Post Embassy Drama, UK VJer 'Life In The USA' Edition.

[chrismorrison 96]

Chris, how long do you think it will take for Kas to get his EAD? I've read that it can take months?

Based on VJ processing times, we should have an answer in a month. According to VJ data, they're working on early May applications. It hasn't even been 2 months yet.

[-Shana- 152]

EAD and AP were approved yesterday! Holiday is over...better start job searching, haha!

[ChasUno 101]

Based on VJ processing times, we should have an answer in a month. According to VJ data, they're working on early May applications. It hasn't even been 2 months yet.

So looking like approx. 3 months to get the EAD in your case?

EAD and AP were approved yesterday! Holiday is over...better start job searching, haha!

How long did it take to get your EAD Shana?

[wbeem 568]

Hi everyone

I thought I'd stop by and give my overview of our experience registering daughter for middle school here. To say that it's been an experience to remember is putting it lightly.

We contacted the school here before we left the UK to make sure that we obtained any necessary documentation prior to the Scottish schools closing for the summer. We were told that we needed proof that her immunizations are up to date (check), her report card (check), ID (check) and proof of address.

We called in advance to see if we needed an appointment and were told to just call in any time. My husband took time off work a couple of weeks ago and we drove out to the school only to find the doors locked. William called from outside the doors and after navigating through a clusterfook of options on the phone menu, was met with a message stating that there was nobody available to take the call.. After baking in the sun for a while we decided to cut our losses and he dropped us off at home to get back to the office. Several further attempts to reach the school by phone were fruitless and he turned to Twitter to verify the opening hours. It turned out that they were closed that day, and that day only. No message on the phone system. No note on the front door of the school. Rinse and repeat. We went back again last week, this time getting access to the building and we were ushered through to the registration area. We dutifully produced the requested documentation, along with additional items which I had brought with me on the assumption that they would want to see them, despite that they didn't feature on the list we had been given.

We presented them with:

Daughter's birth certificate

Her passport

My passport

A certified copy of our marriage certificate

The report card

Contact details and a contact name for the school in Scotland

A copy of the DS3025, accompanied by the original immunization cards from which they had been transcribed at the medical in London

My SS letter as proof of address

A letter from the bank (with my new bank card for the joint account still attached as it had arrived in the mail as we were leaving)

Miscellaneous other documents and mail proving William's proof of address

Here is what happened:

They argued that the passports were not valid proof of ID. We managed to convince them otherwise

They would not accept the immunization record, stating that we needed to go and get it transcribed again into a different format

They would not accept my letter from the bank as proof of address.

They weren't happy that we didn't get a 'grade promotion' on the report card stating that daughter is to move to the next grade. This is not the way the UK schools work

We were greeted with a dropped jaw when we explained that daughter started school just after she turned 4.

The short version of the story is that two hours later we left and went to make an appointment to get the vaccinations transcribed and gather the other information requested as we were getting nowhere at the school. William never did get back to the office before the close of business that day.

The health center:

Well, i really don't know what to say! We reported to reception, stated our reason for being there and were issued with a form to complete, which we duly did. A lady with a heavy Spanish accent and very little command of the English language told us to follow her, ushering us down a hall like a bunch of chickens being shoo'd into a cage. We followed her to a door, where she disappeared and slammed it closed between us. We stood amused and confused for a moment when we heard her call to us to "Come on!" We walked around the other side of the hall and saw her behind a desk. She then chastised us for trying to follow her. "You are not allowed behind here."

She then proceeded to ask questions in quick succession, cutting William off every time he started to answer one, and asking another. She then told him, in the tone usually used on noisy little kids "SHHHHHH! Don't speak. I speak to Mommy." By this stage I was concerned about imploding in my now almost futile attempts to suppress laughter. She gave us an appointment for yesterday afternoon and told us to report back at the stated time.

So yesterday we did as we were told. Nobody seemed to know where we needed to go. We were sent all over the building on a wild goose chase and were eventually seen by the nurse. She didn't seem to understand the medical sheet or accompanying records from the doctor and told us the vaccinations were not up to date. I pointed out several that she had stated were missing, displaying them to her. Her response was that she hadn't bothered to look through all those papers as there was so much of it! She was still not satisfied and said that the vaccines for the medical did not comply with the school requirements. I told her we needed the form and wanted to leave with it in our hands. After much discussion and persuasion and several disappearances from the room to go and get further advice, she conceded that she would complete the form but the shots given for the medical had been given too close together so she would issue to form if we re-did those boosters. Daughter was not amused, but there was no point arguing. This was yet another day out of the office for William for something we had understood would have taken under an hour a week or two back. We paid and left, returning to the school to proudly present the last of the paperwork. All done. Uh, no. They also wanted a new physical exam. So we headed out to go and get that done. I won't even go through that experience, other than to say it was the funniest thing I've ever seen. I felt like a naughty kid in a classroom trying not to break out into fits of laughter. My daughter's attempts to keep a straight face failed miserably and the only thing I could do was to avoid eye contact with anyone in the room to stop myself from following suit.

I was promised when I got here that I would be bored, lonely and feel cut off and stuck at home. The good thing is that none of these could be further from the truth! I don't think I've been so busy for a long time and I'm pleased to report that I really do feel quite at home here and pretty well settled. We are about to file our AOS papers and then we wait for the various parts of that process, but I will never forget how hard it was being apart and somehow, just being together through the rest of this process makes it so much easier.

[-Shana- 152]

So looking like approx. 3 months to get the EAD in your case?

How long did it take to get your EAD Shana?

77 days according to VJ!

[ChasUno 101]

77 days according to VJ!

Thank you. At least I know it might not take too long! I've been hearing reports of 3 months or more.

[chrismorrison 96]

It's just taken a while since we didn't get married right away, so that tacked on about a month to the wait. It'll probably be the greater portion of 3.5 months before he'll be able to work.

[Kaffawren 4]

This is the best thread on VJ. Y'all sound just like my sweet man. I will insist he read this. Everything you have said you miss or will miss he has told me he is sad to give up. Brown sauce, Jaffa cakes, good beer/pub, good tea(PJ Tips?), the English language(lol), football, and walnut whips! (I added some things he has mentioned.) I am worried he will be terribly homesick. It's helpful to read about people adjusting. We joke that when he lives here and we argue he gets to pull the he moved to another country card! I am following this thread with a smile on my face.

[kareelina 42]

Currently we're back in the UK and really enjoying it, (I am anyway) and not looking forward to going back to the US one bit.

Things to be aware of before heading to the US is the rather punitive tax system, my taxes last year work out at 38% which is federal, state and social security payments.

Property taxes which make council tax look benevolent.

Medical insurance is expensive

House insurance expensive

Car insurance expensive

Cell phone charges expensive

Food is ok eating out if you like fried stuff or food covered in that hideous stuff which masquerades as cheese in the US

Supermarket shopping very expensive compared to the UK

So that lot and the fact that people get shot all the time makes it a great place to live.

WOW , you scare me of relocating ,at first we didn't even think of moving to US but after the revolution here, things got worse and worse so my husband asked me to go and live with him there , but after what I read here I got worried , how can we leave a bad place to live in a worst one , I pray not of course.

[Dave013012536 0]

WOW , you scare me of relocating ,at first we didn't even think of moving to US but after the revolution here, things got worse and worse so my husband asked me to go and live with him there , but after what I read here I got worried , how can we leave a bad place to live in a worst one , I pray not of course.

Don't be scared of anything on here, start a new life out there you'll be fine. What do you worry about in your country at present?

[ChasUno 101]

WOW , you scare me of relocating ,at first we didn't even think of moving to US but after the revolution here, things got worse and worse so my husband asked me to go and live with him there , but after what I read here I got worried , how can we leave a bad place to live in a worst one , I pray not of course.

Don't look at one person's experience as representing the USA as a whole. It's a huge country, almost the size of a continent, with massive variations in all areas of life (costs, taxes, attitudes, weather etc.) from one state to another. In fact, some states even feel like a country within a country. I'd say approx 90% of the USA I wouldn't want to live in, though the other 10% I'd jump at the chance to call it home. Other people's preferences are likely to be different to mine. Luckily my partner and I will be moving to a state that we both love despite its faults (South Florida). Then again, no place in the World is a perfect Utopia, you have to take the good with the bad wherever you end up. Just make sure you go to place where the good outweighs the bad

[yuna628 9,676]

WOW , you scare me of relocating ,at first we didn't even think of moving to US but after the revolution here, things got worse and worse so my husband asked me to go and live with him there , but after what I read here I got worried , how can we leave a bad place to live in a worst one , I pray not of course.

Hi I just wanted to pop in and say that you shouldn't be frightened, as individual experiences vary, as well as personal outlooks on life in general. The particular area the poster lives in is exceedingly expensive to live in, where most taxes and prices will certainly be higher and not reflective of others areas in that state or in other states in general. Everyone has an adjustment period, regardless of where they hail from. Some easier than others. My fiancé is going through pre-moving jitters. The part where he thinks about all the things he will miss from home, his family, and daily life. The important part is having a good supportive network along with your s/o to help you through sad moments. The rest can come naturally, and is a process of discovery and adventure.

[bonzaigirl 13]

WOW , you scare me of relocating ,at first we didn't even think of moving to US but after the revolution here, things got worse and worse so my husband asked me to go and live with him there , but after what I read here I got worried , how can we leave a bad place to live in a worst one , I pray not of course.

Don't worry everybody gets scared moving here, but don't be afraid to move. I was apprehensive moving here, and until now sometimes I cry due to homesickness, especially when I had hurt my wrist doing yoga, and I know that I can't just plop into the A&E because for one I have no insurance yet (but now I'm already added as his dependent ). It was very scary for me, but my husband is a physio, so he did say that I just needed it taped and splinted. The last few days it was raining in LA, and I cried because it reminded me of London's gloomy weather My point is, change is always scary at first, but you'll get there. You'll adapt, it will take some time. I for one am still adapting. I live in the city and Westfield's Topanga is just like 3 long blocks away from our flat, and sometimes I go there to unwind . I get scared crossing the street, because it's wider than the streets in London, and sometimes, I still get confused as to where to look when crossing the streets ( I do wait for the pedestrian sign to be lit though before I cross the street), and where to turn in the intersection. My hubby is giving me briefings, as I will take my written driving exam soon, so I can enroll in driving school and take my driver's license, but it still confuses me sometimes despite the fact that I had been here more than a month.

I cook, and I miss my cooking ingredients that they don't have here. Like double cream (their heavy whipping cream is useless). Maggi's hot liquid seasoning. Good cocoa powder (hershey's is blaahh). My cleaning materials like the .99 pence Sainsbury's multipurpose 99% antibacterial wipes and bathroom cleaners. Or the Simple's facial wash. There's no cheap passport photo service. These are just some of the small things in life that made my life perfect in the UK, that I took for granted, that I miss so much here. But I guess, love comes with a price. You can't have it all. It's pretty trivial, first world problems, but it does kind of suck especially when you are so used to it.

It's hard, but you'll get there. It's not so bad moving here. With all the negative, comes the positive. I've already grown accustomed to my new signature , and the fact that that in everything I buy I have to add a few dollars more because they do not add the tax upfront. There's a very nice pool in my flat. It may be a communal pool for all those housed in our units, but hey I get to swim every other day, so that's good. There's TJMaxx and Marshall's ( which is like somesort of heaven to me ) and they really are cheaper compared to the UK counterpart. And most of all, I don't have to go and talk to my husband on a screen, and I get to hug him every night

[-Shana- 152]

Even though I had lived in Japan, somewhere completely different from Western culture, I still had to take time to adjust to life in America. I found myself getting a little teary at first, because I missed my home/family/dogs. But after a couple of months things became the norm here, I feel at ease and I love it here! Any move abroad is daunting, but it's a life changing experience that I would encourage anyone to do. There is definitely a lot wrong with America, but like Chas said, no where is perfect! Except maybe Canada. Let's all go live there.

Edited July 24, 2015 by -Shana-

[ChasUno 101]

There is definitely a lot wrong with America, but like Chas said, no where is perfect! Except maybe Canada. Let's all go live there.

Except the Canadian winters suck big time! And they insist on speaking in French (at least in Quebec, the Canadian equivalent of Wales!)