Moving to America Checklist

[Mark UK 3]

Dear all,

I GOT MY K-1 VISA!!! W0000000000000000000000000000000000000000t. After ten months and a lot of frustration, delay and heartache, it finally came at the weekend!

I booked the tickets at the weekend and have resigned my job. I'll be flying to the US of A in mid-October!

As an aide memoire, and as an easy checklist, could you fine people please fill in any of the blanks that I've missed in this checklist?

If there's a link to another checklist somewhere, I'd appreciate the URL instead of filling up this forum :-)

I'm a UK citizen, so some of this might be Brit-specific….

In the UK

Get K-1 visa

Book flights

Resign job

Sell things

Throw things away

Buy some big suitcases

Inform everyone that you're leaving and cancel subscriptions (mobile phone, etc)

Pack things into the suitcases as a dry run

Buy some more suitcases?

Leave job

Fill out tax rebate

Fill out student loan waiver

Arrange US health insurance

Pack things into suitcases

Keep medical records (DS-something?), passport/visa and big sealed enveloppe in carry-on luggage

LEAVE ON A JETPLANE

In the USA

ARRIVE (on a jetplane, hopefully, unless I used the wrong door to visit the bathroom and I've had to swim across the Atlantic to get to New York )

Go through PoE - immigration interview - hand over documentation, ask for EAD (at JFK) and get I-94

Connect to destination

Be reunited with my fiancée

Wait two weeks until my details are in SAVE

Apply for marriage licence

Go to Social Security office and apply for a card - ask for a temporary number?

Get married

• Do I need to do anything about the marriage certificate here? I'm hoping to submit the AoS/EAD paperwork the same day we're married, if possible
  

Complete AoS and EAD - need to get immunisations authorised beforehand

• not sure if I have to fill out another I-129F (now called I-130?) and I-134 (now called I-865?)
  

Go on honeymoon

Apply for driving licence (once I have my SSN)

Apply for bank account (once I have my SSN)

Twiddle my thumbs a bit and hopefully work

Get my temporary EAD

Work with my EAD

Wait 18 months

Have AoS interview

Get green card

Become US citizen

Anything I've missed? Any hints and tips?

Mark

[aidan80 9]

Congratulations on getting your K-1! I remember mine as if it was just last year.. ah.. it was just last year in London!

I don’t know if this helps but this is what I did before I bailed out and when I arrived on.. the other side!

Back Home!

Headed off to London for the interview… got the K-1!

Booked a cheap Direct flight from Dublin to Orlando 188 EUR!

Gave notice to my employer!

Threw a lot of stuff away, packed stuff and had people keep it for me!

Bought some big, big suitcases!

I was lucky that I had little to cancel and everyone knew I was going!

Saved up extra cash!

Left my job

I packed the last two days before I left

Said bye, bye to just about everyone

My entire life was now in those two big suitcases and a small carryon bag

I couldn’t afford health insurance at all, only got some earlier this year through my wife!

Hang on to that all important “brown envelope, visa” and other important documents for when you land

I left on a half empty Aer Lingus flight, didn’t get fed enough but had a very nice flight over!

Arrived in the USA

Got off the plane and went through security again lost a lighter in the process

After much walking and a short trip on a train later I found the POE, but there was no EAD for me!

Reunited with my then fiancée November 2005

Plan wedding; met all these mad American people

We applied for marriage license

Waited a few weeks for details to get into the SAVE system and we headed for the SSA office!

Run over deer and half wreck the car!

Married!

Had car fixed, got a rental truck almost bigger than our house!

Told work would be done on our car within 1 week..

4 weeks later car returned with only cosmetic damage repaired

Car still damaged, garage claims it’s fixed state farm believes them!

A new water pump, lots of bills and everything else later…

Ahh.. I did file a P85 before I left!

AOS & EAD filed for.. delayed until April 2006

Added to checking account using just a passport, SS # & marriage license

EAD issued June 06… postman sends it back to USCIS.. Thanks USPS we really needed that!

August 06, an infopass appointment and some 800 calls later EAD is in hand!

August 06 AOS interview set for October 06

Lots of jobs applied for, at last I can work!

Passed DMV written test, Learners License in hand!

No honeymoon for us, we’re still too skint!

That’s my long mad story so far, before I left I thought.. get the K-1, get on a plane.. get married and we file for my AOS.. 3 months later I’m working and all is well.. well 10 months later and I’ve only just got my first interview!

I hope you get a smooth trip without any bumps on the road.

Good Luck!

[Dr_LHA 3]

If you have a favorite brand of UK only indigestion tablets (e.g. Rennie), bring them.