biggish data

Vaccines Question

I want to go ahead and get my family's vaccines updated at our local GP. Because I do not want to mention immigration if at all possible, I don't want to ask them too many questions. I am going to use the angle of a new step-mother wanting to make sure the children are all up to date on their vaccines.

According to the Embassy, both my children and my husband need Tdap and MMR, and my the children need Hepatitis B and MCV/MPSV.

I have home vaccine records for them.

They've never had MCV or Hepatitis B we'll just have to get that.

The children had Polio, Diptheria, Tetanus & Whooping Cough and MMR as young children. Do these need to be re-boostered at any point in their lives?

We are not sure where my husband's records are (he's lived all over) so he may need to get his again again. But I hoping we can track them down.

I know that the Varicella is not available in the UK, do they still need to get it before we adjust status in the US? With their ages, it would make sense to get it as soon as possible when we arrive. "Welcome to the US, here's your chickenpox" would not be cool.

Thanks.

Edited by Hokie97, 30 October 2009 - 07:53 AM.

Hokie97

Female

England

2009-10-30 07:52:00

Transportation to London from Midlands

Thanks. I guess I just assumed regular taxis would be outrageous. I've contacted a few. A regular car to there is about £90, but because there are 4 of us and 6 suitcases plus carry ons we need a van and that's about £130. Still better than the train and dealing with getting from St. Pancras to Heathrow.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-27 05:10:00

Transportation to London from Midlands

I am looking for recommendations of companies to use to drive us from Leicester to Heathrow.

We do not drive, and there are 4 of us, so I'd rather not take the bus or train as we'll have to deal with luggage and transfers and it just seems like a nightmare. I got a slip through the door the other week advertising long distance transport by van to the airport for "from £60". It sounds like it could be a good deal, but since they solicited us and there are numerous spelling mistakes on the ad, I am a hesitant to book with them. I am currently calling around to some local taxi companies, but I thought I would see if anyone else has gone this route. Thanks.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-26 10:11:00

Leaving The UK

Thanks for your reply elmcitymaven.

I printed it out and started to fill it in, but because he's on benefits we don't pay anything, it's paid for him. I didn't know if they'd hunt you down if you didn't fill it out. We will call them to let them know we are moving so the benefits stop, but like you and BT, I'm afraid if we tell them too soon they'll cut off benefits before we move, and that would be bad! They've currently screwed up and we haven't been paid on time the last three pay days.

We get a lot of telemarketers, and we let them go on and on with their spiel. Then we say we are moving, so we aren't interested. Then they offer to be our cable/phone/whatever provider where we move. It's fun to say, well, we're moving to America, can you help us there? They usually hang up. It's sad that it entertains us, but it does.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-05-03 04:58:00

Leaving The UK

There is a P85 form here: http://www.hmrc.gov....ng-the-uk.shtml

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-05-02 15:05:00

Leaving The UK

Hey everyone. We are in the process of booking our tickets to the US for June. Yay! But I want to make sure we do everything right before/during the move.

I know there is a form that my husband is suppose to fill out, but I printed it out and none of it applies to him. He's been on benefits since 2001, so he doesn't pay council tax or income tax or anything because he's been on housing benefit and single parent benefit. Until I got here and how he is on disability benefit. As soon as we book our tickets, he'll be calling all of those departments to inform them, but is there anything else we should be doing?

Also, has anyone had their mail forwarded to the US (or another country for that matter)? It's really expensive, and we don't get much anyway, but I didn't know if the UK Government and the utility people would allow us to have a US address for our last bills?

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-27 05:38:00

Thank you for the very useful and comprehensive info Well, I'll be at home a lot of the time until I can get a job, so of course I'm going to have to keep myself occupied (After I've done the housework, mind...)
The Wii is 230v I think - can't remember off the top of my head. However I remember that it isn't variable. So it sounds like I'll need a converter. I'll start looking into that.

You're welcome. I've learned so much on these boards, I love being able to give back something.

When i go the states i just use a plug adapter to charge my nintendo ds it works fine. I use it for my fone an everythin

Thanks for the info. The back of the DS only says something like amps (can't remember right now) so I wasn't sure, and the manual wasn't terribly helpful.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-05-07 16:03:00

Well... I know that my camera will charge up ok. I'll have to check my Wii but as far I know it will be fine. Hey, I've got my Sega Genesis in the loft, and my N64... and my Gamecube console. (The GC games are coming with me as they are forwards compatible with the Wii.)
Hmm. I will have to double check. If it works, I won't be able to play US games on it, but I've got a lot of games for my GC/Wii, so to me it's worth it.
230v~50hz, says on the power pack. I guess I'll need to get an adapter for it.

There are power plug adapters, which are under $10 and they just allow you to plug one type of plug into the other. That's what I use for my US laptop here in England. It was a multi switch so we also used it in Sweden for my husband's UK cell phone. You can use a plug adapter if the voltage is 110-230. We'll use it for the UK laptop when we move back to the US.

If the voltage is just 230, then you need a step down converter (converts 240 to 110). Those can be quite expensive. I learned a lot from this website: http://www.voltageconverters.com/ I emailed them about the converter, and they explained that all I needed was a plug adapter because of the variable voltage. I did not end up buying from them because it was $3.xx and shipping was $8, but the same thing was at Walmart for $8. If your game says 230v on the back, I think you'll need a converter. You're likely to get your money's worth out of the converter, because you'll probably play more than my son. My son has a nintendo ds-lite, and he says he only needs a plug adapter, but I haven't been able to corroborate that in the manual. I guess we'll see when the fuse blows (or the ds). But either way, we are not buying a $60 converter for it.

For going the other way, there are step up converters that change 110 to 240.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-05-07 13:48:00

Hey Matt, I didn't get an alert that anyone had replied to this thread. As far as x-rays, that's x-ray plates, not x-rays. Once x-ray film has been developed radiation won't affect it. It's undeveloped film that will be affected.

With your electronics, will they even work in the US? My son is having to leave behind his playstation2 (we're in the dark ages) because it doesn't have variable current. I won't spend $60 on a step up converter for a game that old. According to the manual for his Nintendo DS lite we can just get a $5-10 plug adapter. That's what I use for my laptop, because it's variable power 110-240v.

It's not trivial to want to take some things with you. When I came to England last year I only brought my suitcases with clothes, a photo album and my laptop. It was really hard here initially, living in someone else's home (my husband's). I felt like a guest because the kids did their thing and spread all over the house, my husband had his desk all set up, and I didn't have a place of my own. The kid's computer was in his/our bedroom (it was his tv at night), but after about a month I asked him to move it into one of their rooms because I did not have a place to call my own (tiny house!). Whoever wasn't on the computer in our room was on the couch in the living room, so there was no where for me to go when I just needed some quiet time. It's hard, even though you'll be so happy to be together. But it is worth it.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-27 05:23:00

That's quite a turn around... going back the other way. How were you with raising your kids here by the way? Fiance's said to me if we ever have kids, they're being raised here in the UK. (I disagreed because I hate our system... but she knows best )

Mm. It's surprising what you find and realise what you can live without. Well I've got a few spares... I don't know how I'd get them to you, mind. Is there anyone you know that might be able to get hold of some for you?

Our original plan was to stay here about four years, I'd get British citizenship, all that. But then we had an offer in the US that we could not refuse. My kids are my step kids (husband is a widower) and they are 12 and 14, so I can't really give an insight into raising kids here. Other than to say that I do regret that if we have kids I won't have the social groups that they have for parents here. England seems like a nice place to have small children. But as far as education, I can't wait to get the kids to the US. I know part of it that I just don't understand the system here, and I've had my husband, the kids, and their teachers try to explain it to me. I don't know how kids learn with no homework and tests where the grades don't matter.

I parted with a lot of things before moving here, but kept the basics that I could store at my parent's house for the eventual move back. Wish I'd kept more now, but we've got enough to furnish our place. My husband has come a long way in his ability to part with things, I am so proud of him. What I am most amazed by is the kids. At first they didn't want to leave anything, but after talking with them and explaining (what it's taken me years to understand) that memories aren't things. We told them, if you want to keep this the rest of your life (or at least until you live on your own), we'll take it with us. But if you're never going to read that book again, or wear that favorite shirt, if you're not going to display that trinket, how much do you really love it? Love it, use it, wear it were our mottos. If it's going to sit in a box for years, leave it. It really worked for us.

The company I contacted today has a special with boxes, you have to buy them, but then they take the price off in the end. I know we'll get a hold of enough, it's just the not being able to drive up to a store and take them away. You really take that for granted when you don't have to worry about it.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-08 16:17:00

I tried 1st Move and put an email across to them, however they indicated that they'd need to consult their agents in Seattle, and haven't got back tome since. (Some 3 days ago.)

I'm actually considering taking with me exactly what I'll want/need first of all, then having everything else shipped out later on. Even if it's a single box or I cram it all into my two suitcases.

Thanks for letting me know how they were with you. I had thought we'd go with Upackweship, but then I contacted Pickfords and their estimate with them packing was within £200 of the pack it ourselves place. I moved here a year ago and just brought two suitcases with me. Now we're moving my husband and two children to the US. We've gotten rid of almost everything, are only taking a desk and boxes with us. In fact, if it wasn't for the desk, I'd probably go with a DHL's cheaper alternative, I forget the name right now.

The most frustrating part for me (right now) is getting boxes. A year without a car and that is my biggest frustration with not having a car, go figure! We don't have anyone here in England that could keep our stuff for us, so we've got to send it before we leave. We've still got about 8 weeks, so I'm hopeful. I'm really impressed with what we've already tossed and packed up.

Edited by Hokie97, 08 April 2010 - 03:08 PM.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-08 15:07:00

We used 1st Move International because we were impressed with how they put everything on a pallet and super wrapped it. And they band & tag it when it's packed so you know it can't be pilfered through without you knowing. See the sequence of pictures across This link. We picked up our own things since we live near the port of Houston, so got to see our actual pallet. It looked just like the last picture and was still sealed with the band they put on it so we know nothing was opened enroute. A guy brought it out on a forklift and loaded it in the pick-up truck. Then because it was so tall, they helped cut it open and stack the boxes in a more reasonable way in the truck. Everything arrived in perfect condition, but we packed carefully and used a lot of bubble wrap on anything fragile. Do fill your boxes so things can't jostle around in free space. If a box seems too heavy full of CDs or books, then half fill it and stuff some t-shirts or jeans to fill up the empty space.

Here's a link to a document that explains alot about moving your household goods to the US written by the Customs and Border Protection. It is a 35 page word document and is where I learned a lot of information http://www.cbp.gov/l....ctt/moving.doc

I hadn't run across their name before, but I like them! The video on the website about how they pack and palletize explained a lot about how this stuff fits on the boat and how it doesn't get mixed up with other people's things. I requested a quote. Did you take advantage of the rebate on the boxes you can order from their "prefered partner?" We don't have a car, so getting a hold of boxes has been a challenge.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-08 13:30:00

Im not sure how far it is, but my plan is to jump on the tube at kingcross station and get off at oxford circus and walk from there.. its probably a 15 min journey on the tube and about the same walking to the embassy from oxford circus.. i dont know the exact time.. google says walking time is 40mins..

You could change at oxford circus and get the tube to bond street which is about the closest tube station but its hardly worth bothering in my opinion..

We got took the circle line from kings cross to baker street then took something to bond street. It was a right pain!

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-29 15:24:00

We stayed at the Travelodge Kings Cross two weeks ago. It is nothing special, old and a little decrepit. However, it was clean! And the bed was comfortable enough. It was about a 5 minute walk, and that was mostly waiting to cross the roads. It took us longer than I thought it would to get to the Embassy, though. We left the hotel at 7:15 hoping to get to the embassy at 8 (we had to go to the pharmacy to drop off a phone and camera). We ended up getting in line at 8:20 for our 9 o'clock appointment. It's easily worth £50. I think our two nights were £69 and £85. We were quite limited in our choices though, because we have two teenagers and there do not seem to be a lot of family friendly hotels in our budget, and we could not afford to swing two rooms.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-29 15:12:00

That's wonderful news Amy & Michael. You've got an extremely busy summer coming up!

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-26 02:12:00

Ah that clears it up thanks!

Im also assuming im going to have to fork out for the new visa fee ($350) rather than the old price, even through we started before they changed it? Oh, and can I take a book in with me to read while I wait.. they didn't mention it on the website lol

Thanks again

Congrats MJM!

I'm not sure about your price I had to pay $400x3 for a CR1 and two CR2s. It was painful to sign that credit card slip!

The website says no backpacks, but there were people there with them. I took a large purse type thing for my documents and snacks, my daughter took a fairly large purse. We all took books and sandwiches and snacks. I've heard that if you take drink in they ask you to drink some in the security booth before they let you in. We didn't want to be dealing with that (times the 4 of us), plus the extra weight on the underground, so I bought us all drinks in there. A bottle of water is £1. They have canned sodas for .80p I think. I've seen worse prices. They also have crisps and premade/prepackaged sandwiches.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-23 13:37:00

Just received packet 4 / appointment date letter through the post and I was intending on taking my mum/stepdad (who's a U.S citizen) to the interview with me to keep me company, however on the letter it states - " if you need to bring a carer, translator or U.S Citizen spouse/fiance(e) to assist you during your time at the embassy, please send us their full names as soon as possible so that we may arrange their access to the embassy."

So does this apply to anyone I bring with me to the embassy, or just thoes that are involved with the visa application?

Thanks!

Anyone. That being said, I had written on the ds2001 (all three of them) that I was going to be there and had written it in the email when I changed my date. My name wasn't on either of our sets of appointment letters. Supposedly there is a list that anyone not being interviewed has to have their name on to get in. The people at the first check station verified my identity and wrote my name on one of the three letters to get me in. They didn't seem bothered, and they did not consult any list. They will both need to have their US passports with them.

This is my first time posting to this thread...but you can add us to the June interviews! June 8

Welcome. June 8th is the date we're probably moving. If I get on the ball and book our tickets!

Edited by Hokie97, 23 April 2010 - 01:21 PM.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-23 13:22:00

Ok, visa arrived today after sending back extra docs. DONE!
Total time from start to finish: 8 months 20 days.

SunDrop you can update your timeline now too if you wish

Thanks to everyone on this forum for their support throughout this process.

Excellent!

Mine arrived this morning

Exciting for both of you. It's such a relief to be told yes, but having it in your hand is soooo much better!

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-23 09:19:00

Hi folks,

It's been 5 weeks since i sent away my packet with all the forms.. and i can honestly say the waiting is really wearing thin now.. i mean i dont even know if they got the package, in this day and age is it too much to ask for a simple acknowledgement, i dont think so.

I don't have experience with calling to check the status, but I am wondering how you shipped it? This is my timeline regarding getting an interview letter:

When I mailed mine I sent it next day and had confirmation that it was signed for. It was exactly 4 weeks after that that we got a letter saying I'd missed a form (there were three applications I was sending in - I was so mad at myself!). I had that delivered to the embassy two days later and it was another 4 weeks until I got an interview date - 8 weeks later. I called and got the email and moved my interview date up to 4 weeks away instead of 8.

4 weeks seemed to be the average when I was looking at other people's timelines, but of course that can change from month to month. I mailed it next day and it took 4. If you sent it regular mail, you could easily add a few days to a week on to the delivery, upping the 4 weeks to 5.

I hope that you hear something soon.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-23 01:08:00

Just checked the DX website and our passports are due to be delivered tomorrow

Hokie you are sooo organised.

Yay for you!

I've always been fairly organized, but this process has made me more so. The visa stuff as well as going from single to running a house of four. I'm just so afraid of screwing something up or forgetting to do something.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-22 15:33:00

I'm finding this waiting part really hard.

I understand. {hugs} I am not a good "waiter" in the best situations - the doctor's office, the post office, anywhere! - but this constant waiting for the next step is killer. I was just looking back on our timeline, and we mailed our first document Nov 6th I think. It's been waiting since then. And even now, there is the waiting until we move, because our lives are in limbo. And even when we finally do move, then there is still in the back of my mind that we need to remember the AOS in 22 months ($$$), and hopefully naturalization in 36 months ($$$). And then their UK passports need renewing in 5 years ($$$), and by then hopefully they'll be US citizens, so those passports will need to be renewed ($$). I have lists and timelines and reminders in the computer. It never ends, the waiting and the expense.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-22 03:03:00

Hokie, have you received yours now?

Yes, they delivered mid morning today.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-21 16:14:00

So sorry about that Rito. Hopefully it'll be the first thing on their to do list tomorrow.

ohlpomr - That sucks. Did they have instructions for getting it redelivered?

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-21 15:14:00

So you mean that if you never had any MMR done as a child, and only have the one jab as an adult, they'll ask you to do an immunity test? I'll have to ask when I call tomorrow to book ours.

My husband went in with no history at all and they gave him one there and that is all that he needs to meet his requirements. He assumes he had one (or two) as a child, but obviously doesn't know. I think the immunity test is just if you would rather not get an extra vaccine that you don't "need" to protect you. If you don't mind, they'll give you one and that should be all you need.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-20 13:08:00

Welcome W+M!

We just got a text that the courier will be delivering tomorrow between 8 and 6. Yay!

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-20 12:51:00

But other than that it was okay. The staff were really nice and I was out within 40 minutes. I had an appointment at 3.30 and there were only 2 other people there when I arrived and no one when I left so that may be the last appointment of the day. If you don't want to wait around I'd say the later you can get your appointment the better. The surgery was really easy to find - their map is good and it's easy enough to get around on the tube.

Lucky you! Our appointment was at 1:10 and we were there for over three hours

Which one did you go to? We found it very difficult to find the Bentick Mansions one based on their map.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-20 08:25:00

Congratulations Vanessa! I just read your review. It's good you could go out and get the extra $$ you needed without having to wait again.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-19 11:34:00

Congratulations Hokie97! That's great news, I was thinking about you yesterday, and eagerly checked in this afternoon to see if there was any news from you or londonhornet. Thanks for the thorough review-- I'm happy that everything went smoothly. Will you please post it over in the UK DCF Thread, to help some of the other London DCFers? Also, would you mind updating your timeline again when you actually get the passports back in hand, as that's very helpful information for those of us who want to move ASAP after the interview.

Yay! Have a great weekend!!!

Thanks. I feel this huge weight off my shoulders right now. Now I can focus on all the other stuff we have to get done prior to the move.

I just posted it over on the other thread. Thanks for reminding me. I will update again when I get the passports back. They said we should expect them in less than a week.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-17 09:26:00

Thanks Y&E. Congrats on finishing your website.

I just posted my review on my timeline: http://www.visajourn...le.php?id=70063

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-17 08:18:00

We just got back from our trip to London. We were approved and now all we've got to do is pick a moving day (and a shipping company, and get rid of the rest of our stuff, lol). Will be back later with a full write up. You all were right, when it's over I really did go "that's it?" As we walked away from the window both kids said "now what?" and we told them, we're done, we just have to move

Thanks so much to everyone here. What a weight off my shoulders!

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-17 06:35:00

Tomorrow night we leave for London for our interviews Friday morning. My nerves are getting the best of me, even though I know that we haven't done anything wrong or left out anything. This whole process is so frustrating, and I'm up to my ears in boxes.. walking around them, tripping over them, knocking them over. I know it's best to have everything packed and ready (so I can get a good estimate of size for shipping companies), but living another 60+ days like this is going to drive me nuts (as if I wasn't nuts already!).

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-14 15:21:00

Sorry guys, just a quick question that doesn't really require its own thread. I called/emailed the embassy on the 6th and I was just wondering how long they usually take to reply to emails?

Thanks, Tom.

I emailed on a Tuesday early afternoon and got a reply that Friday. Hope you hear something soon.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-08 05:02:00

Congratulations musikgal06! I'm glad that everything went well with him today. That's an early morning call I'm sure you didn't mind

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-07 12:54:00

My husband had his medical in January and he had to get more information to send to Knightsbridge because he had an abnormal ecg prior to a surgery in Feb 2009 and he had high blood pressure the day of the medical. He had to make an appointment with his GP, go to the hospital for a new ecg and then go back to his GP three times for recheck blood pressures. When everything was normal, his GP photocopied the ecg and wrote on there "all normal, no follow up needed" and he just wrote the 4 blood pressure checks at the bottom of the Knightsbridge form requesting the information. We zeroxed them and mailed them off. I called three days later to make sure that was all they needed (since none of it was formally written up) and they said they'd received it the day before and already sent it to the Embassy.

Unless they find something (like the blood pressure the day of) it all depends on what you tell them about your history. I would never suggest not telling the truth, but if there is something that you will tell them, you can always go ahead and have something from your GP that says you're well managed or do not need treatment. If there had been a problem with my husband's ecg or blood pressure, then all we would have needed was a treatment plan. It wouldn't have kept him out of the US, they just want to know a plan is in place for treatment, etc.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-07 09:54:00

Thank you so much Hellojulie for that detailed report!

It's good to know that we should wait until they ask for things and don't shove them all at them. I know I'm going to be so nervous, even though there should not bee a problem with our application. Other than asking about your clients, did they ask any other questions? About your relationship or intentions when you get there?

This is was helpful. Thanks again! And congratulations again

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-06 18:55:00

Approved for IR-1 visa. Will write up a full report for people of they'd like.

FYI - for those asking about kids, they just let us in, no questions asked.

We got there at 8 for 9:30 appt. Were out in 2.5 hours.

We did not buy any food but we did buy drinks. 2.80 for 2 waters and a fanta. Not insane really. They also had sandwiches, fruit, crsips ect and ice cream!

Congratulations!

Thanks for the details about kids and food. I am encouraged by the short in and out time frames people had today. Hope that's the case when we go. Would love to hear a full review if you have time to do it.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-06 10:13:00

We passed the interview! Still need to wait for the medical stuff to clear and get sent to the embassy, but other than that we should be ok.

Incidentally, the courier does NOT accept cash - only cards. This is contrary to the official information they send. My fiance had to give someone cash and have them use their card.

Congratulations! And thanks for the heads up about the courier.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-06 07:55:00

As if 8 months, RFEs, thousands of dollars, and dealing with HER wasn't enough proof that we are intending to go the US...

I'm so sorry! This whole proving you intend to move the US thing has confused me from the beginning. Why would ANYONE spend all the time and money to go through this process and then NOT move?! The entry clearance is only good for 6 months, so it's not like you can go ahead and get one and then decide. That's a pretty short window for uprooting your entire life.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-06 05:19:00

Thanks FrostyMist. I had heard that you could purchase food inside, but wanted to avoid that if possible. Sometimes it feels like saving a few bucks on the process isn't worth it, but I still hate to just give my money away.

Hokie97

Female

England

2010-04-05 18:13:00