biggish data

Couple of things, for DOS, press 1, then 0. That will get you to a live operator. You can ask if London has received your case file and what your LND number is to book your medical.

As long as you are not going through AP at NVC, I think you might be able to squeak by. Do you have your P3 documents ready to go and your birth certificate long form/police certificate, etc? If not, do it NOW so that as soon as DOS tells you that London has sent out the P3 you can mail it straight in, requesting ASAP for an interview.

I do have all paperwork ready. Thanks for the reassurance.
There is hope that I may not be facing selling the Big Issue with my dogs on the streets after all! I'll sleep a bit better tonight.

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-03-10 13:20:00

When I've called DOS in the past, here is what I dialed: (202) 663-1225 - press 1, 0. Never had a problem getting through, but it can be a bit unsettling after you press 0 there can be prolonged periods of silence.

Regarding your interview & visa, if you've mailed P3 in already I'd say you chances are pretty good. If you haven't, when you do, I would include a cover letter describing your urgent need to be out of the UK by 30 June. London tend to be excellent in accommodating special requests.

Julez, thank you so much for responding to me.

Thanks for the tip on DOS line. I just got through, no problem, only to be told London not received it yet (sent 7 days ago, but never mind!).

Thanks for the assurance that London may accommodate my request if I write a letter. I didn't know I could do that. I would NEVER ask for any expediating for my own self - could not care less how long I have to wait personally, even if I had to sleep in the streets. and I am not having any wedding with guests (I have no one to invite, just my dogs!).
It's just like being a "single parent" with serious responsibilities for dependents (makes no difference if they are dogs, same as kids, they are wholly dependent on me for their care, shelter and wellbeing and one of them is 12 with arthritis) who will suffer enormously if they are moved and separated from me before the fear and stress they will endure of the flights. Am just hoping my letter doesn't land in the lap on any dog hating official!

Thanks again x

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-03-10 13:12:00

If you call the Dept of State for status, they will tell you if P3 has been sent. If so, you can send your forms into the embassy.

We never did get a letter regarding P3, and didn't run into any problems doing it the way I described.

Hi snowbunnies! Nice to see you helping us all out here.

That Dept of State phone number: 202 663 1225

For the life of me, I cannot get passed the "menus" at all! It's just a recorded list of "information". If you press the number for "fiance visas" it's just a recorded message explaining the process! Like we don't know! LOL. Cannot seem to get an option for a "live operator", or to "check case status" option.

And, everyone else here - going by current state of backlog, wait times for interview, what are my chances of getting interview and having visa in hand for last week in June. Zilch?

I am in a catch 22 situation. I have sold my house as I cannot leave UK without selling my house. It was not an option for me to leave it unsold indefinately and in the current market, I was lucky to sell it all. My buyer is holding me to ransom and will pull out and/or sue me if I don't get out for 30th June (I have pleaded with her!). If it was just me, being homeless is totally fine. Would wait as long as it takes. I have friends who would give me a sofa. However, I am now stressed out of my head over my dogs, who I am taking to the US with me. I have no family at all, and my friends are unable to take in my dogs as well as me, so they will have to go in kennels, which one of them can't cope with, and the worst thing for them is being subjected to more upheaval and stress before having to be put in crates and put on an plane.

I have never "off loaded" on VJ before. Sincere apologies for doing just that! The stress of this has just cracked this tough old dog.

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-03-10 10:48:00

You shouldn't send the response to P3 until you know the Embassy has sent P3 to you. Having it logged and them sending you P3 are 2 different things.

Thanks Julez, that's cleared up what was fast becoming an "urban myth"!

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-03-09 16:46:00

31 hours! I'm going to the dentist tomorrow morning, I'm sure that will help distract me David has actually never had any cavities so maybe that British stereotype not so true?

LOL! That would be the "great shoes, terrible teeth!" stereotype! The terrible teeth bit is true, it's the great shoes bit which isn't! That's the Italians.

Now, to less of a laughing matter. That packet 3. A number of folk are talking about sending the completed forms to the embassy (when it is confirmed by DOS that the embassy have logged the petition) before receiving the letter from the embassy. I have read a VJ post ages ago from someone who advised doing this.

Can any of our beloved gurus let me know what ya all think about doing this?

And, if we are doing this, what answer do we put to the question on the checklist "date of medical"?

Grateful for any input here.

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-03-09 16:31:00

a friend of mine (not on VJ) has told me to expect a 3 week wait from NOA2 to getting P3. Obviously just an estimate but here's hoping

sundrop - can you add me to the waiting interview list

Thanks Miss Jess. Loving your secret sources.
Then the longest wait for all of us for interview date in the current state of UK Embassy backlog now further curtailed by staff sickness! (wonder what they've all gone down with? hoping it's not work related stress!). Another week starts tomorrow. A new week of waiting related stress for us to suck up and enjoy! Till we get the interview date, can't plan or commit to anything, the things which have nothing to do with our big move. Am loving every minute of this journey, I sure am! x

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-03-07 16:31:00

Just received a phonecall from a friendly woman at the embassy (I nearly died when my dad told me who was on the phone) who told me that due to staff illness, my interview's been postponed to the 16th. Anyone else? I know it's just one more week but we're both gutted

That's awful! Feel for you. Talk about having your nerves shredded. So, what if you don't live in London and had booked non refundable flights/train tickets, hotels?

Also, may I ask anyone on this thread, how do you find out when the embassy has received your case from NVC - do you call DOS? And, I what is the likely wait for packet 3? And, thirdly, how do you find out when they have logged receipt of packet 3 when you send it back to them?

muchos gracias for anyone's time. I've read so much on VJ, have now got confused over how to track it all. Whatever this process may or may not be, it certainly could never be called "user friendly"!

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-03-04 16:02:00

Yay!!!!! Time to celebrate!!!! 18 weeks cut down to less than 5 remaining before the interview date! Congratulations, ohlpomr!!!!!!

I have a feeling this news is going to make a lot of people feel less stressed around the boards, lurkers and members.

Oh you are so right, it sure has.

(IV Branch? I guess that stands for international visas and not intravenous fluids. If we were waiting for blood transfusions from them, we'd all be dead!)

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-03-03 13:52:00

That's a way aways! Gracious....

Please do complete your timeline, because it's helpful for others going through the same process as you. As someone asked, is this normal for DCFs through London and that's something that VJers who use the timelines as a guide to processing times could answer, except if the data isn't there!

Go to this page and under the 'Timeline Functions' opt to edit/add your entry.

Thank you

Hi Sundrop & fellow UK comrades

I just got my NOA2 on 23 Feb, so am now applying for membership to your gang here.
The ohlpour 20th July interview date shocker - well, the shock of that was enough to kill a horse. Me and my dogs will be homeless on 30th June due to having sold my house, so if I don't get through the next state of the process by then......I'll be selling the Big Issue to you all outside the UK Embassy!

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-02-28 08:19:00

You know, something keeps striking me as well. The surreality of it all, I remember when I first created my account here, C and I were desparately seeking advice and how to go about the whole process. Then when we saw the time frames and finally submitted the i-130 the whole process seemed to stretch on forever. Hard to believe it is all done now and we did get through it!

At times this forum has kept me sane! And as pdcvcm says, good luck to the rest of you January inerviewees and everyone else going through the process, your time will come!

Hi NotworkSte- sorry for butting in - just read your embassy review and then looked at your profile..and saw the L&BP mention - G Division - could not believe I was reading that sentence on this site, talk about surreal! I am ex-L&BP - E Division, so just wanted to say congratulations and good luck! Welcome to America indeed and a big cheerio to Livi (where I have never been able to venture without getting lost!) x

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-01-22 17:51:00

The 2009 United Kingdom Interview Thread!

Hi everyone! We have finally got our interview date: January 25th at 8.30am! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Im so excited! We're nearly there!

Fantastic news! Really happy for you both and Honey! Me and my dogs will have everything crossed for you on the 25th and be with you in spirit.
Packet 3, Rachel - can I ask, did they actually send you a physical packet in the post, or were you told just to download them and send them in? And, if the latter, how was this instruction communicated to you?
Am trying to be one step ahead in all I need to know in this maze
Ta!
Christine x

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-01-07 06:09:00

Yes!! It's another shipping thread

I had a bad experience with John Mason. I paid £2500 for a full service, a few bits of furniture and about 20 boxes. As I was leaving the UK the day before as I had to travel with my dogs, I had arranged for a friend to be at my house to receive the crew from John Mason. I paid for a full packing service as I did not want my friend to be inconvenienced. When I asked my "international move manager" at John Mason (who was useless, could barely speak on the phone, it was always like drawing teeth, she was like a shy child), how long the packing would take, she said "not long, they are very fast".

When I arrived at Newark Airport, and in the immigration line at "soft processing" awaiting to see an immigration officer at my POE, my phone rang. It was a removal company I had never heard of asking me "how much stuff do you have for the move tomorrow?". John Mason had not bothered passing on this information.

John Mason had contracted out my job without telling me. When the contracted company arrived at my house they told my friend they had been told by John Mason that this was not a packing job, the stuff was packed and they just had to lift it. They guy said, before he spoke to me at Newark Airport they were only going to send 1 man with a small van!
My friend had to argue with them and they then had to pack it and took 6 hours (in my opinion "not long" doesn't mean 6 hours, and I didn't have that much stuff). However, the contractors were 3 elderly men. If you hired them independently, they would not cost as much as John Mason as they are not in the same league. I just feel ripped off.

I complained to John Mason. They then stated their policy is NOT to inform the customer if they are contracting out a job. So, beware of this, if anyone else is thinking of hiring John Mason.

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-07-27 11:01:00

Departure points are determined by the airline, not the airport. No all airlines carry live animals. Heathrow is mentioned a lot because it has an animal reception centre with specialised staff. I'm flying with Continental from Edinburgh. The airline tells you what flights you can get on. In Continental's case, I had to get certain flights, certain planes with a specific hold big enough for my dogs crates. But I think there is less restrictions with cats, simply in terms of space!

Some airlines won't allow you to book your animal yourself without using a petrelocator, British Airways for one. Also, their check in time for animals is 4 hours, Continental is 3 hours.

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-06-22 05:56:00

I just wanted to post an update to say that Sally has arrived in the US and is now safely home with my fiance and I.

Although Sally's flight landed in Kansas at around 8:30, the cargo department (when we called them earlier) told us she'd probably be ready to collect by 9:30 at the earliest. We got there at 9, because my fiance and I would rather we had to sit and wait for her, rather than her wait for us.

It wasn't very busy at all at the cargo area. (Just one person leaving with their dog as we arrived, and another dog - a puppy - waiting to be collected). After confirming that I was the person authorized to collect Sally on the paperwork, we were told to wait.

About 10 minutes later, a member of staff brought Sally through to us. Asked to see my passport and had me sign a piece of paper. Then we were good to go. They didn't even ask us to pay the $50 fee (and when we asked about it, they just said "don't worry about it"). It was all extremely quick and efficient. They didn't even need to see our waybill ticket.

Although Sally looked a little sorry for herself in her kennel, she didn't seem overly frightened or agitated. The cat kennel that PetAirUK provided was very sturdy, and also came with a really useful funnel attached to the water dish - so Sally could be given water as needed. She didn't have any water left in her bowl when she was handed over to us, so as soon as we got her cage safely installed in the car, we filled her bowl for her and set off on the 3 hour drive back home.

She cried a little on the way home, but not too much. She seemed to sleep (or at least be napping) some too, which was good.

When we got her home, we let her out in the bedroom to begin with. (I didn't want to overwhelm her with too much new space all at once). She came out of her box cautiously, but certainly didn't hesitate to remain in the box any longer than need be. Sally loves affection, so as soon as she was out of her box, she came straight over for a fuss. Then she explored the room a little, and after satisfying her curiosity (at least for the time being) came back to us for more fuss. We offered her food and water again, and she ate and drank and then used her litter box. There was no mess in the actual cat kennel, so Sally had gone about 6 hours without relieving herself by then.

For the next few hours, Sally spent her time between wanting affection from my fiance and I, and eating and drinking. Although she seems unharmed by her journey, she does seem a little restless and very clingy. It isn't usual for her to follow me or my fiance around from room to room, but she's been doing so since she got here.

And although she's adjusting to her new home, she hasn't completely settled in just yet. She seems happy and content in the bedroom and office, but the living area seemed to frighten her and she seems nervous about entering that area. (My fiance thinks maybe the fact that it is a large, open area is why she is cautious). She also seems rather afraid of the rabbit, and ran to hide in the bedroom when she heard the rabbit make a noise in its cage in the living area. Oh, and she also seems to be upset by mirrors, for some reason. (She's been meowing at them a lot!)

We set up two feliway plug-ins throughout our apartment, in order to help calm her. I have had great success with feliway in the past, and I know that it has been effective in helping calm Sally during stressful events.

She seems extremely tired though, and from about 4pm onwards she's been following us from room to room and finding the nearest comfortable spot to sleep.

All in all though, the whole thing seems to have gone very well. I am very satisfied with the service PetAir have offered and would definitely use them again. (Also, something I found kinda cool-once Sally was on her England to US flight on Tuesday, I entered the flight details at Delta and got to watch the progress of the plane during actual flight. And PetAir also provided a link to Delta airline's cargo site, so I could check the status of my "package" and confirm that she'd been unloaded okay. It wasn't much, but it was a help at reassuring me.)

Bless Sally! She did it. Your posts are really helpful and reassuring to people like me who are about to put their pets through this. Thank you.

All in all, yes, it is undoubtedly stressful for any animal to be put in a crate and on a plane, but it is only 1 day out of their entire life.

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-05-27 16:53:00

Oops, just a correction for clarification purposes. I meant to say "PetAir" not "AirPets". These names are so easy to get confused. (Sorry about the double post-it wouldn't let me edit)

Thanks for taking the time to post all that info. Huge hugs to you about dear old Lady. x

I hired petrelocation.com. They are a US based company and have allocated an agent in the UK to me who works for Pets on the Move. No complaints so far.

I got my travel crates delivered today for my two dogs. One dog has already gone in off his own free will and is currently sleeping in it! The other is a big woos, and won't go near it, even scared to fetch a treat out of it. I am flying them in 5 weeks so plenty time for the big woos to get over himself!

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-05-24 15:53:00

Hi Christine! Well, I'm not 100% sure about whether the Tick & Tapeworm is mandatory but it is for us, as we've got the the Pet Passport (it even has to be Drontal to comply with the regulations). But its only costing us an extra £30 to have it and its done at the same time as the final exam - we're doing that on the Saturday and we fly out on the Monday. Our vet is also going to write on the health certificate that shes had those treatments too. One less thing to worry about...

When do you fly out? Only 8 weeks to go for us!! Cant wait to get the doggy trip over with to be honest. Russ moves into our new house in the morning aswell! Definitely an exciting time!! Speak soon!

You are so fantastically organised and detailed in everything you do. If I was hiring a PA, I would head hunt you. I'm in between sending packet 3 back and awaiting interview date, London is so slow, but packet 4 expected in about 2-3 wks going by other timelines. I'm hoping to travel end of June at the latest as that's when I have sold my house, so fingers crossed for no unexpected visa hitches or London backlogs!

Honey will be so used to her crate now. I'm gonna get mine in about a month for my 2 to get used to theirs.

OK - hope Russ is going to enjoy feathering the new nest for you and Honey coming (and hoping the job and the cruella deville lady boss isn't raining on your parade). spk soon x

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-03-31 16:26:00

CSC Slowing Down on I-130s??

Hey Rachel!

Always the guru you, when it comes to this subject! Tick treatment? Neither my vet nor petreolcator has mentioned that, so, thanks to you, I will be getting it done at the fitness to fly visit to the vet, as like you, so do not want any hitches with the pooches journey.

Thanks for the youtube of what goes on at Continental. Really helpful.

And for the previous poster, I have 2 large dogs flying from UK to South Carolina (2 flights). Cost £2,000 each, but that includes services from petreolcator, the crates, and transport from my home to the airport etc, etc.

doghandler

Female

United Kingdom

2010-03-31 11:43:00

USCIS Service Centers

That's crazy!!!

I'm so fed up with the way things are going with CSC. A dead snail moves faster!

My lovely boss feels that bad for the 3 of us she is letting me have a whole 7 weeks off work so that me and my son can go and spend Christmas, new year, my birthday and our 4 year anniversary together. WOOHOO!! Booking flights tomorrow after work. :dance:

lyndsaycribbs

Female

United Kingdom

2011-09-15 19:24:00

USCIS Service Centers

CSC Slowing Down on I-130s??

It looks like they are on strike!

lyndsaycribbs

Female

United Kingdom

2011-08-23 09:42:00

passport went through the wash

so, steven's UK passport went through the was today. I've been looking into what he needs to do to get it replaced.

I'm looking on the http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/ site, and I'm confused. from what I understand, we need to fill out the lost or stolen passport notification... but I'm not clear on if he needs to fill out a C1 or a BNO-A.

it also says you have to have someone who has known you for 2 years and is a 'professional' as a countersign. I would have NO idea who could do this for him as he's only been here since march.

does anyone have any advice on this?

You will want the C1 form and you would tick option C, as your situation would be classed as other, and include the damaged passport with the application. im not sure about the countersigned picture, i will have a look and add another comment if i find anything

lyndsaycribbs

Female

United Kingdom

2011-06-19 12:43:00

American marry British fiance in America

With a student visa you are limited to how much you can work and they have a financial requirement also you can only stay for so long after your course is finished.

With a fiance visa you have to be planning on getting married within 6 months in the uk

this is the link for the home office website for all the info you need on types of visas and what is required http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/

lyndsaycribbs

Female

United Kingdom

2011-08-04 11:30:00