biggish data

QUOTE (KnightAndMagpie @ May 15 2009, 01:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (Damian P @ May 15 2009, 10:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Magpie,

Unless there's some sort of special rule for Alaska that I'm not aware of, you go through immigration at your initial POE, in your case (like mine) Minneapolis. It's soooooooooooo easy (compared to nightmarish POEs like Chicago) and they have a deidcated line clearly marked for new immigrants.

Thanks a million Damien

-- I hadn't a clue. I was confused because Anchorage Airport is a POE too, and it said that I had to surrender the envelope to an immigration officer. Minneapolis sounds like a breeze, wooo.

Also, thankums for the congrats, guys. What a journey!

Magpie.

Just a little something else:

When you get off the plane, you head for the line marked "new immigrants" (that'll be the one with the fewest in line

) and hand your envelope to the officer at that station. He or she will open it, and ask you a couple of questions (like "when are you getting married" etc) and that'll be that. I was done with him in less than 5 minutes.

You then have to collect your luggage from the baggage reclaim area - IT DOES NOT GO STRAIGHT THROUGH TO ANCHORAGE!! Once you've done that, you clear customs, and re-check your bag with the TSA staff that that will be waiting for you just outside the customs desk. You have now entered the USA and the Anchorage flight becomes a bog standard internal flight that any USC would take, OK?

Enjoy!

QUOTE (MARM @ May 15 2009, 01:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

POE at Ohare only seems bad because of the long lines...as I have also read else where in the forums here (although the reviews have noting significantly bad to say about Ohare). I know a few people who came in through family-based immigration and they had no problems at all except the wait time because of the long lines. I live about 30 min from Ohare and my family and I frequently fly in/out of Ohare internationally and domestically and we never had any issues ever, I don't even remember the last time I had to wait long in line. You will be fine, there is no reason to stress about POE at Ohare

Correct, MARM. The length of the queues is my only beef with Chicago.

Damian P

Male

England

2009-05-15 13:47:00

QUOTE (laura819 @ May 15 2009, 01:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Damian

Could you tell me whats so bad about Chicago? I have checked the reviews and haven't seen that many bad ones...

My SO is planning to POE at Chicago, but we can easily change that to another airport if needed...we were just trying to get a direct flight as he doesn't like flying...

Laura

Please ignore me; I didn't mean to put the frightners on you! It's just that every time I've flown into O'Hare, the queues at immigration have been horrendous. By comparison, Minneapolis is like going through the line at a small regional airport like Southampton!

And if Chicago is his final destination, absolutely fly there direct.

Damian P

Male

England

2009-05-15 13:28:00

QUOTE (KnightAndMagpie @ May 15 2009, 12:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Question!

Because my flight connects at Minneapolis, and I don't actually go through immigration, my POE would technically be Anchorage (my destination), wouldn't it? I have the mysterious brown envelope and everything...

Magpie.

Edited by Damian P, 15 May 2009 - 01:02 PM.

Damian P

Male

England

2009-05-15 13:00:00

QUOTE (JimandChristy @ May 15 2009, 09:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just about to book my train tickets to London for the interview and medical on June 1st...I've basically got two choices I can either arrive in London(Euston) at around 7:30am or 8:15am. Based on previous experiences how soon should I arrive before the 9am appointment and thus which of the two should I take, thanks!

If those are your only two options, then most definitely look to arrive at 07:15. The earlier you're in line outside the embassy, the sooner you're done with it.

Damian P

Male

England

2009-05-15 12:08:00

QUOTE (Gemmie @ May 14 2009, 05:29 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wasn't even asked for anything to show the co-sponsor's nationality or asked.

You will need that co-sponsor I.D. for AOS though, kidda.

Damian P

Male

England

2009-05-14 11:07:00

QUOTE (paul. @ May 13 2009, 04:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

On one hand, I am glad it is not just me then, as that eases my mind a little. I know what you mean about not sleeping, I went to sleep at 2am and was pottering around the house at 4am and even managed to speak to my wife before she went to bed! Maybe the Embassy are struggling this month, I don't know, but one thing I have had enough with, is waiting. I submitted my I-130 384 days ago, so I think I've waited long enough to finally join my wife in the USA!

But it is all we can do, an moan on VJ of course, because we're all in the same boat on the same journey!

You're not having the best of mluck at the moment are you, mate? What with that last minute Barca equaliser the other day and now this??

I can see how upset you are.....

Damian P

Male

England

2009-05-13 12:28:00

QUOTE (Nich-Nick @ May 12 2009, 11:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

:::exhale:::

Great news from the ladies today. Congratulations Moira and MARM.

Just shooting off topic here, but it's been driving me nuts thinking of who your voice reminds me of, but now I remember:

Edited by Damian P, 12 May 2009 - 11:40 AM.

Damian P

Male

England

2009-05-12 11:39:00

QUOTE (JimandChristy @ May 12 2009, 10:54 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh, the receptionist who I spoke to when I booked the medical, well she was very abrupt.........almost acted like she wanted me off the phoneline

http://www.visajourn...howtopic=186151

Damian P

Male

England

2009-05-12 11:35:00

Is that damned stinking monkey here yet or what!!??????????

Damian P

Male

England

2009-05-11 23:22:00

QUOTE (Bob and Patricia @ May 7 2009, 11:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I got a few personal message on this so I'll tell the whole group instead of one at a time in PM.

I said it was a long story, you've been warned

At passport control. The nice lady asked why I was here, and I told her i was on holiday... visiting a friend. She asked me who and how long I had known said friend. I said it was my fiancee and I had known Pat 3 years. I don't know if this is a red flag but this turned into a cross-examination.. are you here to get married. where does she live, whats her birthday, where does she work here, will we be living in the states or the UK, has she lined up a job there yet.. do you have a job, do you own a home... and on and on.. I muddled thru the answers as best I could.. I got little sleep on the plane and my body clock was telling me it was 2:30am. She asked where I was staying and how much money I had.. I told her I was staying at Pat's house and had my American Express charge card, my bank debit card and about £150 in currency. She then wanted to know if Pat was there to pick me up and I replied no, Pat was at work. So I got asked how I was going to find my way to her house. I told her i was taking the train into Manchester and meeting Pat at her office... this seemed to satisfy her. She wrote down so many notes on the entry card I filled out on the plane that she had to go to a separate sheet of paper. I was motioned to a holding area and she came back every 10 min or so to ask more questions and then disappear again. At one point I even broke out my 2008 1040 tax return to show that I make damn good money, and I'm not thinking about skipping the US.

Eventually she called Pat who of course confirmed the fiancee story and said I was staying with her. Immigration told her they were concerned that I had so little money on me and was Pat going to be responsible for my living expenses while I was here. I guess people that carry gold class credit cards are destitute. Satisfied with Pat's answers, they told her they'd release me. 20 minutes later I'm asked more questions about our relationship, where we're at in the visa process, etc. The Immigration lady left again for some ungodly time and comes back saying the embassy in London has no record of Patricia and suggests that my entry into the UK might be fraudulent. Now I'm sweating bullets and all I can envision is waiting until the afternoon return flight and thinking I'll be put on it.. in handcuffs.. (yeah i know it was a bit dramatic but I was really worried). I tell her call Pat again to get her LND number. (All my paperwork is in checked baggage and they haven't/won't let me get to it.) They place another call to Pat, get the case number and call the embassy. Another 20 or 30 minutes later I'm finally given my passport and allowed to go. All told, I'm held there for nearly 2 1/2 hours.. sheesh. Then I get downstairs to baggage and my bag is sitting in the middle of the floor completely unattended. All I could think of is a thousand airport PA voices saying Do not leave your bags unattended, Unattended luggage will be disposed of by the fill in the blank police department.

Bob

Not laughing at you, Bob, just the ridiculousness of the whole thing. I mean, if you were carrying $5000 in cash (rather than doing the sensible thing, and keeping the cash amount on you to a minimum, and just using your cards as and when required) they would have waved you straight through, right!!??

Completely retarded.

Damian P

Male

England

2009-05-07 12:03:00

QUOTE (Bob and Patricia @ May 7 2009, 08:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My April visit to Pat almost ended before it started. To make a long story short, I waited for 2 1/2 hours at passport control. They almost didn't let me in because they thought my American Express Gold card and £150 in currency was close to vagrancy.

QUOTE

They called Pat twice and then embassy to confirm our stories.

Why did they call her twice? Did the first person that called her not understand English?

Damian P

Male

England

2009-05-07 10:42:00

Anyone heard from Gemmie yet?

Damian P

Male

England

2009-05-05 13:14:00

QUOTE (mr and mrs @ Apr 22 2009, 10:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

no, they dont take your original birth certificate, but i am not certain if they take the original police certificate, or just the copy, or both. easier just to take a copy to be on the safe side.

They only take the copy BUT you must present the original too so that they can check it against the copy. Ditto the birth certificate. You get both originals handed back to you when they call you back to the window the 2nd time.

Edited by Damian P, 22 April 2009 - 10:21 PM.

Damian P

Male

England

2009-04-22 22:20:00

QUOTE (Laura+Tom @ Mar 31 2009, 03:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (MonkeyJuice @ Mar 31 2009, 09:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Why did Marie620 get denied? I just noticed on Laura's list that there was a denial. I can't see any posts from Marie around her interview date as to why that happened.
Is it unusual to get a denial at London Embassy?

If you search for her name you'll see several of her posts about it. Something to do with her husbands alcohol consumption at the medical.

Well thank God they didn't check thoroughly on mine!!!!

That is a beautiful animal

. I had a black lab when I was a small boy, and they are the best dogs ever. I'm getting one out here as soon as I'm sorted.

Edited by Damian P, 01 April 2009 - 09:45 AM.

Damian P

Male

England

2009-04-01 09:42:00

QUOTE (KnightAndMagpie @ Mar 7 2009, 12:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Don't lose faith, dear..

LOL @ Magpie sounding like someone's nan!

Damian P

Male

England

2009-03-07 13:53:00

QUOTE (Stinky Monkey @ Mar 5 2009, 05:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (Rob&Dawn @ Mar 5 2009, 09:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Shaz
good luck for tomorrow chick.
x

Thanks hon will speak to you tomorrow

I am off to bed now

x

Shazza mate, the very best of luck for today (not that you'll need it). I was gonna call you this morning but I've left my ###### phone at home.

Leave me a voicemail as soon as you can, OK?

Damian P

Male

England

2009-03-06 02:29:00

QUOTE (Stinky Monkey @ Feb 24 2009, 12:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

God I am VJ networking, Dawn and Tayless last week, Tayless tonight, and you on Saturday then you and wifetobe on Sunday

Well aint you little miss popularity - enjoy.

Damian P

Male

England

2009-02-24 12:59:00

QUOTE (Stinky Monkey @ Feb 24 2009, 01:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Mick Robertson

That's the fella.........

Damian P

Male

England

2009-02-24 12:51:00

QUOTE (Stinky Monkey @ Feb 24 2009, 12:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Now we know who is teachers pet hahahahahaha

1 for sorry
2 for joy
3 for a girl
4 for a boy

MAGPIE

God that brings back memories

Wow, blast from the past there! What was that curly headed dude that looked like Brian May called who presented it? Mick something?

Edited by Damian P, 24 February 2009 - 12:44 PM.

Damian P

Male

England

2009-02-24 12:44:00

QUOTE (Stinky Monkey @ Feb 24 2009, 11:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

where's my gold star

Hmmmmmmmmm, I don't seem to be in possesion of a gold star either, Shaz. Fine...............like I care..........

Damian P

Male

England

2009-02-24 11:41:00

QUOTE (Nich-Nick @ Feb 16 2009, 01:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (Damian P @ Feb 14 2009, 03:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Talking of rock concerts, I'm watching "The Stones In The Park" on SKY right now. I wish I had been a 60's hippie......*sigh*

I was. I went to an indoor Stones concert in a fairly small arena, when smoking wasn't illegal at venues. The marijuana smoke was so thick you could hardly see the band.
Peace and Love, Damian!

You rock, Nich!!

Damian P

Male

England

2009-02-17 06:03:00

QUOTE (Stinky Monkey @ Feb 14 2009, 04:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

why dont you come to EXodus

Because I'm not a cool rock concert promoter type that can travel down to London on a Tuesday, that's why!!! Some of us actually work for a living ya know.

Talking of rock concerts, I'm watching "The Stones In The Park" on SKY right now. I wish I had been a 60's hippie......*sigh*

Edited by Damian P, 14 February 2009 - 04:18 PM.

Damian P

Male

England

2009-02-14 16:17:00

Oh yeah, and you talking about Kings X reminded me about that song of theirs that I really like that I haven't heard in ages, so I downloaded it - cool tune.

Damian P

Male

England

2009-02-14 15:44:00

QUOTE (Stinky Monkey @ Feb 14 2009, 02:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well I am gonna save on printer ink, was gonna print out a e-mail from every week, now I am gonna cut it back to 1 every month

Just be careful what emails you provide, Shaz, I mean you'll have to do an awful lot of blanking out if it's the "face in pillow to cut down the noise" stuff!

Damian P

Male

England

2009-02-14 15:42:00

QUOTE (Terri and Seb @ Feb 11 2009, 07:35 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Approved!

Great feeling, aint it??

Damian P

Male

England

2009-02-11 07:41:00

QUOTE (DairyFarmer @ Feb 11 2009, 04:32 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks all getting so nervous.

Relax - you'll be fine. Honestly, after all the NOA2 bollox, this really is a total anti-climax, OK?

QUOTE (Marmite Lovers! @ Feb 9 2009, 01:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

VISA IN HAND! YAY!!!

When you leaving, MM?

Damian P

Male

England

2009-02-11 07:32:00

Age difference

If this was the philipines forum, where 70-year-old guys are trying to bring teenagers over, if may be an issue. Not here though.

Damian P

Male

England

2011-08-09 20:07:00

EPL Compo - 2011/2012

Nope, can't be arsed with that. I'll give it one more *bump* and if there's not much of a response I guess we'll give it a miss this year.

Damian P

Male

England

2011-08-09 20:09:00

EPL Compo - 2011/2012

Season starts next week and only 3 of us so far!? Dear me - could the compilation be in jeopardy this year?

Damian P

Male

England

2011-08-07 08:05:00

EPL Compo - 2011/2012

OK, folks, it's that time of year again. Anyone interested in knocking me off my lofty perch that was the 2010/2011 season, sign up here!

Name & team supported, please.

Damian P

Male

England

2011-08-02 00:33:00

Ridiculous objectification of our SOs thread

When we lived in the UK, I loved nothing more than to see him striding manfully across the countryside in a waxed Barbour jacket, wellington boots, wide-wale cords and a chunky wool jumper. Then we'd repair to the pub for a few jars and a ploughman's, while we talked meaningfully about 19th century British politicians or the Second World War.

-x-

Damian P

Male

England

2011-02-10 12:54:00

And here we go again, folks - the official start of visajourney MkII.

marry.jpg 118.21KB 26 downloads

Damian P

Male

England

2013-03-05 01:03:00

I figured it out... and she's gorgeous! How the hell did you con her into marrying YOU? Black magic, maybe.

Beats the hell outta me!!! And she insists that SHE'S the lucky one! I just have a knack of attracting women above my station I guess. :whistle:

Damian P

Male

England

2013-02-27 14:08:00

You ARE old now, Mr. P.

You'll be doing the CR1, which is what I did. I did DCF, so I missed the whole NVC stage, but if you need help on the I-130 form-filling, let me know.

I'm off to figure out who she is from your FB page.

Hahahaaaaa!!! I think you'll figure it out pretty quickly!!!!!!!!!!! And remember, you have to be a USC to do DCF, or I'd already have moved back to Blighty, reestablished residence, and be TOTALLY on that!

Damian P

Male

England

2013-02-27 13:06:00

Spoon feeders: you are actually the one who coined that. You asked me in a thread "why do you bother with these @&%#! spoon feeders?

Did I really???????? Good Lord!!!!!! Memory like Swiss cheese! :blink:

Damian P

Male

England

2013-02-27 11:05:00

OK, so to avoid being a complete "spoon-feeder" as you so succinctly and amusingly put it, I've been busy refreshing my memory on all this, and came upon this in the "minuses" column of the IR1/CR1 synopsis:

"Separation from family may be longer than if filing for a K-3 Visa (or K-1 visa for a non-married fiance)." Not arsed about that bit - we're only talking a few weeks. But then....... "The applicant will most likely not be able to enter the US while their IR1-CR-1 Visa is being processed."

And that's what I'd be applying for, right? The IR 1/CR 1? So what happened to "she can come visit on the VWP as long as she doesn't overstay?"

Damn, this laborious ####### really IS happening again!! Somebody pinch me!!!!!!!!!!!!

Damian P

Male

England

2013-02-27 01:02:00

Checked out those links, NN - oh, how it takes me back!! NOA, NVC, AOS, packet 3, medical, interview, tax returns, police check, long form birth certificate......just reminded me what a long and tedious road it was to get here!!

So to surmise, it looks like the best option is to get hitched and file the I-130 whilst still a LPR, then get citizenship and "upgrade" to expedite the process, yes? Presumably then, the filing-to-NOA2 process won't take any longer than it did if I were already a USC, rather the hold-up will come at the NVC stage, correct? And tell me, whatever happened to the "Adjusting Status From The VWP" section of the site? Because that always used to be an option, albeit not one that was ever particularly recommended.

Yes, I finished my two year community college course, and subsequently sat the corresponding AHIMA examination, the successful completion of which enabled me to hold the credential of Registered Health Information Technician. Naturally, I then became a hotel manager!! That lasted for a couple of years, before a short, and very ill-fated spell in radio advertising sales, the conclusion of which signaled the end of my time in Southern Illinois. I moved to a town just outside Kansas City, MO, three weeks ago and am currently staying with a friend whilst I try to find gainful employment. And it's proving slightly harder to find said employment this time around than in the past, so much so that I have an interview (if indeed you can even call it that) at a local slaughterhouse/pork processing plant on Thursday - I sh!t you not. Can't say I'm particularly thrilled about the prospect of spending my working day knee deep in pig sh!t/guts/blood but hey, the money's decent and my Spanish will undoubtedly improve.

Anyhoo, that's where I'm at, chica. I see your visa journey is now complete, btw - congratulations. Hopefully I shall join you on said N-400 plateau sooner rather than later.

Damian P

Male

England

2013-02-26 00:45:00

I would have been eligible last year had what happened not happened - you have to stay married for the 3 year rule. It's 5 years otherwise.

Damian P

Male

England

2013-02-25 15:21:00

Firstly, thanks for the "Groundhog Day" NN - it was you who first replied to my first post 5 years ago. And once again, massive thanks for the info. And guys, she's not really Mary Poppins - she likes to drink, enjoys loud rock music, and says "c**t" a lot, which makes her "practically perfect in every way!"

Damian P

Male

England

2013-02-25 14:02:00