UK Wiki

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

The much-needed but sorely overlooked UK Wiki is here: UK Wiki

Nich-Nick recently mentioned the UK wiki, which is sadly dormant. There have been a few valiant attempts to get it going, but it dies because people don't bother to update it. A lot of really good information for people of all visa types gets lost in threads, as Nich said. The process is different at every stage for every different type of visa -- the CR1/IR1 people have different checklists than the K1 people, the DCF folk need to prove domicile, the K3 people are contending (there are still one or two) with an obsolescent process... it can get very confusing very quickly, and people may assume that one protocol is applicable to them when it isn't applicable to their visa type.

Whilst I understand what is trying to be done with the thread on things that need to be done between NOA2 and Packet 3, there are subtle differences that need to be drawn into relief, and the differences change over time. The wikis were put in place on VJ to be living documents, to be a resource area that could be changed easily and -- crucially -- by everyone who chooses to take part. I'm sure I'm not the only one to think that this is an under-utilised resource.

So here's my proposal: let's collectively overhaul the wiki and keep it up to date. We could start by coming up with a list of possible topics (K1 Pre-filing and 129F; CR1/IR1 at the NVC; the interview; etc etc) and then get people to volunteer to keep these up to date on a regular basis, say once every couple of weeks or once a month. People would need to commit to doing this, and if they felt they can't after a while, to hand over to someone else. But at the same time, everyone should feel free to update wherever they see the need. Anything that looks wrong can be amended easily and quickly.

We should also probably get a link to the wiki pinned to the top of the UK forum; there's currently space. And once the wiki is in good enough shape we should start linking to it in posts in addition to of course putting info in individual replies, like "for more info, see the wiki." That way, if someone was reading the post at some point in the future, they could get the most current info on that topic, which could very well be different than what was in the post itself.

This is a big project, and is going to require diligence and application. So... anyone in? Or am I just having a rainbows and unicorns moment?

Edited April 10, 2010 by elmcitymaven

[woki1986 1]

Mm it is a bit sad. It is hard finding info sometimes when you either need to search exactly what you're looking for and find exactly that within a few pages of your results... Or post about it and be told that someone already asked about that, look harder

(I haven't had that happen to me yet, just it pointing out.) I tried looking for a post on removals and it wasNich-Nick that put me onto the actual thread, and I had looked. Nich-Nick is a wealth of info

I can try, but I don't know much help I'll be able to be able to give, exactly. (Fiance's better at this stuff than me. But if you need someone to compile links and references, I can do that.)

I can also make the tea and coffee and hand around slices of cake.

[Christi and Ian 24]

I think it's a great idea, but don't feel in any way qualified to contribute - other than I know what documents were required in our particular case - both for K-3 (which we started as), and CR-1 (which we are now, since K-3 died @ NVC before we were approved @ CSC on February 1st)

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Christi and Ian -- ANYTHING on the K3 would be great! And IR1/CR1 stuff is much appreciated.

MattHeartCass -- I like lemon cake. Just kidding. I prefer chocolate. No really! Anything on the K1 process would be good.

I took a nap (so sue me -- I was up at 6.45am on a Saturday to go grab a dim sum breakfast, you'd need a nap too, what with the early start and the incipient food coma) and as I was drifting off I was thinking about this -- topics should be built by teams and then monitored and kept healthy by one or two people. If we have as many people as possible at the beginning, we can all contribute our little pieces of knowledge. Poiteen was the real pioneer in getting the wiki going (she wrote the first UK DCF page), so I might ask her about helping me expand Nich's UK wiki by putting down additional placeholders in the existing page. We'll probably need more pages at some point when the single-page format starts to be unwieldy.

Hmmmm. A lot to consider! So we have Matt and Christi (or Cass and Ian?) down for K1 and K3/CR1/IR1, and I'm happy to tidy up the existing UK DCF info. More! We need more!

[Lansbury 19]

OK I'm in for whatever I can do. Been so long since I went through the process I'm not sure use I'll be.

[jhphi 0]

I'd be happy to help with anything I can contribute for the UK DCF pages-- but with less than two weeks away from our interview, and hoping to move to the US in three weeks, I'm a little bit swamped right now with packing/selling stuff/travelling/etc. Once we get to the US, we're basically heading right back out again for two separate long international trips, so May's also out for helping. But if the pages need any help later this summer, I'm your girl!

[Laura & Kyle 16]

My husband is from the UK, and we went through the VWP... I can't comment on the K1 or the CR1/IR1 process.. but we'd like to help where possible.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Having someone who has done AOS from VWP could be very useful, and Lansbury's knowledge is pretty deep. And recent DCFers' help would be great too. Thanks guys!

Okay -- so pages could be something like:

• K1
• K3 (which could then be locked when the whole process really is dead)
• IR1/CR1
• DCF
• Other family visas: K2, CR2/IR2, IR5
• AOS from VWP
• The medical -- what to expect
• The interview
• Police certificates
• Psychiatric evaluation letter

Any more ideas? There could also be plenty of non-visa pages, like a list of British pubs in the US, British shops (brick and mortar and online), moving your stuff to the US, etc etc.

I have NO experience doing a wiki, and this week is a bit heavy for me work-wise -- maybe I can try and get something going next week?

[Lansbury 19]

Any more ideas?

Arrival in the US with your visa. POE what to expect, how long, connecting flights etc.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Great ideas.

Maybe also: contacting the embassy, what to do when you leave the UK (P85, stopping bills, etc)

[NotworkSte 19]

elmcitymaven - since I went through the CR-1 process, happy to help out on that.

May be relevant, may be not, although I went CR-1, we got married over in the UK. Rather than direct people to UK Yankee (which is a great site) might be useful to have information here on the marriage visitor visa for getting married on the UK.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

That's a terrific idea. I know a little about how to get married in the UK if you are already a settled person (we looked into it before plumping to go back to the US for the ceremony) but little about the fiance/marriage visitor visa.

Edited April 12, 2010 by elmcitymaven

[Lansbury 19]

Great ideas.

Maybe also: contacting the embassy, what to do when you leave the UK (P85, stopping bills, etc)

Yes they are good too.

Maybe you can delegate bits out to others to write and then send you the bits to assemble into the WIKI. I'm happy to do the POE bits and anything else you want, that way it saves you from having to give up a lot of your time. Unless you want to of course.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I think we should have a section on the substandard quality of US bread, bacon and cheese

as Cartman would say, clown hat curly hair smiley face

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Yes they are good too.

Maybe you can delegate bits out to others to write and then send you the bits to assemble into the WIKI. I'm happy to do the POE bits and anything else you want, that way it saves you from having to give up a lot of your time. Unless you want to of course.

Yep, sounds good. We need to get a template up and then we can delegate the articles. I am MORE than happy to delegate writing duties to whomever wants to be responsible for the drafting. I've got you down for POE stuff now.

I have some work-type stuff to do today, but tasks for me today would be:

1) Get template started (maybe ask Poiteen and/or Nich how they did this)

2) Get a GoogleDocs chart going of who has agreed to write what -- this will be open for people to amend

Trompe -- I nominate you and Alan to be in charge of the article on whingeing about bacon, bread, cheese, kettles and duvets.