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.