Yardies, at home and a farrin' (Part 4)

[Dwarf_Ogress 0]

The DS-230 has yellow high light on some of the fill-in lines. Does it matter to the embassy if this form is printed without the yellow showing or should I print the form out in color?

I don't think it really matters, I printed all of my forms in black & white.

[Dwarf_Ogress 0]

Just an update.

I sent money to Marlon via WU and he got it okay. He sat at the doctor's office all day but found out it was just a gum infection and was prescribed some antibiotics and pain killers. I guess the infection was also causing him to have headaches. I am relieved to know that it wasn't something serious.

Now this leads me to ask how USC's got dental insurance for their SO's here in the States? Currently I work as a temporary (been here for 6 1/2 years), no benefits. As soon as I complete my Stats class next month I will officially have my degrees in August and then I can search for a better paying job.

[rhondapayter 0]

Now this leads me to ask how USC's got dental insurance for their SO's here in the States? Currently I work as a temporary (been here for 6 1/2 years), no benefits. As soon as I complete my Stats class next month I will officially have my degrees in August and then I can search for a better paying job.

As soon as we got married, I added Tony to my health, dental, and vision insurance through my work. It costs a little extra per month, but I'd hate to have something happen and not have insurance

[rhondapayter 0]

It was really quiet in here today. I only had one page to read!!

I am really craving ackee and saltfish and roast breadfruit I don't know if they're pregnancy cravings or just because I miss Jamaica and can't wait for our vacation in August!! The tin ackee is about $18 at the JA store near me

[Marie876 0]

I don't know too much about shipping barrels but I have heard it is really expensive and usually isn't cost effective. I know someone that used to ship barrels to her family from Seattle to JA and she finally quit and just brings it with her when she visits. She said for the price of a barrel she might as well just put it towards a plane ticket.

Don't know if the cost is so high because we are on the west coast...might be cheaper for you on the east coast.

From south Florida is $40 for the barrel and $60 to ship it. Although you put a lock on it, when it reaches the island your receiver has to go to the wharf (the customs place in Kingston) to clear it. They'll make you open the barrell so they can see the contents. They don't mind food and "old" clothing but they love to charge duties on new clothes, elctronics, etc

[*JG* 2]

For those of you that filed K1 and are now married:

Considering that my fiance's interview is 6/19 and if we estimate two weeks the visa will be delivered around 7/4, is it possible or realistic to get married immediately and still manage to file for AOS before 7/30?

Sure it is. We got the visa on 6/6 of last year (1 year yesterday!!!!) and married on 6/29. You should get the visa sooner then 2 weeks after the interview anyhow.

For those of you that filed K1 and are now married:

Considering that my fiance's interview is 6/19 and if we estimate two weeks the visa will be delivered around 7/4, is it possible or realistic to get married immediately and still manage to file for AOS before 7/30?

I think it is entirely possible. We got married 6 days after he got here. Look up what the waiting period is for a marriage license in your state and plan on getting the license as soon as he gets here. You can basically fill out all the AOS stuff together prior and fill in any missing info after he gets here. As for the marriage certificate we got ours filled out by the pastor and opted to bring it to the courthouse ourselves. We brought it in the next day and filed it on record and got our notarized copies that same day. Within that little window of time you should get some pics from the ceremony and if you can get him added to some bills to show as evidence that is good. We also sent in congrats cards from the wedding and a statement from the pastor. The bulk of the evidence can be shown at the interview if needed.

So I say with a well thought out and executed plan you can do it

She doesn't need to do all that stuff with the bills. We didn't have Andre on any bills, or even the bank account when we filed for AOS. All we sent in for AOS was the paperwork. They don't expect all that stuff with the K-1 AOS.

Has anyone heard of megaphone its like voip i think? but you have a cell phone and people in jamaica can call the us or anywhere for one flat montly rate im tryin to find out more about it and where to get one.

My SO has one. He paid 2000JA for the phone and pays 1500JA a month for the service. Unlimited Talking!! Its great and it works out way cheaper than what we used to spend on phone cards.

Someone has not read through this thread. We talked about this last week.

[Mrs. Palmer 5]

Does anyone have an approximate cost to ship a large box to JA? What would be the best way to do it? I am thinking that I am going to send my guests wedding favors down a month early so that we don't have to bring all that stuff on the plane. I'm just trying to figure out how much it may cost me. I'm ordering them next month...On a side note, I wanted to put 2gether a little welcome bag for my guests coming from the states...any ideas as to what I should put in them? I'm not thinking anything too expensive, maybe 3 or 4 small items?

Just an FYI, one of my clients did not take my advice and the Beaches Resort's wedding coordinators advice NOT to ship wedding favors ahead of time. I flew with the bride and groom, took her almost 3 hours to get her stuff and they wanted to charger her $400 US ...I was able to get them to charge only $20. It's because they consider it importing and exporting and you have to pay taxes both ways.

I told her to ask a few wedding people (and myself) to take items down in their luggage before....we were there 5 days before the wedding.

Thanks for the info...but I just have 1 question: was she trying to ship the stuff to the resort or to a local post office? would that have made a difference or not? I have 20 guests coming from the states, and most of us will be there 5 days before the wedding as well, so I suppose we can bring stuff down, I just didn't want to have to deal w/ possibly paying for the stuff at immigration...

You will only pay at immigration if u say some of your wedding guests and or groom is living in JA,

That's totally not true.... I arranged the travel for 90 of her guests coming from all places in the US to stay in Jamaica for my clients wedding. None were Jamaican, although everyone of them are African American. The bride took it upon herself to ship stuff ahead of time thinking she would save money, but in turn.....literally fought with customs for 3 hours and they would NOT come down on the $400 US price. I sat back and listened and then after not getting ANYwhere, I stepped in, made a few phone calls and was able to have a Sandals rep there at the airport go with her and work it out to a reasonable cost to have to pay. It was 2 yrs ago, it was a nightmare, but .....a lesson learned by them !

She wasn't shipping to the resort, I believe it was the FedEx office. I seriously can't remember, because they did it on their own and I wasn't involved. The Sandals Rep at the airport asked where they booked their wedding/moon package from and the groom said, a travel agent and the Rep said, well.....I would seriously be upset with that person and the groom said, she highly advised us NOT to do this. I tapped the Rep on the shoulder and said.....travel agent came *with* them to make sure things ran smoothly, but I wasn't aware that they were doing this ! This was the only mishap in the 8 day trip!!

Just hide things, as everyone else said, take tags off, always say "no". I've brought sooooo many things, clothes, games, even electronic games, coloring books, crayons, shoes, deodorant, toothpaste, I mean tons and tons of stuff in the past 10 years. I was only given ALOT of grief by a woman checking....I had 4 bags and it was only me and my son. She kept saying are YOU SURE you don't have anything in there for anyone?? I said, please feel free to check. Never did and I was like...whew !!!!! Two of those suitcases were packed FULL of baby clothes and items for 2 of the girls that work at the hotel where I've been staying for 10 yrs.

ALWAYS put a hotel on the immigration forms.....put a big name hotel, like RIU Negril or Beaches. Pick one in the Negril area because that's more "touristy".

Thanks for the info...we will actually be staying at the RIU in Ochi...but someone said something earlier that's got me confused (again)...if they ask where is the groom from, I'm not allowed to say JA? Everytime I go and they ask me where will I be staying and I say with my fiance at his home (and they ask where), it never seems to be a problem....they do sometimes ask if I am bringing anything in and I always say "no" although I have brought him clothes, underwear, socks, etc...I just packed it under all my #######...but they never checked...so you're saying that if I let them know that the groom is Jamaican that they will charge me for bringing in the wedding favors, etc?

[*JG* 2]

Does anyone have an approximate cost to ship a large box to JA? What would be the best way to do it? I am thinking that I am going to send my guests wedding favors down a month early so that we don't have to bring all that stuff on the plane. I'm just trying to figure out how much it may cost me. I'm ordering them next month...On a side note, I wanted to put 2gether a little welcome bag for my guests coming from the states...any ideas as to what I should put in them? I'm not thinking anything too expensive, maybe 3 or 4 small items?

Just an FYI, one of my clients did not take my advice and the Beaches Resort's wedding coordinators advice NOT to ship wedding favors ahead of time. I flew with the bride and groom, took her almost 3 hours to get her stuff and they wanted to charger her $400 US ...I was able to get them to charge only $20. It's because they consider it importing and exporting and you have to pay taxes both ways.

I told her to ask a few wedding people (and myself) to take items down in their luggage before....we were there 5 days before the wedding.

Thanks for the info...but I just have 1 question: was she trying to ship the stuff to the resort or to a local post office? would that have made a difference or not? I have 20 guests coming from the states, and most of us will be there 5 days before the wedding as well, so I suppose we can bring stuff down, I just didn't want to have to deal w/ possibly paying for the stuff at immigration...

You will only pay at immigration if u say some of your wedding guests and or groom is living in JA,

That's totally not true.... I arranged the travel for 90 of her guests coming from all places in the US to stay in Jamaica for my clients wedding. None were Jamaican, although everyone of them are African American. The bride took it upon herself to ship stuff ahead of time thinking she would save money, but in turn.....literally fought with customs for 3 hours and they would NOT come down on the $400 US price. I sat back and listened and then after not getting ANYwhere, I stepped in, made a few phone calls and was able to have a Sandals rep there at the airport go with her and work it out to a reasonable cost to have to pay. It was 2 yrs ago, it was a nightmare, but .....a lesson learned by them !

She wasn't shipping to the resort, I believe it was the FedEx office. I seriously can't remember, because they did it on their own and I wasn't involved. The Sandals Rep at the airport asked where they booked their wedding/moon package from and the groom said, a travel agent and the Rep said, well.....I would seriously be upset with that person and the groom said, she highly advised us NOT to do this. I tapped the Rep on the shoulder and said.....travel agent came *with* them to make sure things ran smoothly, but I wasn't aware that they were doing this ! This was the only mishap in the 8 day trip!!

Just hide things, as everyone else said, take tags off, always say "no". I've brought sooooo many things, clothes, games, even electronic games, coloring books, crayons, shoes, deodorant, toothpaste, I mean tons and tons of stuff in the past 10 years. I was only given ALOT of grief by a woman checking....I had 4 bags and it was only me and my son. She kept saying are YOU SURE you don't have anything in there for anyone?? I said, please feel free to check. Never did and I was like...whew !!!!! Two of those suitcases were packed FULL of baby clothes and items for 2 of the girls that work at the hotel where I've been staying for 10 yrs.

ALWAYS put a hotel on the immigration forms.....put a big name hotel, like RIU Negril or Beaches. Pick one in the Negril area because that's more "touristy".

Exactly!!!!!!!!!!

[*JG* 2]

Just an update.

I sent money to Marlon via WU and he got it okay. He sat at the doctor's office all day but found out it was just a gum infection and was prescribed some antibiotics and pain killers. I guess the infection was also causing him to have headaches. I am relieved to know that it wasn't something serious.

Now this leads me to ask how USC's got dental insurance for their SO's here in the States? Currently I work as a temporary (been here for 6 1/2 years), no benefits. As soon as I complete my Stats class next month I will officially have my degrees in August and then I can search for a better paying job.

Andre has health and dental insurance through my place of employment. The dental was a Godsend. He's had 2 cavities filled, a cleaning, and 3 wisdom teeth pulled in the last year. Hopefully, now that he has been promoted at work, he will carry his own insurance soon.

It was really quiet in here today. I only had one page to read!!

I am really craving ackee and saltfish and roast breadfruit I don't know if they're pregnancy cravings or just because I miss Jamaica and can't wait for our vacation in August!! The tin ackee is about $18 at the JA store near me

Dang......$18????? And, I've been crabbing about $10.99.

[MyDestinyAwaits 0]

Just an update.

I sent money to Marlon via WU and he got it okay. He sat at the doctor's office all day but found out it was just a gum infection and was prescribed some antibiotics and pain killers. I guess the infection was also causing him to have headaches. I am relieved to know that it wasn't something serious.

Now this leads me to ask how USC's got dental insurance for their SO's here in the States? Currently I work as a temporary (been here for 6 1/2 years), no benefits. As soon as I complete my Stats class next month I will officially have my degrees in August and then I can search for a better paying job.

glad to hear marlon is on the mend sarah. i will be adding my fiance to my insurance once we're married, but my insurance will be more than double what i'm paying now. it is my hope that once he gets a stable job then he can get his own insurance coverage. right now i don't know how many options you really have. marlon won't be eligible for medicaid right? hopefully you'll be able to get a job that offers immediate health coverage so you both don't have to wait. a friend of mine has a teaching license but couldn't get a teaching job in our town so she's been a substitute teacher for a few years. she got married last summer (to a man who's self-employed) and she'd love to start a family but they can't affored to do it without insurance.

[*JG* 2]

Just an update.

I sent money to Marlon via WU and he got it okay. He sat at the doctor's office all day but found out it was just a gum infection and was prescribed some antibiotics and pain killers. I guess the infection was also causing him to have headaches. I am relieved to know that it wasn't something serious.

Now this leads me to ask how USC's got dental insurance for their SO's here in the States? Currently I work as a temporary (been here for 6 1/2 years), no benefits. As soon as I complete my Stats class next month I will officially have my degrees in August and then I can search for a better paying job.

glad to hear marlon is on the mend sarah. i will be adding my fiance to my insurance once we're married, but my insurance will be more than double what i'm paying now. it is my hope that once he gets a stable job then he can get his own insurance coverage. right now i don't know how many options you really have. marlon won't be eligible for medicaid right? hopefully you'll be able to get a job that offers immediate health coverage so you both don't have to wait. a friend of mine has a teaching license but couldn't get a teaching job in our town so she's been a substitute teacher for a few years. she got married last summer (to a man who's self-employed) and she'd love to start a family but they can't affored to do it without insurance.

NOOOOOOOO.........No medicaid. No public assistance for 4 years.

Same boat here, Tia. I pay $435 a month out of my paycheck for Andre's insurance. So wanting to drop that. On the bright side, in one year, he's had 2 ER visits and a few doctor. It has definately paid for itself in the end.

[MyDestinyAwaits 0]

It was really quiet in here today. I only had one page to read!!

I am really craving ackee and saltfish and roast breadfruit I don't know if they're pregnancy cravings or just because I miss Jamaica and can't wait for our vacation in August!! The tin ackee is about $18 at the JA store near me

i'm willing to make a 200 mile trip to get ethnic food and both supermarkets i go to don't carry tin ackee right now.

i was absolutely thrilled when i saw this large fruit at the bodega that was advertised to be breadfruit. now i've only eaten roast breadfruit, i've never handled or seen one raw before. i bought it and called my fiance for instructions on how to roast it. i put that thing on the stove, roasted it as directed, and was eager to peel off the skin....only thing is, when i cracked it, smelled really sweet. the sweet aroma was a very familiar scent too. so, i opened it up and sure enough, it was not a doggone breadfruit at all! it looked and smelled like a gi-normous naseberry! it even had the same kind of seed and grainy texture. i was so disappointed because i spent a small fortune on it too. lol

[MyDestinyAwaits 0]

NOOOOOOOO.........No medicaid. No public assistance for 4 years.

Same boat here, Tia. I pay $435 a month out of my paycheck for Andre's insurance. So wanting to drop that. On the bright side, in one year, he's had 2 ER visits and a few doctor. It has definately paid for itself in the end.

at least you've gotten your money's worth out of it. in the 4 years that i've known oliver he's never been sick. he just gets minor colds, and even that hardly ever happens. i told him he must've been a breast-fed baby because he's so healthy. his teeth are in great shape too. they're whiter than mine.

[JaEnglishGirl 34]

He's going to put me and my son on his insurance. Will cost maybe $200 per month more....Will definitely need doing because of the baby.....I hate the idea of paying so much for insurance in the States since health care is free here

But on the plus side, if I ever needed a major operation, I could always sneakily come back and have it here for free!!

[luvtravlin 0]

at least you've gotten your money's worth out of it. in the 4 years that i've known oliver he's never been sick. he just gets minor colds, and even that hardly ever happens. i told him he must've been a breast-fed baby because he's so healthy. his teeth are in great shape too. they're whiter than mine.

Just curious, what does breast-feeding have to do with never being sick?? I never breast fed my son and knock on wood, the last time he was actually sick was about 4 yrs ago. He never ever gets sick, has white straight teeth (takes after my side of the family). He had his adenoids/tonsils out when he was 5 but other than that??

Just curious.... as a parent...

I don't have health insurance, scares me and I have to pay crazy amounts for the Gonno...unfortunately it's just waaay to expensive. My son is covered on my dads plan...has been since he was 4 months old.