katesuiter1

Hey, people!!!

Well, I'm finally here! Hope you haven't missed me too much (LOL!!!), but I've been so unbelieveably busy!

I have a tale and a half for you all, believe me!!!!

I was supposed to catch a flight from Heathrow at 9.30am on 31st Jan, got stuck in the hideous traffic due to the snow, and didn't get to the airport til 10am!! They told me I could catch the 2pm flight, but coz of ice on the runway, that was delayed til 4pm. Because I had a connecting flight from JFK later in the evening, I was all panicky and scared I'd miss it, so the nice Virgin lady said she'd send a fax to JFK asking someone to meet me to rush me to the terminal! Awww!!! Anyway, the flight didn't leave til 5.15pm, so I knew I'd miss the next flight. When I got to JFK, I told a stewardess my situation, and she ushered me to the front of the plane so I could get off quickly, and sure enough, there was someone waiting for me to take my bags and escort me to immigration. YAY!!!! I was first there, the man looked at all my documents, (except the x-ray, which he didn't even bother to take when it was offered! ), he stamped my passport, and sent me to a little room to get the work authorization stamp. I waited about 10 minutes, they stamped my I-94, and sent me on my way.

I got to the desk to tell them I'd missed my connecting flight due to the delay at Heathrow, and they said there were no more til the next morning, so they'd call the hotel nearby. I got to stay in a very swish hotel, with food included, all at no expense! Woo hoo!!!! The worst part was telling Corey that I was so near, yet so far, and I couldn't make it til the next day. He was very upset. After a couple of hours shut-eye, I got the bus to JFK, and thankfully, the flight was on time. About 4 hours later, I was in my baby's arms.......FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I won't tell you the rest!!!

I also had my first experience of the INS office in Miami last week. I called and called for my SSN, got a million different answers, so I got cheesed off and decided to do something about it. I had to turn down a job offer the other week as I didn't have my number, so I phoned INS, and they said all SS are waiting for is confirmation of my status, and I could go to the INS office and get my name down on the database. Anyway, on Thursday, I got there about 9.30am (BIG mistake!!!!!!), and the man said I was an hour too late. EH???????? They close the lines at 8.30am, so I'd had a wasted journey. Sh******tttttt!!!!!!! He said most people turn up at midnight to make sure they're seen!!!!! I thought he was joking, so I asked another guard, and they said the same.

That night, I got the last train to Miami, got to the office around 10.30pm, and got comfy. By 11, there were 20 people behind me. By 3am, there were around 350 people behind me!!!!!!!! GET THERE EARLY!!!!!!!! There were 2 lines. I'm assuming one was for residents, as lots of those were let in before us. I got into the building at 6.30am, without a wink of sleep but with a very numb ass, and I wasn't in the best of moods!!! I got to the window, explained to the man what I was there for, and he told me I couldn't apply for a SSN til after the wedding........ I almost cried, lost my temper, and told him he was wrong. I had the work stamp, and I also brought a printout from the embassy website that I was allowed to work, therefore, allowed to apply for a SSN. He went away to talk to a lady, then came back and said I was right! (I felt very smug!!!! ) He then gave me a ticket, and I was told to wait til I was called.

Finally, at 9am, I was called up, and a very helpful woman took copies of all my documents, said she'd send them to my SS office with some form they send, and to wait til Mon or Tue to call for my number. Yaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!!!!!! She even told me to wait with her til she'd verified everything to make sure I didn't have to come back. Phew!!! I finally escaped at 9.15 feeling like I'd accomplished something.

I have to phone SS later to see what they say, and I have a job interview this afternoon, so fingers crossed, things are looking up!!! Corey and I haven't set a date for the wedding yet, as we wanted to get all the boring stuff out of the way first, but Mum's coming over in April, so it looks like it could be around then. YAY!!! I'm adjusting very well, although I smoke hand-rolled ciggies, and I can't belive the price of the papers!!!!!!!!! Looks like I'll be quitting soon!!!

Anyway, I'll be offski now. Just wanted to let you know I'm still alive and well, and I'll catch up with all the goss soon!!!!

Ta ta for now!!!!
Kate. xxxxxxxxxxxx

abba48uk

Good to know you are safe and well. Naturally nothing went smoothly.......lol, I just wish I could have seen your face when the SS office said you couldnt get a number till after your wedding. Did the woman turn to stone under your gaze? Take care and catch up on your sleep.

Andy & Julie

katesuiter1

Hee hee!!!! The lady was actually very nice and helpful. It was the first bloke who almost felt my full blown wrath!!!!!!!! Luckily, he survived!!! Thanks for the best wishes!!
Kate. xxxxxxxxx

jcapulet

Nice to hear from you again! We were all wondering how you've been Wow that SS experience sounds like a pain in the arse! (and I thought the Dmv was fun lol...) Glad to know you're doing well and settling in.

Juliet

dbark

Kate!!!

I was asking about you a few days ago, you were missed!! Sorry to hear about the problems you had, of course all of those were forgotten when you finally reached Corey. Welcome back to the group!!

Debbie

Scout

Welcome Home! Glad to see you survived........now you get to go through the rest of the INS Bureaucratic nightmare, lol.....

Cheers,

Leslie

Dailyn723

Congratulations!!! I'm new but your post gave me a lot of insight
considering my husband's from the UK and I live in Miami.

Thanks for the warning about the local INS office It'll come in
handy for us.



--
Posted via http://www.immigrationX.com

sal_whit

Welcome Back!!!!!!
Sorry to hear about the fuss you had getting here.
Keep us up to date on your SSN situation!!!!

Sal

nathan barley

Glad you arrived safe and well Kate!

Best of luck with your interview, too.

Rete

Welcome to the US Kate. One day it might even feel like home ;-)

Great experience story. Nice to know that you came away from Miami INS with somewhat of a positive attitude about its employees.

Rete

Wisdom Over Wealth

Oh, Great... she is up and breathing!

Ranjini

I could hardly believe what I was reading!! I guess we are unbelievably lucky to live where we live. Wow!! We just sailed in, straight from the INS with my brand new EAD card (we decided to wait until after we were married, so I could have my married name on the SS card) and sailed out, maybe 1/2 hr. later. Absolutely painless!

Jan

woooohoooo Katie !! welcome to the US
........ ya papers are expensive ...but the tobacco ..wowser soo cheap !

all the best
Jan & Ed )
"katesuiter1" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hey, people!!!
    > Well, I'm finally here! Hope you haven't missed me too much (LOL!!!),
    > but I've been so unbelieveably busy!
    > I have a tale and a half for you all, believe me!!!!
    > I was supposed to catch a flight from Heathrow at 9.30am on 31st Jan,
    > got stuck in the hideous traffic due to the snow, and didn't get to the
    > airport til 10am!! They told me I could catch the 2pm flight, but coz of
    > ice on the runway, that was delayed til 4pm. Because I had a connecting
    > flight from JFK later in the evening, I was all panicky and scared I'd
    > miss it, so the nice Virgin lady said she'd send a fax to JFK asking
    > someone to meet me to rush me to the terminal! Awww!!! Anyway, the
    > flight didn't leave til 5.15pm, so I knew I'd miss the next flight. When
    > I got to JFK, I told a stewardess my situation, and she ushered me to
    > the front of the plane so I could get off quickly, and sure enough,
    > there was someone waiting for me to take my bags and escort me to
    > immigration. YAY!!!! I was first there, the man looked at all my
    > documents, (except the x-ray, which he didn't even bother to take when
    > it was offered! ), he stamped my passport, and sent me to a
    > little room to get the work authorization stamp. I waited about 10
    > minutes, they stamped my I-94, and sent me on my way.
    > I got to the desk to tell them I'd missed my connecting flight due to
    > the delay at Heathrow, and they said there were no more til the next
    > morning, so they'd call the hotel nearby. I got to stay in a very swish
    > hotel, with food included, all at no expense! Woo hoo!!!! The worst part
    > was telling Corey that I was so near, yet so far, and I couldn't make it
    > til the next day. He was very upset. After a couple of hours shut-eye, I
    > got the bus to JFK, and thankfully, the flight was on time. About 4
    > hours later, I was in my baby's arms.......FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I
    > won't tell you the rest!!!
    > I also had my first experience of the INS office in Miami last week. I
    > called and called for my SSN, got a million different answers, so I got
    > cheesed off and decided to do something about it. I had to turn down a
    > job offer the other week as I didn't have my number, so I phoned INS,
    > and they said all SS are waiting for is confirmation of my status, and I
    > could go to the INS office and get my name down on the database. Anyway,
    > on Thursday, I got there about 9.30am (BIG mistake!!!!!!), and the man
    > said I was an hour too late. EH???????? They close the lines at 8.30am,
    > so I'd had a wasted journey. Sh******tttttt!!!!!!! He said most people
    > turn up at midnight to make sure they're seen!!!!! I thought he was
    > joking, so I asked another guard, and they said the same.
    > That night, I got the last train to Miami, got to the office around
    > 10.30pm, and got comfy. By 11, there were 20 people behind me. By 3am,
    > there were around 350 people behind me!!!!!!!! GET THERE EARLY!!!!!!!!
    > There were 2 lines. I'm assuming one was for residents, as lots of
    > those were let in before us. I got into the building at 6.30am, without
    > a wink of sleep but with a very numb ass, and I wasn't in the best of
    > moods!!! I got to the window, explained to the man what I was there
    > for, and he told me I couldn't apply for a SSN til after the
    > wedding........ I almost cried, lost my temper, and told him he
    > was wrong. I had the work stamp, and I also brought a printout from the
    > embassy website that I was allowed to work, therefore, allowed to apply
    > for a SSN. He went away to talk to a lady, then came back and said I
    > was right! (I felt very smug!!!! ) He then gave me a ticket, and I
    > was told to wait til I was called.
    > Finally, at 9am, I was called up, and a very helpful woman took copies
    > of all my documents, said she'd send them to my SS office with some form
    > they send, and to wait til Mon or Tue to call for my number.
    > Yaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!!!!!! She even told me to wait with her til she'd
    > verified everything to make sure I didn't have to come back. Phew!!! I
    > finally escaped at 9.15 feeling like I'd accomplished something.
    > I have to phone SS later to see what they say, and I have a job
    > interview this afternoon, so fingers crossed, things are looking up!!!
    > Corey and I haven't set a date for the wedding yet, as we wanted to get
    > all the boring stuff out of the way first, but Mum's coming over in
    > April, so it looks like it could be around then. YAY!!! I'm adjusting
    > very well, although I smoke hand-rolled ciggies, and I can't belive the
    > price of the papers!!!!!!!!! Looks like I'll be quitting soon!!!
    > Anyway, I'll be offski now. Just wanted to let you know I'm still alive
    > and well, and I'll catch up with all the goss soon!!!!
    > Ta ta for now!!!!
    > Kate. xxxxxxxxxxxx
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

kitty-uk

Hi Katesuiter1

Wow sounds like you have been having as much fun as the Welsh rugby team

good to have you back, all the best kit

shepslady

Welcome back Kate you have been missed. So glad to hear that things are going well for you. Good on you for dealing with the INS office like that. You knew your rights & you stood up for yourself. I hope you feel proud of yourself. Hope you & Corey are HAPPY!! How I envy you.
All the best
Shepslady