ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
United KingdomPacket 3 back in the post
Pleasantly Persistant is the way to be!! :)
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-04 13:57:00
United KingdomVery nervous!! medical and interview in nest 2 days
Good luck! Let us know how you get on!! :)
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-05 18:26:00
United KingdomWhy did you choose the US?
There is a really interesting discussion going on in the Canadian Forum about why and how couples decided to move to the US. I think the same kind of applies to UK/US couples. Although different, and the UK is not as similar to the US as Canada, what were the reasons for picking one over the other?

For me, the USC, I lived in the UK for 6 years mostly as a student. Even graduating with a MSc, I found it difficult to get well paying work. I applied for a couple of jobs back in the US and just decided to see what would happen. I had 2 job offers in 2 days and made twice the money in the UK. We decided it would be best for me to take it and Conrad would follow shortly after he had sorted himself out. But I wouldn't mind working back in the UK or elsewhere (assuming the money was right).

What was the thought process for everyone else?
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-01 20:51:00
United KingdomFavourite English word or phrase (or Irish or Scottish ....
How could I forget Skint! as in broke/no money. I used it during 3 weeks of every month when I lived over there :D

Edited by Converse34, 07 June 2007 - 01:19 PM.

Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-07 13:18:00
United KingdomFavourite English word or phrase (or Irish or Scottish ....
Some of my favs are

Mozzie - for mosquito
It makes no odds - Doesn't matter
Our Kid - Brother, I believe a northern/Manchester thing

And I do actually like minging. Her house was absolutely minging. I laugh everytime I hear the word.
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-05 20:30:00
United KingdomFavourite English word or phrase (or Irish or Scottish ....
When I lived in the UK, I was TOLD that my accent changed quite a bit (see there it is still) BUT I worked in a call center, so when you speak to people all day long, you have to change the way you phrase things, or they simply won't understand you. Also, I only spoke to my mother about once a week, other than that, I had no American interaction.

So my friends back home said I def had an accent, while people in the UK say said I was still American as Apple Pie.

However, now that I have moved back - I am as NJ as ever (even though living in Chicago!). Though I still speak "English" to Conrad - I wonder if his accent/the way he phrases things will change when he moves over.

And I TOTALLY agree with the thing about Americans who have been over here for a short period of time and come back with atrocious fake British accents. I've been here over a third of my life and I still speak with a fine, broad Connecticut accent, even if my vocab is a bit odd at times and my intonation has changed. I haven't consciously tried to keep it or lose it -- it is what it is.

Don't even get me started on Madge -- does anyone remember when she got laughed offstage when she announced the nominees for the Turner Prize in 2001? Priceless.


Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-05 20:21:00
United KingdomWe have to fly to Texas
When was the last time you travelled abroad? Do you know what flight you would take? Do you think flying in Business or First Class would help the situation? They have very tempting ways of distracting you!!
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-08 21:49:00
United KingdomTravel querry
They will certainly put him on the next flight FOC (free of charge). However, I would remind everyone that this is the summer season. Thunderstorms and full flights make it difficult. They could book him on the next flight, which may not be available until the next day. In which case he would be on standby behind every other elite member and higher paid booking class.

I sat on the runway for 4 hours last night at O'Hare trying to get to Newark. The flight finally canceled and there was nothing available until 4pm the next day. I have since missed my business meeting in New York and picked up the rest of my trip to San Fransico. I couldn't get out and I have all the inside connections, so please be careful with the tight connections everyone!


Hmm... I'd say go for it, so long as he has some way of getting there if he does end up missing his connecting flight!


If he missed the connection because the flight out of MAN was delayed the airline will put him on their next available flight out of JFK to Detroit. Even if he got stuck at immigration on a full service airline and an international ticket it would be very harsh if the airline didn't just re book him at no cost.


Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-13 19:37:00
United KingdomIf anyone remembers my 'stay or go?' dilemma...
Wow. That is very smart. Taking unpaid leave or a leave of absence is always the best option where ever possible.
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-13 19:32:00
United KingdomFear of flying, take two
Have you tried telling the crew once you board? I know you had an extensive list in the previous thread, not sure if that was on it.

I travel all the time and once or twice a year, I sit next to someone who is nervous. Although not an expert, I do work for an airline and often explain what each noise is during take off and landing. People are usually nervous because they are not sure if the noise is normal or not. One airline I used to work for would sometimes try and have a crew member sit with the nervous passenger during take off and landing and explain what each noise was during the flight. It often helps.





So what exactlly do you not like about flying? Is it the entire flight or just certain points?



I loathe the takeoff. Hate it hate it hate it. To me it's so violent and scary. I don't like all the unexplained engine noises; I know that if the sounds increase or decrease during the cruise it means that we're probably changing altitude but nobody tells me anything so I get nervous. I do not like it when the airplane banks, particularly when we're descending and are going slow. I'm always afraid the plane is going to roll over but having flown one myself I know that it takes a hell of a lot of muscle to bank an aircraft; you can't accidentally flip it over and commercial jets are built to resist being rolled anyway. The actual bank angle is not nearly as severe as what it appears to be when you look down at the ground during a bank; it's between 20 and 30 degrees usually, but it feels like the aircraft is at a 90 degree angle.

I don't like landings either because of all the noise and the constant tweaking of engine speed and control surfaces; I find it quite lurchy when they have to open the throttles to maintain lift and it makes me feel like something's wrong.

I'm hyperaware when I'm flying and every sound, sensation, or smell makes me think that something has gone terribly wrong. I once disrupted a Delta flight by ringing the call button in panic to report a burning smell. What had happened is one of the stews left something in a galley oven for too long and burned it, but to me it seemed like the insulation in the plane's wiring was melting off and there was going to be a short and it would spark the vapors in the fuel tanks and it would explode and we'd all die. I wouldn't calm down until the FA actually showed me the item she had accidentally burned and I put it to my nose to smell it to confirm that that was the smell I had noticed. I think they hated me.


Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-09 21:06:00
United KingdomFear of flying, take two
So what exactlly do you not like about flying? Is it the entire flight or just certain points?
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-09 20:53:00
United KingdomMedical done
When is your wedding date?

I've been waiting almost 4 weeks for packet 4 and had my medical on 4th June. My wedding date is gonna come and go if they don't hurry up.


Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-09 18:59:00
United KingdomPolice Certificates
Conrad just did his today. He was fluffing around with it for a couple of weeks and we had a few road blocks. He took it to his doctor to sign only to be told a few days later when he went to collect that this doctor didn't know him and his old doctor was no longer in practice. So he managed to get a solictor he knew to sign - but it took him all day to track him down. Then our local police station was supposed to be open until 8pm, but was closed at 4pm! He finally got it in today after waiting over an hour to hand it in... I wish we would done it much sooner, oh well!!
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-05 18:23:00
United KingdomHelp with Resume
The main points are to make sure you dont include too much personal information. Do NOT include Nationality, age, martial status, etc. Did you go to university? If you did, you really don't need to put any other education than that - anything before is a given.

Let me know if you are interested and I will send you mine. I am USC but did both my undergrate and masters in the UK and now live back in the US, so I tried to make sure I "converted" it correctly.
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-24 17:33:00
United KingdomI am...
I think dual nationality is fantastic, especially for children. Allowing them to feel at home in both countries is truely an unique experience.

As far as saying where in the UK you are from - most Americans only know "London". My fiance has grinned and bared it for many years when all of my relatives would gush and ask him London was, eventhough we often told them we lived in Manchester. After the first few hundred times, we just gave up and stopped correcting them.

Anyone who calls themselves "Anglo-American" should come over to my place and I'll give them a dead arm for the privilege. ;)


What should someone who is both English and American call themselves then?

My husband has an English mother and American father. He went to both British and American schools, an American university, a British post-grad university, and since then he's divided his time between the UK and US.

So what is he?

(Just to confuse things he was born in Brazil :huh: )

I was born in a British forces hospital in Malta, grew up in British forces accommodation in England, Scotland, Malta and Germany, then finally my parents settled in England.

My mum is Scottish and my dad is English.

I'm British. I'm going to apply for US citizenship as soon as I can, but I think I will always just be British.


Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-03 19:50:00
United KingdomThis is the waiting for packet 4 thread.
Have fun!!
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-07-06 17:35:00
United KingdomThis is the waiting for packet 4 thread.
I always worried with the whole change of address thing. I work with data systems and know these things don't always talk to each. Just because you change the address in one place, doesn't mean it will change everywhere. We are in the process of selling our house in the UK so I had Conrad put down his mum's address from the beginning, incase we ended up selling it before we finished the whole process.
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-27 21:04:00
United KingdomThis is the waiting for packet 4 thread.

Just want to say I am hoping those of you waiting will hear something soon. I remember what it was like to be frustrated with the wait - I just had to keep telling myself our case was processing normally. With the help of my friends to remind me of that, we made it through.


Maybe they are counting that a lot of their workers will be on holiday in august and they have slowed down the volume of appointments so they are no overwhelmed.
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-26 18:27:00
United KingdomUK to US Visa Free, IS marriage allowed

Oh, btw...I'd suggest searching for decent VOIP phone service. My Brit boy has Vonage in the UK and it has been a Godsend. I think it's like 15 quid a month and it's free for him to call me...and for like 3 quid, he has a virtual number which is in my area code, so I can call him for free too. It's also great cos when I'm out and only have my cellphone, I can call him and it only costs me my plan minutes. But I just ring and say 'call me back' cos my incoming mins are free, lol. It also has free call forwarding and you can access the control panel online. So if I know he's out, I get online, fwd to wherever he is, then call him.

I really do wish you the best of luck.


I second this. I also have vonage and it is fantastic. Calling UK landlines for free for $25 a month - who can beat that??
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-07-08 14:14:00
United KingdomUK to US Visa Free, IS marriage allowed

So...you think that the US isn't free because you can't just come in with no visa, get married, and stay? You DO realize that it works the same way in the UK, right? US immigration law allows for more wiggle room and exceptions than UK immigration law, you know. Quicker does NOT equal better. If you enter the UK on a tourist visa you can't get married...PERIOD.


I agree with the direction of your post, but this part isn't necessarily true. I got married in the UK on a tourist visit. Came back to the US and then got my leave to enter.

BTW, I don't understand why everyone gets upset when people offer their opinion - not just in this thread, but in general. This IS a forum site and people are here to give their views - simple as.



Strange, because:

From 5 December 2005, if you are subject to immigration control and you want to marry or register a civil partnership in the United Kingdom (UK) you will need to follow the procedures below. You must either:

* hold a fiancé(e) or visitor - marriage / civil partnership entry clearance (visa), or
* hold a Home Office certificate of approval*, or
* be settled in the UK (e.g. indefinite leave to remain)

You must also give notice to marry / register a civil partnership to a registrar at one of a number of designated register offices throughout the UK. Below is a brief summary of the rules. This page explains how they apply to you and what you must do.


When I got married in 2001, I was asked for my fiance visa.

http://www.ukvisas.g...d=1106654124706


It must have changed then - I got married back in 1997 in Gretna Green (not sure if laws in Scotland are different). I was extremely naive, I was 17 and didn't even look into anything visa wise until after I was married.
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-07-06 17:17:00
United KingdomUK to US Visa Free, IS marriage allowed

So...you think that the US isn't free because you can't just come in with no visa, get married, and stay? You DO realize that it works the same way in the UK, right? US immigration law allows for more wiggle room and exceptions than UK immigration law, you know. Quicker does NOT equal better. If you enter the UK on a tourist visa you can't get married...PERIOD.


I agree with the direction of your post, but this part isn't necessarily true. I got married in the UK on a tourist visit. Came back to the US and then got my leave to enter.

BTW, I don't understand why everyone gets upset when people offer their opinion - not just in this thread, but in general. This IS a forum site and people are here to give their views - simple as.

Edited by Converse34, 06 July 2007 - 03:36 PM.

Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-07-06 15:32:00
United Kingdommarried
Congratulations!! Wishing you the best.
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-07-08 14:07:00
United KingdomHELP ... AGAIN
Give them the scotland yard one. Two is confusing and drawing unnecessary attention to yourself. Always be honest of course, but you dont need to wear information on your sleave either. IMHO of course.

Edited by Converse34, 28 June 2007 - 07:07 AM.

Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-06-28 07:05:00
United KingdomPolice Record
Ours took about 33 days I believe. This includes weekends.
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-07-11 18:50:00
United KingdomPolice Record
Execellent! Thank you both. I suppose when you are sitting around waiting, you find things to worry about. LOL
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-07-11 05:55:00
United KingdomPolice Record
What exactly do the police certs say? Conrad got his today and it just says "we have no record of you in our database". That is good right? No criminal record? I just want to make sure they are saying they can't find him BECAUSE he has no record, not because they don't think he exists!
Converse34FemaleUnited Kingdom2007-07-10 12:54:00