ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
United KingdomUS Driver's licenses & buying a car

I am not sure if this is the right area of the forum in which to post this question so forgive me if I have got it wrong and feel free to move my post.

 

I am a UK national and my husband is a dual UK/US national but we both only have UK driver's licenses.  We are going to be relocating to Pennsylvania.  My husband will be moving in the next 6-8 weeks (depending on when his job contract comes through) to start work, find us a place to live and furniture etc.  We have four kids so the children and I cannot move out until we at least have the basics or it would be too tough on the kids.

 

One of the first things, therefore, my husband has to do is get a car.  Is it correct that he will need a US driver's license to purchase a car and insure it?  (Even if paying cash and / or buying from a private seller).

 

We have been trying to make contact with the PA DMV but we cannot submit their eform because it requires a US driver's license # and a VIN # for a US car - which we obviously don't have!  And when I tried to get family to submit it on our behalf it would not work either because they have out of state licenses (we don't know anyone in PA).  That is why I have resorted to posting this query here.

 

My husband read somewhere that in order to pass the practical bit of the driving test he would need to have his own car.  But how can he have his own car when he doesn't have a US license?  That seems to be a Catch 22.  What is the way around it?

 

Can my husband rent a car using his UK license even though he will be a permanent resident at that point rather that a tourist?  If so I suppose he could use a rental car to do the test.  Would that be allowed?

 

Does anyone know how long you can drive on a UK license in PA?  When we thought we were moving to MD, I got in touch with the MD DMV and they told me I had just 30 days to pass.  But it seems that to even be able to sit the test in PA you need to have two proofs of address and it is highly unlikely you would get a utility bill within 30 days.  I know non-residents can drive on their foreign licenses for up to a year but can that apply to immigrants too?

 

This probably seems like a trivial topic but to us it is pretty critical because the whole car thing causing a further delay is going to mean that my kids are apart from their Dad over Christmas which is going to be really upsetting for them.

 

Thanks in advance for any response to my questions.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-07-05 04:52:00
United KingdomTransferring money from UK to USA - recommend transferwise.com

We are just now researching our money transfer options so thank you very much for these recommendations.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-08-30 05:08:00
United KingdomShort-term health insurance for USC returning to US from UK?

Thanks for your help, everyone.  

 

Just for future reference for other VJers in similar circumstances, my husband found a company called MPI who were happy to insure him on a travel insurance type basis for the couple of weeks that he is not going to be covered by employment insurance.  They were happy to use our UK address (which is now my in-laws' address) even though he will be resident in the UK.  They knew all the circumstances and this was how the company themselves problem-solved it.  Hopefully he won't need it, of course.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-09-01 16:01:00
United KingdomShort-term health insurance for USC returning to US from UK?

No, he won't risk it.  I was once hospitalised in the US just for a night but we were very relieved we had taken out good travel insurance to pay the bill because it was so expensive.  It is not worth the financial risk to go without insurance because of murphy's law.

 

I am pretty sure the address has to be a domestic one.  It's all such a bureaucratic pain in the rump.  I wonder if he can just talk to them again and convince them to let him use the address of the temporary accommodation (which is a long-stay motel room) since I cannot see another way around it.

 

Thanks for your replies.

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-08-30 05:02:00
United KingdomShort-term health insurance for USC returning to US from UK?

What is he doing about his mail, use that address.

 

His mail goes to our friend's address (the one who co-sponsored me) but he is in a different state.  Do you think that would be OK for short term insurance then?  I just know how nit-picky insurance companies are here so I want to be sure we don't make any insurance void by not doing everything tickety-boo.

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-08-29 13:22:00
United KingdomShort-term health insurance for USC returning to US from UK?

USe the address he will be at or family address in US.

 

That's the problem though, Boiler.  He does not have a permanent address.  He is basically going to be staying in a long-stay motel room for a few weeks before he finds a place for us to rent.  Do you know of a company that would accept a temporary address for insurance purposes?  We could use a family member or friend's address but my husband will not be living even in the same state as any of those people let alone at the same address.  Would that fly with an insurance company?

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-08-28 11:15:00
United KingdomShort-term health insurance for USC returning to US from UK?

Hi VJers

 

First off, I apologise if I am posting this in the wrong section of the forum.  I mostly hang out on the DCF section so am a bit clueless with what should go elsewhere on the site.  Feel free to move the post if I got it wrong.

 

My husband (the USC) is returning to the US on 16 September but his work health insurance will not click in until 1 October (as it begins with a new month).  By the time the kids and I are in a position to join him, we too will be covered by his work insurance so that is not an issue for us as a family.  However, is there a short term health insurance policy he can obtain from the UK that will be available for him in the US when he arrives but which does not require him to have a permanent US address at the point of taking the insurance out (as he is going into temporary accommodation until he can find us a place to rent).  Googling has only helped him find short term insurance policies for people who are already resident in the US and who have, therefore, a fixed address.

 

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.  We appreciate any help given.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-08-28 08:43:00
United KingdomPlease help! So Frustrated trying to find UK moving company!

We had quotes from Pickfords and two companies from central Scotland.  We were moving from the Scottish HIghlands so not every company was willing to travel out to handle our shipping which is why we were limited to three.  In the end we went for one of the non-chain companies as their prices were considerably lower than that of Pickfords.  So my advice is to google and see if you can find some companies operating from your vicinity as it might be a more affordable option than going with a big name.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-09-29 04:45:00
United KingdomACRO Police Check Waiting Times

I used the standard service and had mine back within a week.  I was a "no trace" and had only lived in Scotland and England so maybe that sped it up a bit.  Who knows.  But it was one of the quickest elements of the whole immigration process for me.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-11-07 15:26:00
United KingdomWhen we finally get our visa how do I move money over to the US

We looked at the exchange rates and costs of lots of money transfer companies and in the end the best deal at that time was xe.com so that was who we used to move all of our money from our UK to US bank accounts.  The taxation is a whole other issue to look into.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-11-19 15:07:00
United KingdomPOE

Customs declaration as per usual and then the Immigration packet handed to the immigration officer.  That's it.  One thing to note is that you cannot do self-service check in if you are travelling on a visa.  We had to do it the long way.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-11-19 15:09:00
United KingdomQuestion For Those Who Passed London

My husband had an email telling him he was able to attend with the kids and me (I felt I needed a bit of child wrangling help) but when we got to the street desk in London they had no record of his name on the list and, of course, we could not show them the confirmation email since he had not brought his mobile phone with him.  So he had to wait out on the street while our four kids and I went in.  Once I was at the first desk inside, I asked if my husband could be permitted to come in and help me with the kids (who were getting antsy after an early start and a long and boring wait in the room).  The bloke said he would phone down to the street and say Chris could come in but he would only have a minute to enter the building after it was authorised (!) so I had to go to the window and get his attention.  Alas, he was too busy gassing to another spouse outside so he didn't look up and see me flapping at the window but the security guard on the street remembered our unusual surname and the four kids so she went and fetched him, which was a stroke of luck.

 

So based on my experience, bring a print out of the confirmation email and don't just turn up.  We did not have that option as we were travelling to London already when the email showed up on my husband's phone and we had no access to a printer.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-11-19 15:04:00
United KingdomAnyone using a UK PS3 in the US?

From what my husband tells me (and he has transported electronic devices back and forth over the Atlantic) it should be OK to plug a UK device into the US power system as the US has lower voltage than the US.  If you do it the other way around and plug a US device into the UK power supply the device will blow up because its circuitry has not been designed to cope with that voltage.

 

That said, a lot of electrical devices these days like laptops and games consoles are built with a sort of international circuitry (again, this is what my more techy husband tells me) so it should be OK to replace the UK power cord with a US one.  We checked with the manufacturers of the PS3 and Wii to check that was the case.  We are STILL waiting on our shipping arriving so I cannot confirm whether that works or not through direct experience.  We are just charging the kids' DSes using travel adaptors for now but will investigate that at some point.

 

Some devices that require a motor to work - and I'm sure other things too - won't work in the US because of the low voltage issue.

 

Anyway, we are going to be buying US power cords for the Wii and PS3.  The worst that will happen is that they won't work and we will have to go and buy a chunky transformer instead.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-11-23 10:39:00
United KingdomAnyone using a UK PS3 in the US?

Well I am relieved because my husband was becoming tempted to buy a US PS4!!!!!

Cheers

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-11-19 17:14:00
United KingdomAnyone using a UK PS3 in the US?

THANK YOU!

My kids will be so happy.  Bless your cotton socks for helping me out with this, Lost At Sea!  I was struggling with all the technical jargon on my own.

Best wishes

Laura






LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-11-19 17:09:00
United KingdomAnyone using a UK PS3 in the US?

Oh, also. Any particular games they were after? I was thinking of getting a copy of the new Batman, so I can report back. wink.png

 

Which new Batman?  None of them has asked for it but they are big fans of superheroes so that might crop up.

 

The specific games being asked for are Disney Infinity and Marvel Lego Superheroes.  Either of those your cup of tea? :)

 

Cheers

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-11-19 15:29:00
United KingdomAnyone using a UK PS3 in the US?

Thanks, Lost At Sea

 

My kids are too young for downloads and online play.  They are all disc based players.  My googling seems to suggest that the game discs are region free but that the Bluray element of the console is still region specific.  That then threw me as to whether the console was actually region free or not.

 

From the link you provided, it seems it will be OK for me to go ahead and buy them the games they want for Christmas so long as there is no DLC element to any of them - and I am going to leave my husband to figure that out!

 

Thanks for your reply

 

Best wishes

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-11-19 15:27:00
United KingdomAnyone using a UK PS3 in the US?

This is a very mundane question for this forum and it may not be in the right location (so moderators should feel free to move it as they see fit).

 

Our kids and I moved to the US a month ago.  We are still waiting for our shipping arriving.  It's obviously that time of year where kids start talking about what they would like for Christmas and PS3 games have come up.  They know they cannot have US Wii or DS games operating on their UK systems but we were led to believe the PS3 was region free.  Now I've done a bit more research online and I seem to be getting conflicting information as to whether games are region-free or whether a US disc could not work on a UK PS3 console.

 

My intention is to borrow a US PS3 game from the library to try on our console once the shipping arrives but the shipping may not now clear customs and be delivered to us in time so I need to base a decision on buying the kids PS3 games for Christmas prior to running that test.

 

Does anyone have direct, personal experience of running US games on a UK PS3?

 

Thanks in advance - especially from my four boys!

 

Best wishes

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2013-11-19 15:13:00
United KingdomWill a return flight affect my Immigration process

My four kids and I all booked return flights because it was considerably cheaper to do so than to book a single leg.  I tried to inform the airline that we had no intention of using the return flight once we were here in the US but they had zero interest in listening to me.  My in-laws travelled back on the flight we were booked on (they accompanied the kids and I to the US) and said that our seats were empty so the airline had not logged that we would not be flying or else had chosen not to sell the seats on.  In any case, there were absolutely zero consequences for us.  No one during the immigration process queried it as I am sure they appreciate it is an economic decision.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

 

*Edited to Add that I see others have noted that it can be a problem at AOS.  That is not relevant to our cases so I guess that is why it was not an issue with USCIS.*


Edited by LauraDP, 07 March 2014 - 11:16 AM.

LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-07 11:14:00
United KingdomMedical Records - How far back do they need to go?

My GP just printed off the list of vaccinations for each of myself and my four kids.  They were each just one or two sheets long, though my GP did not charge me for the vaccination print outs or for the summary of our records that I requested for my personal files.  All you need for the medical are the vaccination records so see if they can just print those off for you.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-07 11:18:00
United KingdomHow long did your tax refunds take?

Both my husband and I claimed refunds from HRMC and it only took about a month to receive the money into our bank account.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura


LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-07 11:11:00
National Visa Center (Dept of State)i-864 - Living in Sweden - Confused
We are in a similar situation in that my husband (the USC) was not aware he should have been filing with the IRS all these years (he has been in the UK for 20 years as he is a dual US/UK national) but he found it pretty quick and easy to back-file the latest three years of tax returns based on foreign-earned income - and there is no fine to pay since he owed no tax in the US.

We will also be in a similar situation in that my husband will be having to give up his employment here to take up employment in the US. Since we need to be going through the immigration process for myself and our four kids prior to him securing a job we are using a co-sponsor. In our case it is a close family friend who is sponsoring our sons and me. The co-sponsor needs to be able to demonstrate through their own tax returns that they have the financial means to support a family of the relevant size. We have a home and financial assets in the UK and hope those might be counted but are not relying on it and feel we would still need a co-sponsor in any case.

My husband will also, in all likelihood, be moving out to the US before the children and I are in a position to do so.

Best wishes

Laura
LauraDPFemaleUnited Kingdom2012-10-04 05:50:00
United KingdomPASSPORT RENEWAL
QUOTE (sriniv @ Mar 15 2006, 06:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
www.britainusa.com

C-1 form

You need to fork out $173 ($185 incl. postage), money order or Plastic (no, you can't use personal cheque).


Send or bring completed C-1 app to:

Passport Office
British Embassy
19 Observatory Circle, NW
Washington, DC 20008


By the way, look at the fees now! Yikes! They're up to $250 since 1st May 2007!
willchelsNot TellingScotland2007-09-22 04:04:00
United KingdomFor everyone between NOA2 and interview in London

In America the plural of math is math. Maths is a typo. But I still like seeing it. :-)


Hehe I downloaded firefox when I was in the US last and it keeps correcting realise to realize, favourite to favorite and so on... I better get used to it or if I "help" my future kids do their homework it may be obvious they didn't do it themselves... :-P

I kinda want to be defiant though!

You're spot on there. I got my NOA2 on June 24. I was ecstatic!!!! But then it took 1 month at NVC (much longer than VJ suggests due to who knows what), and then three weeks to get logged here (the embassy suggests two).

What you are hearing is likely... okay it takes two weeks from when you get your medical to get your packet 4 (not really) and then they schedule the interview about a month out (not really). They add a few days here, a few there. You know. I thought I'd be done about a week from now going on the "standards" (we were going to get a ticket for October 1), but there will never be absolutes in this process.

I'm sorry you are stuck. It must not be long now!!


Yeah I have the same NOA2 date as you! My original wedding plans were for november, so I guess that's what's gonna happen!

how are your wedding plans coming on?
micmacFemaleScotland2011-09-02 17:08:00
United KingdomFor everyone between NOA2 and interview in London
I think I would crack up if it wasn't!!! I was there for 6 weeks last time so I can't complain too much :-P

It just seems that this nvc/embassy phase is taking much longer than all estimates that I had seen. I took so long to get the police check and medical out of the way that we lost any progress we had made by getting our NOA2 by june. The woman at the embassy actually said I had got it in quickly! I was like... HOW???? but my doctors held up the medical thing by taking ages to write me a piece of evidence. I had the medical on the 10th, I would be well on the way now but it only got logged this week :-(

Seriously cannot stress the importance of getting the police check done as soon as, even before the NOA2 arrives. It seems that the medical results determine when you get your packet 4. GRRRR.
micmacFemaleScotland2011-09-01 18:59:00
United KingdomFor everyone between NOA2 and interview in London

Well that is six weeks.. is this what you mean? It's September 1 now, so yeah, 41 days. Apparently it could be sooner, but probably only a week like Mike/Rach, and perhaps they were scheduled before us. September is booked solid (I've heard), so there's not much earlier it could get, right?

And yes, we wrote our true wedding date on the ds-2001 cover letter: 11/29/11.


I was told 6 weeks from the medical being logged, that's what I meant. The woman I spoke to said it varied case by case, I just wonder what makes some quicker and slower.

Maybe I am just bad with maths...

Everyone's timelines seem so different! I am clutching at straws for hope because the gap between last time I saw my fiance is likely to be three and a half months at this rate and that will be the worst we ever did! :-(
micmacFemaleScotland2011-09-01 17:36:00
United KingdomFor everyone between NOA2 and interview in London

October 12! Fine with me! I can't wait, and he's dreading it :P

You can call of course.. but I don't think they will have it logged yet :( It used to be in the twoish week mark but the current trend is more like three. As for the packet, I don't totally understand the procedure, but I think they are sort in limbo until you medical is logged. I'm not sure they bother messing about with your forms until they know you've passed. So when you call, ask about your medical too!


How is your interview so late? I was told the other day that it was about a 6 week wait? Is your wedding scheduled later?
micmacFemaleScotland2011-08-31 19:33:00
United KingdomFor everyone between NOA2 and interview in London
Well done to everyone who is making progress!

I am STILL waiting on this mysterious "packet three" from the embassy. I bought a new birth certificate, and should recieve my police check in a few days. Did not realise I could have sent off some forms already so I will do that tomorrow. Hope I am not too far behind! I want to get married asap! haha

Two trips to london, shame edinburgh dont do anything! its gonna cost a bomb or involve some 10 hour mega bus journeys....
micmacFemaleScotland2011-08-01 17:54:00
United KingdomIs someone coming to the US from the UK very soon?

I'm shocked no one misses Tunnock's teacakes??


Now you mention it, that too! There is not really a direct equivalent is there?
micmacFemaleScotland2011-11-09 16:50:00
United KingdomIs someone coming to the US from the UK very soon?
Baxters soup, Hartleys jam, Steak pie, Asda frsh tastes and chosen by you ready meals, Irn Bru, Innocent smoothies, Boots meal deals, Olbas oil, I could write this all day!!!

Cider! and not your apple juice kind. ALCOHOLIC CIDER!!!!

Edited by micmac, 09 November 2011 - 03:57 PM.

micmacFemaleScotland2011-11-09 15:57:00
United KingdomWhat do you say when Americans tell you they are Scottish?
haha Its fine. Ive been on all day cause I can't work while I wait for AOS. Good way to pass the time! Yeah having a direct influence in your upbringing will give you more of an idea of Scotland than if you have to google it and stuff. That is one of the points I tried and failed to make in my first post. A lot of people seem to care about clans and stuff, when I have very rarely heard any Scottish people in Scotland actually discussing clans unless they work in tourist shops. Modern Scottish culture and history is just as interesting, and it is something I will try to promote for sure!

It has been interesting to hear American perspectives on it.
micmacFemaleScotland2011-11-14 21:02:00
United KingdomWhat do you say when Americans tell you they are Scottish?

When I used to live in the middle east a lot of my American friends who were not white used to get questioned to no end on where they were 'really' from. When introducing one friend of mine to a local he would not stop asking where she was from until she admitted she happened to be adopted from Korea. He was then satisfied to think of her as Korean even as we both tried to tell him she was American and had no connections to Korea. At the school I worked at there were parents who wanted their children to be in classrooms taught by Americans. I saw numerous parents try and move their children out of my friend's classroom because she was "Indian" and not American. Granted her parents were from India, she frequently made trips there, could speak Hindi as well as her parents regional language but she was born and had grown up and gone to school in the U.S. Her teaching credentials were all from the U.S. She was absolutely American but to many of the parents (mostly the Indian and Pakistani parents) she was Indian. It was blatant racism at work but luckily she just saw it as avoiding having to deal with high maintenance parents.

My point is that every country and every culture has it's own understanding about how to judge who 'you' are. I think you just need to have a strong understanding of your own sense of self (like the poster who feels greater affiliation with NE over their ancestral heritage) and try to rise above other people trying to put 'you' in terms they can understand.


Weird! I guess it is just a cultural thing. I know people in this state particularly enjoy it because there are so many Mormons and genealogy is very important to them. It makes me interested in tracing mine so I have an answer when people ask. My mum's side did it and they all seemed to be inter related people from the same small fishing town in the Highlands. Maybe my dad's side will be more entertaining :-P

Its funny because there was a boy in my year at School whose parents were Indian but I never saw him as anything other than Scottish with Indian parents. He was born in Scotland and spoke with the accent. Suppose it's a personality thing how you see others.
micmacFemaleScotland2011-11-14 20:28:00
United KingdomWhat do you say when Americans tell you they are Scottish?

So micmac, you're moving to America. Jump forward two generations. Would you feel irritated if a grandchild or great grandchild of yours had heard stories about you and wanted to know more about you and maybe the town where you came from? It's just a curiosity about one's roots.

America is a land of immigrants. My roots are German. Many German immigrants settled in rural Texas and married other Germans and so on for generations. I have many relatives still living near the same area. It was interesting enough for me to go to the town in Germany where the families originated, so tiny somebody had to lead us there. We walked around the church and grounds where they had lived as children. There were gravestones older than America. We were invited in to a gathering next door that happened to be the town museum. I smiled when I saw all the men outide eating together, while the women ate separately. It was so much like my childhood memories of my kinfolks in rural Texas. Herr Mueller gave me a lovely book and showed me on a map where my paternal ancestor's land was. It was a lovely day. I don't speak German or like German food or think Germany is all cuckoo clocks and beer steins and bratwurst. But like it or not, my ancestry is German.

And the really weird thing I experienced while driving all over Europe--- I felt this sense of comfort in Germany that I didn't feel in other countries. I'd see old ladies that reminded me of grandma and and my great aunts. And the German accent felt oddly familiar. Guess it just recalled nice childhood memories of lovely people with German accents who baked cookies.

We Americans can't go back very far without running out of Americans, so we have to jump the pond to know the rest of the story. Don't take it in an offensive way.


I am talking people raking back hundreds of years. Robert the Bruce lived in the 13th century! And I would not expect my grand children even to tell people they were Scottish. They would have one Scottish grandparent. That's it! My children will be half Scottish. I think being American is cool enough on its own without having to tell everyone where your ancestors came from. I don't mind people wanting to know about their heritage. But when people who have got Scotland in there somewhere centuries back tell me that they themselves are Scottish it annoys me!
micmacFemaleScotland2011-11-14 20:14:00
United KingdomWhat do you say when Americans tell you they are Scottish?

Yeah I can understand that the bastardized watered down version of the understanding of your nation could be irritating but I would take it as a compliment. Braveheart ain't a bad thing to be known for. The poor Scandinavians here have to claim lutefisk and passive aggressiveness.


Funnily enough Braveheart is useful because the town where I grew up is smack bang in the middle of two of the "battlefields" in the movie :-P
micmacFemaleScotland2011-11-14 16:47:00
United KingdomWhat do you say when Americans tell you they are Scottish?

It is saying "I'm scottish too?" or the fact that back in their history it's there? For instance if they said "I have a bit of scottish in me" is that as insulting? Or telling you that their ancestors were Scottish?

I myself was born in Australia. My mother is Australian, my father is Scottish (born in Aberdeen) but he moved over when was 3. I have never BEEN to Scotland but I have my British Passport. Am I, in your eyes, Scottish? Or is the fact I've never lived there not make me Scottish? Or should I say I'm half Scottish? When asked I tell people I'm Australian (usually it's to do with my accent which is hardly Scottish :P). I rarely reveal that I have a UK passport (for some reason a lot of people I've encountered don't like dual citizens... like we're trying to take over the world or something) but when people ask if I'm going to go for USC I tell them if I do I'll be a tri-national.


If you have Scottish parents it is less irritating by a mile. Because you have been raised by a Scottish person you will have an understanding of Scottish culture and places that you didn't have to research, you will most likely understand the accent quite well having grown up around it (assuming your grandparents were around). You don't have to trace back hundreds of years to ancestors you never met to prove a link. But of course you yourself are probably really Australian, you were born there and your dad lived nearly all his life there and your mother is Australian.

I actually had a status update the other day on facebook about the UK or something and a girl I know (lovely girl, don't get me wrong)from the US said her opinion and was like "Hell, I am Scottish too" afterwards. It is that kind of throwaway comment that doesn't make sense to me.

Of course I am no authority on the matter :-P
micmacFemaleScotland2011-11-14 16:36:00
United KingdomWhat do you say when Americans tell you they are Scottish?
It doesn't upset me, it is just mildly irritating. There is more to Scotland than kilts, Braveheart and whiskey. Haha.
micmacFemaleScotland2011-11-14 15:34:00
United KingdomWhat do you say when Americans tell you they are Scottish?
hahaha! yeah they only ask if they have been. That is when I know I will get an OK conversation out of it! haha

Yes, that happens a lot! I said the same thing to my husband when I met him. We live near SLC and these mormons LOVE them some geneology. My mom, a jack mormon, has spent so much time at the Family History Library tracing back our ancestry it's funny!

I love Glasvegas! And Ian Rankin books! Modern Scottish culture is a lot of fun.


YES! I figured the mormons were a factor! My grandmother in law is like genealogy advisor for her ward, so she is of course very into it!
micmacFemaleScotland2011-11-14 15:02:00
United KingdomWhat do you say when Americans tell you they are Scottish?
Right, so in my time here on visits and now living here, American people keep proclaiming themselves as Scottish.

So after hearing their "lineage", and sometimes even famous Scots that are in their genealogy (Flora MacDonald and Robert the Bruce to name a few) or asking me what my lineage is (something I have never investigated), I never know what to say and just kind of smile and nod. I was asked one day if I knew information about a surname, and where they originated and I was met with a baffled expression when I didn't have a clue. Or like throwaway comments like "Oh, I am Scottish as well!", from people born and raised here to American parents.

I am glad people care about our country but I find it funny that a lot of these people research Scottish history (some even relaying it to me like I didn't live in Scotland for 22 years) and probably don't know what real Scotland today is like!

Like, I would recommend Chewin the Fat, Kevin Bridges, Biffy Clyro, Glasvegas and Paulo Nutini to anyone wanting a taste of modern Scotland. Any other suggestions welcome!

Of course I have nothing against Americans loving Scotland, its how I met my husband!

Does anyone else get this all the time?? (applies to all UK people for sure, I met a descendant of one of Nelson's illegitimate children!)
micmacFemaleScotland2011-11-14 14:51:00
United KingdomMoving home to Scotland... Any Advice?

how comes you didnt get an EAD card?



I didn't get one because it was going to take 3 months, and the green card was going to take 4. We were given "fast track notices" and our case was sent to california to be "sped up", but its been 4 months already.

I think we should be ok, I am sure applying from home would have been easier as I would have a job to add to the income requirement but what do they expect when you are applying from abroad? I can't apply for jobs and wait 3 months to start!

Thanks for the link I will check it out.
micmacFemaleScotland2012-05-20 19:50:00
United KingdomMoving home to Scotland... Any Advice?
It all seems very secretive, the website takes you round and round in circles. That is a really weird rule!
micmacFemaleScotland2012-05-18 15:27:00