Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
United Kingdom	In the U.S. at last!!!! :)	Thanks so much guys - take care yourselves. Mark - Hopedale is a little town of 950 (951??) people about 25 miles equidistant between Peoria and Bloomington. The nearest towns are Tremont, Minier, and Pekin, so not a LONG way from St. Louis, but by U.K. standards, about halfway up the country. It was funny - during my interview I told the Embassy guy I planned to live in Hopedale, Illinois and he said "Uh-oh. Right in the middle of nowhere, huh?" Turns out he knew the area well, though the 'Uh-oh' makes me wonder what else he knews that I am yet to find out... Jim	morning75	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2006-02-22 08:57:00
United Kingdom	In the U.S. at last!!!! :)	Hi there all, Amy is at work and while I came to print my SSN application form I just wanted to share - I arrived at last Thursday, and could not be more happy to be back in little Hopedale, IL. Why? No, not because of the Red Fox grocery store and their cheap marshmallows, or the two delicious beef sticks I ate for breakfast yesterday, or even because it was SEVEN DEGREES on Saturday. It's because Amy is here, and she is even more lovely than ever. Things feel so incredibly NORMAL! We both keep waiting for the awkward parts, but they don't seem to be coming. I think we both went through so much to be together, and managed to stay so close, it feels almost as if we've been married all this time instead of so far apart. POE at Chicago was such an absolute breeze I had to restrain myself from asking "Is that it?" To anybody coming over I promise, after eveything you've been through to get here, it is DEFINITELY NOT the most stressful thing you will ever go through. I don't know if the guy had an I-94 in his throat or what, but he addressed FOUR WORDS to me in total - two of them were "Okay"! I just hope the SSN comes through fairly speedily. I can't wait to get my drivers license - I never bothered to get qualified in the U.K., so learning to drive will help fill the arrival-employment gap quite nicely. Oh, and after a slightly embarrassing call to the local cable company (during which the guy on the phone made me feel like a total crook for not knowing this) I now realise you need one before you can get cable/broadband, too. We are both so, so happy to be here together - we're praying for all the VJ-ers here to feel the same, whether sooner, or later. Take care everyone, Jim	morning75	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2006-02-20 12:26:00
United Kingdom	BRITS IN THE USA	Hey there, Letting you know that morning75 (a.k.a. Jim, from Somerset U.K.) and Amy from Illinois are currently livin' (and lovin') it up here in Hopedale, nr Peoria, Illinois! Take care! Jim	morning75	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2006-02-23 16:00:00
United Kingdom	London Interviews 2006 (NEW)	GOT APPROVED TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!	morning75	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2006-02-06 17:20:00
United Kingdom	London Interviews 2006 (NEW)	No sleep... nerves... early start... busy train... looooong wait... then... APPROVED! Words honestly cannot sum up how good it feels to know I will be back with my baby on February 16th, 2006! NOTHING was as scary or bad as I expected, except for one thing: the wait in the embassy! I got my ticket at 9:48am precisely for a 10:30am appointment, and my name was first called to present my papers at 12:15pm! My interview was at 1:10pm!! Guess some days are just busier than others. And I'm gonna hear that guy's voice calling out the customer/window numbers in my sleep tonight... Thank-you so much to all the visajourney members out there - especially in the last few weeks your advice and positivity has meant so much to me. And now I've been through it, I guess I am in a position to give advice, and it is two-fold: 1) TAKE SOMETHING TO READ/DO WHILE YOU WAIT. Better still, if you can, take your fiance(e)! I was lucky enough to sit down next to a fellow K-1 applicant and having someone to chat to really helped make the wait bearable. 2) If you are still waiting for an interview date, missing your fiance, finding things tough, or in any way wondering when, or if the whole process will ever end: HANG IN THERE. When you are finally approved every second suddenly seems worth it. It's a brave choice to put your life on hold and to subject yourself and your relationship to a level of scrutiny that most couples' aren't, but when you walk out of that embassy approved every second of patience is instantly rewarded, and... okay, I'm babbling now. But it really, truly is worth it if you love someone. Please put another approved on the list! Thanks again, everyone. Coming home very soon, Amy! Jim	morning75	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2006-02-06 11:58:00
United Kingdom	London Interviews 2006 (NEW)	Finally!!!! Packet 4 arrived today.. Interview Feb 28th 11.00 am nervous already lol Congrats Raydin! And the way I looked at it, at least you only have to be nervous for 28 days, not another 6 months... Edited by morning75, 01 February 2006 - 01:41 PM.	morning75	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2006-02-01 13:40:00
United Kingdom	London Interviews 2006 (NEW)	Thanks so much Marie - I wasn't sure about the letter of intent, but if it's not needed then I'll just cut it into little pieces and use it as confetti at the wedding.	morning75	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2006-02-01 13:15:00
United Kingdom	London Interviews 2006 (NEW)	Steve100100, Just in case, do you have a letter from both of you affirming your continued support of the K1 visa process and intention to marry within 90 days? I thought I read somewhere you need one, but please correct me, somebody, if I'm wrong. My interview is next Monday. I'd love if anyone could give me any idea of how much evidence of continued relationship I need to take - I could seriously fill a small caravan. How does three emails, birthday/xmas cards from my fiancee and her family, engagement ring receipts, some USPS mailing forms from stuff she's sent here, and three phone bills from the last eight months sound? Oh, and is there any need to take the whole 'evidence' packet we prepared when we sent the original I-129F? Or are they only interested in evidence since we started the K1 process? Again, thanks for any advice, and thanks to all the VJ-ers who have been posting their interview experiences on here. It such a help to read so many GOOD THINGS about something that, right now, seems only a little less frightening than a dentist with a guide dog. (No offence to any blind dentists out there.) Good luck everyone! Jim	morning75	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2006-02-01 10:15:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	A little confused	Hey, Im just looking for some quick explainations of what happens and what to do once my husband gets here. Im assuming apply for adjustment of status once he gets here.. but then what?? Is it true he cant get a job for almost 3 months?? And cant get a drivers license until he gets the approval to work? Does he have to wait to get a ssn to get a drivers license?? Im so confused. I thought it was much easier!!!!!!!!! Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks Amy Hey Amy, Driving license-wise, all you need to get one is a social security number, but as the above person said, in your case he will need to have his EAD, which takes 45-90 days (if I remember correctly.) As far as I am aware, and depending on the law of your home state, if your husband already drives he may initially be able to drive using the license of his home country, but only for a certain period of time. Check with your home state's Dept. of Motor Vehicles on that - and if anyone knows differently please correct me on that. Hope this helps. Jim Edited by morning75, 09 February 2006 - 03:19 PM.	morning75	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2006-02-09 15:14:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Last min Interview questions	Good luck!! As for Q3, I can understand where you're coming from - I'm insanely nervous and my interview is still a week away!! Just think though, in only a few hours time not only will this whole long part of the process be over, but you'll have something very nice indeed in return for all that waiting.	morning75	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2006-01-30 02:45:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Medical X-Ray	Things would be a lot easier without having to lug that darn X-Ray to the interview. You definitely, definitely don't need it at the interview, right? 'Cause if definitely definitely not mine's going away till next Hallowe'en.	morning75	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2006-02-02 11:21:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	APPROVED	Congratulations Donna! - I was approved today too! A little bit of a nice feeling, isn't it?	morning75	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2006-02-06 11:55:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	help mE~	Don't panic yet! My fiancee and I had an RFE during our initial application. It was simply to ask that two forms with photocopied signatures be signed by us in person. More often than not RFEs seem to be for small - but important - oversights like this. The USCIS should tell you exactly what they are missing. Just do your very best to give them what they need, and there shouldn't be a problem. The quicker you respond, the less time it will add to your wait. Our RFE added perhaps two-to-four weeks to the overall processing time of our K1 application, which - I promise - doesn't seem like much when you're finally together. All the best, Jim.	morning75	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2006-03-28 01:41:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Bank Letter!	It turns out my bank (US Bank) has an actual verification of deposits department. I had to fax a signed request to them (with all the info stated on the I-134 instructions). They told me it would take 2-3 days to process and cost $10. Ten bucks?? That makes me mad. Our local bank did it for free, luckily. Man, it's nice that when places open a 'department' that gives them license to charge. Oh well. I'm going to open my own 'Overdraft Avoidance Department' and charge the bank $10 a month for all the effort it takes to budget sensibly and not eat out every night. Hey! How about a 'Hangover Recovery Department'? Ha! Anheuser-Busch are screwed!	morning75	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2006-05-05 08:28:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Oops should say UK	Just go to your local police station and ask them for the form you need to request a copy of your 'Prosecution/Conviction' record. They'll give you what you need. On the form tick the box that says you need information for 'Prosecutions/Convictions' then sit back and wait! It usually takes around 30-40 days, so you're doing the right thing by getting it done early. Mine arrived four days before my interview. Many fingernails were bitten. Jim Edited by morning75, 10 July 2006 - 10:32 AM.	morning75	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2006-07-10 10:31:00