Miscellaneous questions for UK immigrants to the USA with K1

[Dragonsarereal 14]

Hi there, despite a long search I cannot work out where to post my questions, so please bear with me, this is confusing.

So, we filed for K1 In October 2022 and on the 16th October 2023 the petition was approved and is now somewhere between California and some other American office, before it gets to London. Initially we thought we would finally get a Visa by mid May but things are going faster now.

I know that at least 6 members of this forum are going through the same process and some had their medical already.

I am trying to organise things now so I don't have to rush in the end. I do have some things to clear with you experts!

Where do I post these questions please?

 

House sale. I have a house to sell. It won't be easy. It's opposite a van dealer, on a busy road, but it has a massive back garden. It might take some time to see people visiting. An estate agent told me last month that right now from the offer to completion is taking 12 to 18 weeks. That is a long time. Assuming that I will be flying away in mid June 2024, (as my daughter must finish College and pass her GCSE) does it make sense to put the house on sale as early as February? And did anyone here manage to sell privately without estate agents? Did you have to move to an air b&B in the end? It sounds all very complicated as buyers can pull out at the very last minute without losing a deposit, (We are in Norfolk, England) and I dread what would happen then, as house prices are going down.

 

Belongings reaching the USA. I saw some good notes about them, from this amazing forum, so how early is it possible to send them as part of the immigration process? is it possible to send some boxes earlier and some later or would that cost a lot more? I am not sure I can survive without my things for months while waiting. The place I am moving to is a rather remote WY town. Which company did you choose and how did it go? 😊

 

Electrical items. This is so confusing. OK - so I get it, the USA use 120 V and the UK 220 V. There are transformers on sale but I read that appliances do not work well when using a transformer, especially if they use a lot of KW (say, a Vitamix blender, a powerful hair dryer). I have a digital piano that would cost me £2,000 to replace and it will be cheaper to move it to the US, but I am very concerned that it won't work properly after all. It's an old Technics and it's hard to find anything well built, with the same acoustic piano feel in the keys in new pianos. I looked and looked and I talked to many experts before coming to my conclusions. What is your experience? I also have a brilliant ice-cream- making machine worth £300 and it uses (I think) 230W so I am looking at possibilities before I undersell them.

 

Items exchange. Is there anyone out there that is moving here and would like to acquire British good and exchange? It seems so silly that every time people move, they lose out and must rebuy everything at a much higher price. Is there a website for this?

 

Medical examination. My daughter is coming with me. She will be 16 then. Will she need a medical, too? Is it true that they assess your private parts? Scary.  Also, in May (where we are more likely having the interview, according to timelines) there won't be any updated flu or Covid vaccine available, is a waiver going to be given? To my great surprise, a lot of the links from the embassy and links given here re. the medical etc are broken or take you to a document form 2017 so it's hard to tell which information is accurate and up to date. 

 

Document translation. I still use my married name as it's my family name and my business/website name. It's in all my documents and I had changed it legally from my original one to the married one over 15 years ago via Interior minister in Italy. So my birth certificates show both surnames. Do I need to show a translated version of the Italian legal document of name change?

 

Thanks a lot for directing me to the correct forum for this. 

 

 

[Ontarkie 14,216]

~~MOved to the UK forum, from K1 P&P - as some of the OP's questions are best answered by those familiar with the UK side of things.~~

[Dragonsarereal 14]

thanks, I can't find that forum, and that's why I posted randomly, where is it please? I am totally lost. sorry.

 

[Ontarkie 14,216]

2 minutes ago, Dragonsarereal said:

thanks, I can't find that forum, and that's why I posted randomly, where is it please? I am totally lost. sorry.

 

You're now in it

 

but here is a link https://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/99-united-kingdom/

[appleblossom 2,445]

I wouldn't get too set on selling your house by June if you're putting it on the market in February, that would mean you're dependent on a lot of things working out. Personally I'd either put it on asap and then be prepared to be in short term accommodation in the UK before you move, or be be prepared to have it not be sold by the time you leave and to have to sell it from the US. 

 

Can't help with sending stuff ahead, or appliances really - we bought most things other than TV's which I knew wouldn't work. So far everything has worked fine, just slower i.e. my stand mixer isn't as fast here but fine for just making a quick cake. The blender works fine too, again just not as quickly.

 

Yes, your daughter will need a medical, no private parts examined though! Not sure where you're reading that, but best to go to the official source. https://visamedicals.co.uk/united-states/

 

HTH, good luck with the move.

[Boiler 45,445]

Selling having moved to the US has potentially major tax issues.

[Dragonsarereal 14]

2 hours ago, Boiler said:

Selling having moved to the US has potentially major tax issues.

Good point, I will ask my boyfriend, he is conversant with property laws….it will be interesting to see how the American tax office would calculate my capital gain. If I pay rent in my area that will be over £1,250 per month, so if I multiply that for eight months, that’s a lot of money wasted away.

[Boiler 45,445]

32 minutes ago, Dragonsarereal said:

Good point, I will ask my boyfriend, he is conversant with property laws….it will be interesting to see how the American tax office would calculate my capital gain. If I pay rent in my area that will be over £1,250 per month, so if I multiply that for eight months, that’s a lot of money wasted away.

It is not property, it is how the US Tax Man treats realised gains when you are US resident for tax purposes. I know enough to know it can hit people hard.

[appleblossom 2,445]

8 hours ago, Boiler said:

It is not property, it is how the US Tax Man treats realised gains when you are US resident for tax purposes. I know enough to know it can hit people hard.

You get 3 years before US CGT kicks in IIRC from our conversation with our tax advisors, less for the UK. (Both assuming it’s the primary residence, rather than a second home or investment property). But I just meant selling from the US if a sale hadn’t quite finalised by June, so hopefully only a few months at most. 
 

 

[Dragonsarereal 14]

18 hours ago, appleblossom said:

I wouldn't get too set on selling your house by June if you're putting it on the market in February, that would mean you're dependent on a lot of things working out. Personally I'd either put it on asap and then be prepared to be in short term accommodation in the UK before you move, or be be prepared to have it not be sold by the time you leave and to have to sell it from the US. 

 

Can't help with sending stuff ahead, or appliances really - we bought most things other than TV's which I knew wouldn't work. So far everything has worked fine, just slower i.e. my stand mixer isn't as fast here but fine for just making a quick cake. The blender works fine too, again just not as quickly.

 

Yes, your daughter will need a medical, no private parts examined though! Not sure where you're reading that, but best to go to the official source. https://visamedicals.co.uk/united-states/

 

HTH, good luck with the move.

thank you. It's from the official source that they say they will check the external genitalia. Will put house on sale earlier!

[Dragonsarereal 14]

15 hours ago, Boiler said:

It is not property, it is how the US Tax Man treats realised gains when you are US resident for tax purposes. I know enough to know it can hit people hard.

Is there an official source where I can find out how selling our own house abroad impacts our income in the USA? I looked long and hard and found nothing. I am moving to WY and the state laws do not mention anything similar. Anyway I will sell the house earlier to avoid it as in the UK this would be tax free.

 

[appleblossom 2,445]

5 hours ago, Dragonsarereal said:

thank you. It's from the official source that they say they will check the external genitalia. Will put house on sale earlier!

Do you have a link? The link I gave you is from the only authorised doctors in London to do the medicals, and tells you what they check for.

 

As for tax, here's info on CGT from the US side of things - https://www.irs.gov/publications/p544  It's more lenient than the UK in terms of timing before CGT kicks in.

 

[Dragonsarereal 14]

4 hours ago, appleblossom said:

Do you have a link? The link I gave you is from the only authorised doctors in London to do the medicals, and tells you what they check for.

 

As for tax, here's info on CGT from the US side of things - https://www.irs.gov/publications/p544  It's more lenient than the UK in terms of timing before CGT kicks in.

 

thanks for the link! The medical came as a pdf called 'IV018a-IV-medical-letter-Aug-2016.pdf' where you read ' which I attach underneath for your attention.

What to Expect at the Medical Examination

The medical examination consists of a physical examination (eyes, ears, nose, throat, extremities, heart, lungs, abdomen, lymph nodes, skin and *external genitalia*) chest X-ray,'....

IV018a-IV-medical-letter-Aug-2016.pdf

[appleblossom 2,445]

23 minutes ago, Dragonsarereal said:

thanks for the link! The medical came as a pdf called 'IV018a-IV-medical-letter-Aug-2016.pdf' where you read ' which I attach underneath for your attention.

What to Expect at the Medical Examination

The medical examination consists of a physical examination (eyes, ears, nose, throat, extremities, heart, lungs, abdomen, lymph nodes, skin and *external genitalia*) chest X-ray,'....

IV018a-IV-medical-letter-Aug-2016.pdf 439.89 kB · 0 downloads

 

Odd, I didn't get that when we all had ours earlier this year, mine didn't say that bit. Looks like that's very out of date, says 2016 on it. Perhaps they used to do it back then but not the case now - unless they have a concern I guess?

[Dragonsarereal 14]

2 hours ago, appleblossom said:

 

Odd, I didn't get that when we all had ours earlier this year, mine didn't say that bit. Looks like that's very out of date, says 2016 on it. Perhaps they used to do it back then but not the case now - unless they have a concern I guess?

Certainly if they meet strange people they might check for STD ètc. That’s the only medical form I found. Maybe new ones are available but most links were broken. Anyway seems that there is no reason to be concerned. Aside from the fact that me and my daughter do not like the idea of having blood taken. We hate needle!s!