biggish data

Vaccinations for male

That's right, same for me at 31. Chicken Pox (varicella) is also on the list, but they don't do that here. If you've had chicken pox, just tell the folks at Knightsbridge.

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-25 10:21:00

Anyone know of any cheap ways to calling UK mobiles?

Probably worth noting that the PC itself can have an impact on the sound quality and ability to webcam. Anything from the last few years should be fine, though.

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-25 12:04:00

Vaccination crap.

QUOTE (Nich-Nick @ Aug 27 2008, 12:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is from VJ guide to AOS

I-693, Medical Examination of Aliens Seeking Adjustment of Status. (If you already have this from your overseas Visa Interview submit a copy that medical check form; No fee is required in this case. If you are a K-1 fiancé(e) or K-2 dependent who had a medical examination within the past year as required for the nonimmigrant fiancé(e) visa, you only need to submit a vaccination supplement (I-693A ), not the entire medical report. You may include the vaccination supplement with your adjustment of status application.)

Unfortunately, this was made obsolete with changes made, I believe, in May this year. The guide hasn't been updated, although the pinned thread in the AOS forum has. Basically, there is no I-693A supplement. People submit a new I-693, filling out section 1 and letting the CS fill in the vaccination info in section 2 and their paw print in section 5.

I believe the old I-693 expires soon, so folk will want to be using the new one.

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-27 10:48:00

Vaccination crap.

Well, all I took was a very plain (if detailed) single sheet print out which detailed what vaccinations I'd had (basically, MMR and Tdap, about a month prior). It wasn't signed by the doctor or anything, so perhaps it was a print out in a format he recognised as being official, or something?

How old is your other half? Off the top of my head, a male aged 18 to 64 or so, he needs varicella, MMR and Tdap. I went through that really long list crossing off all the unnecessary ones (the list comes in packet 3, as I recall). I got the NHS nurse to double check through it too, in case I made any silly mistakes. We don't get varicella here, but Knightsbridge were content to accept me telling them I'd already had chicken pox, according to mum.

I reckon he'll get the relevant ones tomorrow and that'll be that, like

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-26 13:41:00

Vaccination crap.

To be honest, I didn't have comprehensive vaccination records either. My records pre-date the computerised NHS system, and although I was with the same doctor/surgery since a young lad, they couldn't find vaccination stuff in my paper records, either.

To get around this, I just had them do the Tdap and MMR jabs prior to the medical, and provide me with a print out which I gave to the Knightsbridge doctor. That may not be possible now, as the medical is tomorrow I note. If all else fails, Knightsbridge will be able to give you the required ones, for a fee.

Sorry, really not sure what they mean by the last bit there.

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-26 13:27:00

Medical question

At the interview, I noted to the immigration bloke that I was having my medical later that day and that they'd requested my passport. "Oh yeah, good point" he says, and goes off to make a photocopy of it. I gave this to the Knightsbridge lot (it wasn't a particularly clear, black and white copy) and they were fine with it. I assume that as long as it's legible and you can make out the photo. If you haven't got a copier to hand, I'm sure the embassy folks will copy it for you.

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-27 10:52:00

'The Sun' says

QUOTE (ginger1981 @ Aug 29 2008, 08:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How sweet...but is she independently wealthy? Holy mackeral, Nicky and I were luckier than most where we saw eachother every 3 months or so, but every fortnight? And flying INTO Glasgow from the US isn't cheap either!

But hell, if you can do it why not

I was thinking the same thing! It's very awesome they can see each other so much, but dang, that's a lot of money

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-29 10:33:00

Phew! Finally got here ....

We're right next door in Iowa City!

The Iowa City-Coralville area is a really great community!
Because of the university, there is a lot of diversity and people from all over the world here (our Walmart sometimes feels like walking in to a mini UN). I hope you'll like it here. Iowa is a great and friendly place to live and raise kids. If you have any questions about the community or area, please let me know!

Welcome to VJ and good luck with your journey!

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-27 10:35:00

Copies - Colour or Mono?

QUOTE (ginger1981 @ Aug 29 2008, 03:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

C'mon over to Adventureland, you're gonna have a fun-filled day! ...you must be an Iowegian!

Haha...ever since "Perfect Strangers" Balki danced around Wrigley it has been the place in Chicago to get your pic taken

NOOO!!!!! I'm going to have that in my head all day now (stupid local commercials ><)

I prefer Six Flags, but Adventureland is fun too!

-Shan

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-29 10:28:00

The United States of America - my thoughts so far

There's a thoroughly disheartening and completely unnecessary dissection of the US and UK going on here. Both have their pros and cons in equal measure, and while it's interesting to discover the differences, I'm not sure I'd go about attacking or defending them so vehemently as demonstrated.

If ever there was a case of "your mileage will vary", this is it.

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-28 09:52:00

The United States of America - my thoughts so far

Not sure why this discussion has to get heated, aside from Saywhat's potentially provocative initial comments. I think it's absurd to paint the US with the same brush, even internally things are different from one part to the other. I've spent a month or so in FL and now, a decade later, I live in Iowa. Completely different places.

I think the important bit to remember is that it's all opinion, hopefully based on experience and not conjecture. I've been meaning to do a big US vs UK comparison for a while now (not here, elsewhere, although a lot of the interesting points I've encountered have been flagged up in this thread already). Hopefully it'll be interesting, but the intention won't be serve as critique.

The US isn't a step up from the UK, it's just a fascinating side step.

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-26 13:18:00

Pre-"FAQ thread" thread

That's excellent, although can't think what else to add right now!

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-07-16 05:37:00

Suit or casual wear

Bit late to the discussion, but having sat in the embassy for about 3 hours, I saw every range of clothing imaginable. There were office types there, perhaps for work visas, done up in classy suits. There were people somewhere in the middle, and then there were others completely relaxed in a t-shirt and jeans.

I reckon I'd go with whatever is comfortable, as has been mentioned

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-26 13:43:00

QUOTE (L & P @ Aug 11 2008, 03:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi all,

Just to let you all know that I got married on Friday

.......Getting ready to start with AOS paperwork on Monday

I will upload a couple of wedding pictures later.

Congrats!

Stu and I were married on Friday too! I think it must have been a popular day to get married

At least it'll be easy to remember our anniversaries!

Congrats to you too Red Baron and Good luck to everyone that has an interview this week

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-11 13:01:00

Good luck to everyone that has an interview/flight/move coming up and Welcome to the US to everyone that's recently gotten here!

Edited by SMB x2, 09 August 2008 - 03:00 PM.

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-09 14:58:00

Sorry it's a bit late. Congrats to all the approvals and interview dates!!!

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-07-24 09:42:00

Do we post our interview reviews here too? Well, here it is copied from the timeline thingy, in case anyone is interested

July 10 interview:

I arrived outside the Embassy at around 9am (appointment time was 9.30am), having nipped to Gould's pharmacy just up N Audley road to get US style photos (2 for £5). After a 20 minute wait in the rain, I got to the front of the queue and was told the appointment letter I had with Packet 4 was incorrect. The guy checked all my papers, eventually went off and spoke to someone else and came back to tell me my appointment letter was fine, telling me "I've never seen this kind of letter before." Let that be a heads up to everyone else.

You can't take phones, usb memory sticks or anything with batteries in to the Embassy, as I was kindly informed by the policeman outside. Your wallet, spare change and belt etc will be placed into a plastic bag before you go through the metal detector to get in.

Once inside, I got a ticket from the front desk and went up in to the main hall. I'd estimate there were around 100-150 people sat waiting, watching the plasma screens for their number to be called. Although an absolute boat load of people were there for non-immigrant visas, there were only 6 people ahead of me in the queue for immigrant type visas, according to the display.

Unfortunately, my wait was about 90 minutes, but I was eventually called to booth 13 around the back and asked to sign the various DS papers I had sent with packet 3. Once done, I had to go a few yards to the left to booth 12 to pay the £66 (came to £68 with the fee Barclays charged me for the currency conversion from $). Back at booth 13, I gave the guy my ACPO certificate and a copy, my birth certificate and a copy and the I-134 package, including supporting evidence. This included 05, 06 and 07 tax forms, letter from the bank, letter from the employer and recent pay stubs.

Once done I went back to the main hall and waited for my number to be called again. You'll be called to booth 15 or 16 apparently, I got called to 16 after about 15 minutes. An American chap greeted me this time. After holding up my hand and swearing to tell the truth, I was asked numerous questions, such as how we met, how many times we'd visited each other, etc. The whole time he looked directly at me and knew all the answers without having to reference the papers. After about 10-15mins I was accepted pending the medical results.

I queued to pay the courier and opted for the £14 option, as I just finished work so will be home all day now. You can get delivery prior to 8am for a bit extra. I was told that if I wasn't at home, someone else could sign on my behalf as long as I left ID with them (drivers license, credit card etc).

Aside from the initial fright over the "wrong" letter and the lengthy wait, it was all very straight forward, thankfully!

I didn't put this in the timeline review, but a huge thanks to the funny policeman with the machine gun outside the Embassy. He made me laugh, which I really needed at this point. Didn't get his name though unfortunately. Still,

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-07-12 17:47:00

Congrats to Bex!
As soon as Stu is up to it (and not going crazy trying to get things packed up and all) I'll poke him and remind to write medical and interview reviews.
Hope everyone that is waiting for an interview date hears something soon and again, good luck to all those that have an interview coming up!

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-07-11 15:54:00

Finally back in Wales, I can't believe what an emotionally and physically exhausting day that was.

Thanks everyone, I'll get some interview/medical notes typed up tomorrow when I can find the relevant threads! Just so relieved that leg of the journey is (hopefully) done and dusted now.

*collapses on his bed*

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-07-09 16:17:00

Stu was approved this morning (pending the medical)!!!!

Congrats to everyone else that's been approved recently and good luck to everyone that has an interview coming up

-Shan

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-07-09 07:02:00

Woohoo!! Congrats L&P!

Good luck to everyone that's still waiting on P4 or has an interview coming up!

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-06-30 11:45:00

I guess everything was ok with the missing paperwork, because Stu's interview has been scheduled for July 9.

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-06-27 08:41:00

QUOTE (guinness1969 @ Jun 17 2008, 02:43 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am really starting to worry. I called DoS the other day and a nice lady said everything (packet 3) was recieved June 3rd and yet Andy still does not have packet 4 and an interview date.

If I'm following the embassy timeline, it is 10 to 12 weeks after they recieve packet 3 to interview? That would be Sept! Our anniversary is August 13.

What can I do? Do I continue to call DoS? I can't even figure out how everyone can see if their case has been "touched".

I'm sure somewhere on here these answer have been given 100 times but if anyone can give me some idea of what is going on or what I can do, PLEASE HELP!

I think you're still within normal times to receive packet 4, but it's so frustrating not knowing, isn't it?

I don't know what everyone else has done, but I'm calling DoS every other day or so.
Also, FYI you don't necessarily need the LDN# when you call. The lady I spoke to yesterday was able to look everything up from my SSN.
I hope you hear something soon!

-Shan

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-06-17 07:25:00

Congrats on the interview dates!

I called DoS this morning to see if they had anything for us yet and of course, it's still a bit too early to have an interview scheduled, I guess. The embassy received packet 3 from Stu on the 9th (last Monday) and the very nice lady at DoS I spoke to said to give it another week because we're not even in their system yet and that p3 was probably still in the Embassy mailroom. I'm trying not to worry too much about it, but we've got a tentative wedding date for August 8 and from the scheduling I'm seeing so far, I'm not sure we're going to make that...

I wonder if the nice people at the DoS would still be nice if I started calling every other day?

-Shan

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-06-16 11:00:00

QUOTE (pandora @ Jun 14 2008, 11:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

can you add me to interview date list please

Woot Woot we have one for 9am (omg thats the crack of dawn) on 8th July

So time to book babysitter

spent all the time waiting and waiting now its like omg i;m moving. Now time to panic over can i get everything done - just soooooooooooooooo glad i sold my house back in January

Congrats!!!

Hopefully Stu and I will hear something soon. I know there's people that have been waiting much longer than us, but we've been waiting since November and we're starting to get a little impatient

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-06-15 11:19:00

Yay for all the approvals!

Right now, we're anxiously waiting for Stu to receive packet 4 and tell us when we're up. I can't wait to be a nervous wreck when he goes

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-06-06 18:03:00

Congrats to everyone that's been approved lately!

-Shannon

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-05-29 10:09:00

I'm glad that sealed packet will be sent to Stu and not to me, because knowing my luck, my 6 year old would find it and open it ><

Congrats to everyone that's been approved and good luck to those that have interviews coming up!

-Shan

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-05-20 15:35:00

Is it just me or are they playing a lot more British artists on American radio these days? Not complaining, I think it's awesome, but just something I noticed more this summer. They're playing a lot of Duffy, Estelle, Leona Lewis, etc...

It's pretty cool though, I like their music!

-Shan

Edited by SMB x2, 27 August 2008 - 10:42 AM.

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-27 10:41:00

QUOTE (elmcitymaven @ Aug 23 2008, 06:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Stu -- here's a picture of the Jag for you:

Oh nice

Going to need a pipe, pair of slippers and 30 year old single malt, with that parked on the drive!

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-25 12:00:00

Old school Jag, eh. Tres bon.

And congrats, Cookie. Always more room here for someone from the Land of my Fathers

Stu

Edited by SMB x2, 21 August 2008 - 10:47 AM.

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-21 10:47:00

We interrupt this car/sexy male athlete/alcohol discussion to make the following announcement:

Stu just had a bacon sarnie with HP SAUCE!

nom nom nom

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-20 19:12:00

QUOTE (ginger1981 @ Aug 20 2008, 05:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hahaha...Iowa's speed limit is ridiculously slow (on I-80). It was always hard for me going from Nebraska (I-80 speed limit 75) to Iowa (65...or at least that was what it was last time I drove through).

Have you given gravel roads a try yet?

Yeah, speed limits around here are kinda weird. I-80 keeps randomly bouncing back and forth between 65 and 70. Just "national speed limit" the lot and have done with it ><

Gravel roads are interesting, I don't recommend them if you've recently cleaned the car!

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-20 12:13:00

Eek :/

If that's you having passed any driving test recently (sorry, I don't know your circumstances exactly), honestly, you'd be amazed how quickly you pick it up and relax. The important thing, which my sister didn't do and has all but given up driving, is to keep through it, even if you have to dawdle about empty roads in the wee hours, just to set your mind at ease. My dad used comment that my knuckles went white, from gripping the steering wheel so tight, and driving made me ache. One day I'm like hang on, I'm completely relaxed here, and I wasn't even mindful of the transition. It'll come, soon!

If it's adjusting to the US road system, I hear ya. I can drive anywhere with Shan in the car now though, giving me directions. It was kinda weird going back to white knuckle driving again, but after about 3 or 4 weeks, it's back to relaxed.

Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs, I'm sure it'll be ok though

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-19 15:55:00

Morning

Hmm, reading the blurb on the Iowa DMV site, looks like I'll need either the EAD or greencard to apply for a license here. They should give me an honorary license for being one of the only people to stick to the speed limit here

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-19 13:22:00

I wasn't sure where to post this, but I thought it might be useful info for someone (I'll try and shoehorn it into a sig later).

I applied for my SSN on the 1st of Aug, having landed in the US late afternoon, on the 24th July. The bloke at the SSN office said I wasn't on the system yet, but he'd file it through as soon as I was. It just arrived this afternoon, 12th Aug.

Not a bad turn around, hopefully that's of use to someone!

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-12 15:31:00

Thanks for the congrats guys

One of the first things we did as a married couple, was go out for ice cream and then went and bought a new bed. I haven't slept so well in a while.

Gemmie, that dissertation sounds very interesting. You'll have to let us know how it goes! =)

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-11 13:10:00

Good afternoon everyone!
Stu and I got married yesterday!

Now we're going through everything so we can send off AOS paperwork next week. Yay more USCIS paperwork

At least we're together now

Weedebz, it depends on where you are in NE, but we're not too far from Nebraska, being in Iowa. I have no idea about the cat, though, sorry

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-08-09 14:53:00

Sorry for the delay in posting, been a bit swept up in the whole "woohoo, I'm here!" thing. Anyway, woohoo, I'm here!

I can't believe how hot it is here. I mean, I've been to Florida as a kid so knew roughly what to expect, but yeah, it's sweat city!

It's weird, I was really anxious in the few days leading up to moving here, but as soon as I waved my folks goodbye and went up the escalator to departures at Terminal 3, I went straight into "w00t, off to America!" mode. Settling in here pretty quickly too, surprising myself how quickly I'm getting used to it.

Anyway, just sat here chomping down some Patak's mango chutney with dips (nom nom nom!) and counting down the hours so I can go pick up Shan from work

My quest to find HP sauce has come up blank so far. Could have used it on some burgers last night too!

Stu

SMB x2

Male

Wales

2008-07-30 12:25:00