't worry it will happen soon. I sent mine shortly after you but I didn't get an interview date until last Monday. Just keep calling the DOS everyday to check if they have assigned you a date. You will get one when you least expect it! I don't know how they assign the dates. I know a lot of people who submitted their packet 3 the same time as me or a few weeks later & they got their interview dates way before me. Who knows how they decide who goes when. It's best not to think about stuff like that or we'll all get paranoid. Hang in there Posted Image

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-10-04 14:08:00

Yes u will! I have found Kelly from Southampton who is an hour before me so we're meeting outside at 7:30

Edited by LeedsUK, 28 September 2012 - 11:12 AM.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-28 11:11:00

That's cool. This morning I didn't know anyone with my date either! I'm sure there will be lots of others with your date but maybe they aren't on VJ. Is she a K1 or K3?

Edited by LeedsUK, 27 September 2012 - 05:14 PM.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-27 17:06:00

What a rip off! Im going to call this week too, i was charged a similar amount. We paid enough already!

I know of somebody else on a different site who has an interview date the same as yours! I will try to persuade her to come over here

Yeah do! I found another interview buddy, posted on my wall this morning

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-27 13:56:00

I called at about 4pm and got right through too. Ive checked my phone bill through and they have charged me about £20.75 and i was only on for 9 minutes! That should only be about £12 including my network charges.

So just checked my phone bill, I was charged £26.34 for that 10 minute phone call to pay for my interview! £3.28 per minute not £1.23! I am so furious that they are allowed to get away with this. I have left a message on the complaints number. It's just an automated number that asks you to leave your details if you believe you have been over charged Posted Image

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-27 11:16:00

Woohoo! Im really happy for you!

Thanks Holly, it really means a lot

Tasha

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-24 11:03:00

Congrats Distressedbride!

LeedsUK, they MUST have a date for you now! I hope they give you some good news.

Holly I got mine too!! Just called - 17th October at 9:30am! Posted Image

Thanks for the good luck wishes everyone!! Posted Image

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-24 09:58:00

Congrats!!! I'm going to call again now...

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-24 09:36:00

So just called the DOS again, again all my packet 3 has been processed & logged but no joy on an interview date, but now I'm quite confused. The lady said they generally only schedule interviews once a month at the same time & they have an allocated number of how many interviews they can assign each month. She said they start at the top of the pile & pick whoever is first & that as it's almost the end of the month, most likely they already scheduled the ones for the next 4 weeks & won't be scheduling any more until October now. Does this seem right? An interview can surely occur on any day of the month & what about the cancellations & people that get called at the last minute? Also every case is different so some may need longer processing than others. She also mentioned they will always give 4 weeks notice because of the medical & police report. I didn't bother explaining that I am in week 3 & I have done all this. I am taking this advice with a pinch of salt & hoping it's completely untrue....Nich-Nick can you shed some light?

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-21 10:23:00

So there is! Never noticed that before! Shocking, so yes they must be over charging. Are you going to query yours? Seems very strange that they know they are over charging yet they are still doing it. I wonder if they actually do give refunds or whether it's just there to stop people complaining so they can give a bunch of excuses for the over charging.

Edited by LeedsUK, 21 September 2012 - 10:03 AM.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-21 10:02:00

I called at about 4pm and got right through too. Ive checked my phone bill through and they have charged me about £20.75 and i was only on for 9 minutes! That should only be about £12 including my network charges.

Omg! That's ridiculous! I haven't checked mine yet but I guess my 10 min call when I paid will be about that much then. I also thought it would be about £12...there must be a connection charge too Posted Image

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-21 08:49:00

Just some info on a few things you mentioned. Appointment notification is by letter only. BUT if an interview gets changed to short notice they could email you because of not enough time for the post. Or if you called that the letter didn't arrive, they might email confirmation of the day and time. I've known a handful who didn't get a letter, forgot it, or otherwise showed up with nothing in hand. The guy at the head of the line has a list of appointments for the day and let them in with no letter or email.

Thanks for that Nick. I was under the impression that it was a bit like "No letter?...No entry!"
Thanks for the encouragement Holly & yes nothing to lose! Let me know what they reply back. I am going to phone DOS again tomorrow... Posted Image

If it's any consolation, anyone wanting to phone the embassy direct on the extortion line just to check progress, I phoned bang in the middle of lunchtime & got through to an agent in less than a minute, so it might be worth a few pounds if it puts your mind at rest. He did say that their system is only updated every 48 hours though & that for example, my interview may have been scheduled yesterday but he would not know until tomorrow.

Edited by LeedsUK, 20 September 2012 - 09:24 PM.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-20 21:21:00

Ok, so an email may not necessarily be sitting in my inbox quicker than a letter then! Seems a bit weird when they could just inform us in 3 seconds rather than us waiting for the letter to arrive on our doormat 7 days after we find out from DOS that an interview has been scheduled. My fear is that I will find out my interview date from DOS with very little notice, not receive an email at all & my letter will most definitely not arrive in time! So how the hell am I supposed to attend the interview without any evidence of having an actual appointment? Surely I will get turned away. Hopefully I can call the embassy & say I haven't received an email or letter but I know my interview is on _______!

So just phoned DOS & they said all my paperwork has been processed (On Monday they said it was still processing) & I am eligible for an interview date but one just hasn't been scheduled yet...took all my courage to not just yell at the lady down the phone "BUT WHHHYYY??" lol...also phoned the extortion line to pay for my interview (10 mins!) and received my receipt via email. The guy was really nice & said 4 weeks is the normal wait time (we all know that's rubbish) but he said that as I am past week 3, he was positive that I should get a date in the next 7 days...yes please god! Posted Image

Edited by LeedsUK, 20 September 2012 - 09:12 AM.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-20 09:09:00

Right, but you put your email address in your cover letter when you sent DS-2001 back right? I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure we're all supposed to get an email confirming our appointments before we get the letter. I think a lot of people have printed out the email & taken it to the interview rather than waited for the letter. I think Stu's letter arrived after he got back from London for his interview! lol Posted Image

Great, so basically it's some random person replying? Hope they are correctly checking everyone's info against case numbers & what have you....I have also sent everything back recorded. Have only received one letter so far obviously but I'm prepared to maybe not get a letter at all so I'm not holding my breath & would rather rely on DOS info which I know is risky seen as both myself, Nick & I am sure many others have been given some shockingly misleading info from those lovely visa information agents!

Edited by LeedsUK, 20 September 2012 - 06:56 AM.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-20 06:53:00

You poor thing! I'm sure that won't happen & in the meantime you can email or phone DOS & I assume they have your email logged anyway so you should get one way before you receive a letter anyway.
The posts been pretty good for me lately but I can't speak for the embassy & their use of snail mail...I remember my packet 3 letter didn't arrive until almost a week after DOS said they had sent it, rubbish Posted Image

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-19 16:36:00

Yeah the medical was on the 23rd August. They confirmed that they received that. If I dont have an interview date by next thursday (6 weeks since DS forms were received) then i will email again. Once you have the code you can just click reply and no more calls for codes that they dont want to give out.

Good to know thanks. I am sure you will hear any day, 6 weeks should be more than enough. I will be 4 weeks on Wednesday so I will request an email code then.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-19 15:07:00

It seems the last few days a lot of us who sent our packet 3's off in mid August are getting interview dates so we all need to hang in there! Fyi I sent mine on Aug 28th & got confirmation that it had been logged on Sept 4th. Couldn't tell you why it was so efficient but if anything once it is logged, it's even more frustrating not knowing what they are doing about your interview date!
Holly I am sure you will be soon. Didn't you have your medical on the 23rd Aug? Tasha

Edited by LeedsUK, 19 September 2012 - 02:55 PM.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-19 14:54:00

We were approved!

Congratulations. Sounds like a good day with a fellow VJer to share it with.

Thanks Nick, it really was

I think we will be lifelong friends! I don't know why I was so nervous the weeks building up to it. It really was so easy & I felt like I was having a chat with the officer rather than being interviewed. The staff at every stage were lovely. Even had a chat with the infamous "dragon lady" who takes your initial paper work about hand bags! lol Posted Image

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-10-22 05:08:00

We were approved!

Approved at window 15 by a lovely American guy! Sorry for the late reply & thanks to everyone for the good luck wishes & support throughout this whole process...I have no had time to post on here yet as I spent a few extra days with friends & family saying goodbye. Hoping to leave the first week of next month

Kelly also got approved & we had our interviews at the same time at windows next to each other! It was great to share this experience with another VJer in reality. I think we were both so nervous & so thankful we had each other to chat to during our wait time. Hugged, paid, went for coffee to celebrate & rang our guys to wake them up & tell them good news Posted Image

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-10-21 10:33:00

Hello Guys, has anyone ever heard of excess baggage removals company in the UK. i AM PLANNING ON USING THEM TO MOVE MY items to the US. Any tips/advice would be highly appreciated

I got a really reasonable quote from them & I was advised to use them by a family member who moved to South East Asia for work. However they are based in London so if you live in & around the London area, it makes it much easier. They won't travel outside of London to pack for you but they will charge a courier fee to have empty boxes dropped off & then after you have packed them, they will charge to pick them up. If they packed for me, I would have booked them. They are really helpful on the phone but can't tell you about their overall service I'm afraid. Maybe try googling reviews from other people or searching here on VJ.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-27 10:37:00

I know, it's impossible to estimate how much you have in boxes, unless you set a limit to a certain number and trash what doesn't make it in. It's unbelievable how much stuff you can collect, even in the smallest flat! I had to pack my stuff 3 months ago as I was moving temporarily to London and kept all my stuff in boxes at a friend's, so I know how much I have since then..!!

Oh that was useful then you could figure out the quantity. I have slowly been working through my 4 bedroom house sorting through what I want to take & putting it into a spare room. I am trying to be practical now & only take things I know I will need/use or am terribly fond of & cannot live without. I know I will be home sick so I want to take as much as I can & not rid of my familiarities as it's hard enough having to start scratch. At least having my "stuff" will remind me of home.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-17 08:46:00

I have to admit the shipping part was the most difficult to decide on. All those quotes want to know how many boxes of this size and that. Holy smokes! I don't even know which size luggage I'm taking on a two week trip until I pack. How do you know how many boxes it will take to hold your life? Then you get a reasonable quote but the kicker comes when you find out that doesn't cover insurance. Then the shipping container way to have insurance was all convoluted and as much as the shipping quote. We finally just gave up and picked the company that looked like they prepared their shipments with great care...all jeavily shrink wrapped onto a pallet with tie band "locks" showing they sealed it in England before turning it over. You would know if someone had pilfered through the boxes because the lock would be cut.

God it's like you spoke my mind! I am beginning to think all the quotes I have received now need to go out the window as I have way more than I anticipated! Posted Image

So hard to estimate how many boxes you're going to need...

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-15 09:10:00

I thought the company took care of this for you at the first port that the goods entered? Customs clearance should be included in the quote you were given. As far as I was told, you fill in the forms & give them to the company. I was told it was better to be there before your goods arrived but I know a lot of people have had their family or partner receive the goods for them. As I understood, if your goods were selected for a search, then they would contact you to pay the inspection fee & then they could be transported by road to your destination. Otherwise you shouldn't incur any other charges.

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-12 06:59:00

We used Excess Baggage for table, chairs, wardrobe, large mirror, china, etc. Very happy with their service, which was door to door. We shipped the goods out before the visa approval so had to pay for storage until we could fax them the visa. Our experience was that everything was in good order.

Great, thank you Posted Image

LeedsUK

Female

United Kingdom

2012-09-11 15:00:00