Made it! Fun with POE!
Feb 10th 2004, 9:19 am
#16
Senior Moment
Joined: Nov 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 5,008
Re: Made it! Fun with POE!
CONGRATULATIONS!!! 
Mr Pink, don't suppose you could tell us which airport you went through so we know where the nice ginger guy is?!
When it comes to my time to fly over I'll go toward the red-head
Sarah x
Mr Pink, don't suppose you could tell us which airport you went through so we know where the nice ginger guy is?!
When it comes to my time to fly over I'll go toward the red-head
Sarah x
Feb 10th 2004, 9:30 am
#17
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,430
Re: Made it! Fun with POE!
Congrats SG and Mr. Pink,
It's been fun hearing about your adventure. Almost reads like a romantic comedy or something... Filled with trials and tribulations. I'm glad it has had a happy ending. Enjoy that feeling of being able to look into each other's eyes each night, feeling each other's warmth, and knowing you are finally together. Good luck to you both.
It's been fun hearing about your adventure. Almost reads like a romantic comedy or something... Filled with trials and tribulations. I'm glad it has had a happy ending. Enjoy that feeling of being able to look into each other's eyes each night, feeling each other's warmth, and knowing you are finally together. Good luck to you both.
Feb 10th 2004, 9:35 am
#18
Forum Regular
Joined: Dec 2003
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Posts: 192
Re: Made it! Fun with POE!
Great Mr. P. So glad to hear you made it safely on this side of the pond! Welcome and may you and SG have a wonderful life here in the USA. I'm sooo happy for you.
Angela
I'm sooo happy for you. Angela
Feb 10th 2004, 10:37 am
#19
SUPER CRUNCHY BALCONY COW
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 9,476
Re: Made it! Fun with POE!
Originally posted by mrpink
Well, I guess that went ok then!
I promised that I would faithfully report my POE experience as soon as I got the chance, and now that the chance is upon me there's really not much to report. It was all very simple, very quick, not at all daunting, not much of anything actually!
So, from the beginning.
I'd loaded two suitcases to bursting point, and I was a bit concerned about how much they were going to weigh. My Dad loaded the cases onto the conveyor belt at the airport check-in desk, and the lady behind the counter told me that one of them was over the limit but she was going to let me off... Thank you! She put a big orange "HEAVY" tag round the handles of both of them though, which at least helped me identify the things at the other end.
After I had said my goodbyes to my family I went through Security at Departure, and to be honest I was a little disappointed that the metal plate in my hand didn't set the alarms off. Titanium, I'm told - very strong, very boring. Oh well. The excitement came almost immediately afterwards when the handle on my carry-on bag broke with what seemed like a mile before I got to the gate. Another overloaded bag, *sigh*
The flight itself was fairly typical, although the screaming baby several rows behind me was offset by all the conveniance and space of three empty seats beside me, so I suppose that sort of balances it all out.
Well, I guess that went ok then!
I promised that I would faithfully report my POE experience as soon as I got the chance, and now that the chance is upon me there's really not much to report. It was all very simple, very quick, not at all daunting, not much of anything actually!
So, from the beginning.
I'd loaded two suitcases to bursting point, and I was a bit concerned about how much they were going to weigh. My Dad loaded the cases onto the conveyor belt at the airport check-in desk, and the lady behind the counter told me that one of them was over the limit but she was going to let me off... Thank you! She put a big orange "HEAVY" tag round the handles of both of them though, which at least helped me identify the things at the other end.
After I had said my goodbyes to my family I went through Security at Departure, and to be honest I was a little disappointed that the metal plate in my hand didn't set the alarms off. Titanium, I'm told - very strong, very boring. Oh well. The excitement came almost immediately afterwards when the handle on my carry-on bag broke with what seemed like a mile before I got to the gate. Another overloaded bag, *sigh*
The flight itself was fairly typical, although the screaming baby several rows behind me was offset by all the conveniance and space of three empty seats beside me, so I suppose that sort of balances it all out.
Right side of the pond
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
:PARTY: :PARTY:
Feb 10th 2004, 10:59 am
#20
C.G.D.S
Joined: Nov 2003
Location: Ireland--->London--->Spain--->Rockport, MA
Posts: 3,353
Re: Made it! Fun with POE!
Originally posted by SarahUK
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Mr Pink, don't suppose you could tell us which airport you went through so we know where the nice ginger guy is?!
When it comes to my time to fly over I'll go toward the red-head
Sarah x
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Mr Pink, don't suppose you could tell us which airport you went through so we know where the nice ginger guy is?!
When it comes to my time to fly over I'll go toward the red-head
Sarah x
Feb 10th 2004, 11:50 am
#21
CA to TX to Jamaica
Joined: Jun 2003
Location: Location, Location.
Posts: 4,887
Re: Made it! Fun with POE!
Congrats and welcome!
Feb 10th 2004, 12:03 pm
#22
won't be long now!
Joined: Dec 2003
Location: Oklahoma & Germany
Posts: 331
Re: Made it! Fun with POE!
Congratulations and best of luck now in the US..
Feb 10th 2004, 1:32 pm
#23
Boise, ID
Joined: Sep 2003
Location: Boise, ID (formerly Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Posts: 239
Re: Made it! Fun with POE!
Wonderful news, Mr Pink! So glad to hear the POE was perfectly painless & quick, and that you're back in SG's arms where you belong now, get back to the bedroom 
I'm so happy for both of you...this has been such a rollercoaster of a trip, and you've been such troopers throughout it all. Now, on to the wonderful world of AOS/EAD/SSN!! Of course, you'll keep us posted on the next leg of the journey, right?!
now, get back to the bedroom I'm so happy for both of you...this has been such a rollercoaster of a trip, and you've been such troopers throughout it all. Now, on to the wonderful world of AOS/EAD/SSN!! Of course, you'll keep us posted on the next leg of the journey, right?!
Feb 10th 2004, 1:47 pm
#24
Together at last!
Joined: Sep 2003
Location: Indiana
Posts: 505
Re: Made it! Fun with POE!
Originally posted by mrpink
I was a little disappointed that the metal plate in my hand didn't set the alarms off. Titanium
I was a little disappointed that the metal plate in my hand didn't set the alarms off. Titanium
(I've got 2 titanium plates in my wrist.)
Glad you made it through with ease!
Feb 10th 2004, 7:59 pm
#25
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2003
Location: Oxford, UK -> Georgia!
Posts: 389
Re: Made it! Fun with POE!
CONGRATULATIONS!! You made it - and not before time!
Wishing you a happy day, marriage and AOS experiences!
Kath
Wishing you a happy day, marriage and AOS experiences!
Kath
Feb 10th 2004, 11:04 pm
#26
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Made it! Fun with POE!
That was a pretty entertaining read. Thanks for sharing your
experience and congratulations! :-)
J
On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 19:13:56 +0000, mrpink
<member4021@british_expats.com> wrote:
>Well, I guess that went ok then!
>I promised that I would faithfully
>report my POE experience as soon as I got the chance, and now that the
>chance is upon me there's really not much to report. It was all very
>simple, very quick, not at all daunting, not much of anything actually!
>So, from the beginning.
>I'd loaded two suitcases to bursting point,
>and I was a bit concerned about how much they were going to weigh. My
>Dad loaded the cases onto the conveyor belt at the airport check-in
>desk, and the lady behind the counter told me that one of them was over
>the limit but she was going to let me off... Thank you! She put a big
>orange "HEAVY" tag round the handles of both of them though, which at
>least helped me identify the things at the other end.
>After I had said
>my goodbyes to my family I went through Security at Departure, and to be
>honest I was a little disappointed that the metal plate in my hand
>didn't set the alarms off. Titanium, I'm told - very strong, very
>boring. Oh well. The excitement came almost immediately afterwards
>when the handle on my carry-on bag broke with what seemed like a mile
>before I got to the gate. Another overloaded bag, *sigh*
>The flight
>itself was fairly typical, although the screaming baby several rows
>behind me was offset by all the conveniance and space of three empty
>seats beside me, so I suppose that sort of balances it all out.
>The
>plane landed three minutes early, and the baby at the back started a
>fresh round of screaming to celebrate. It took a little while longer
>than usual to disembark, due to a medical drama unfolding in the first-
>class section. Never did find what that was about.
>I'm not at all
>nervous about flying but I must admit to some slight jitters about
>facing passport control. What's it going to be like, this secondary
>inspection thing? Will they take me into a windowless office and sit me
>behind a desk? Will I be kept waiting for an hour while Agent Smith
>intimidates me? Nah, nothing so dramatic!
>It took almost an hour to
>get through the line of people waiting at passport control, and the
>screaming baby was no comfort there. Finally I was summoned to the desk
>far over to the right... This was it, the dreaded POE moment!
>I
>stepped up to the counter as directed, and before me was a round faced
>young man with ginger hair, whose opening words ("Jeez, will somebody
>shut that kid up?") confirmed that this was *not* Agent Smith. I gave
>him my passport.
>"So you're on a K1?"
>'yes'
>"Ok, where your K1 stuff
>at?"
>He couldn't be any less intimidating if he tried. I gave him my
>brown envelope, which fell to the desk with a whump!
>"Oh man, look at
>the size of that thing! What've you got in there?"
>I told him that we'd
>made a point of being thorough and he just shook his head. Finally he
>got the thing open and groaned again, and held it up so his colleague on
>the next desk could see. This guy was big on the "oh man" line too, and
>asked if I'd got a complete criminal record in there too. Oh how we
>laughed.
>Agent not-smith then pointed out the fingerprinting scanner,
>and told me he needed a left index finger first, then the right index
>finger, and finally a photograph. The left finger was fine, but as my
>right hand has been out of action for so long the skin was too dry to
>leave any kind of mark. I tried pressing harder, and he said "Just do
>the left thumb then, it's really not important." The photo was taken by
>a webcam-like thing on the end of a flexible arm, and no sooner had he
>pointed to it than he'd pressed the button. I've a feeling that my
>photo is going to show me with my mouth hanging open, halfway through
>saying "huh?" He asked if I was aware of the 90-day rule for a K1 visa
>and I told him yes. He asked where we were going to live and where we
>were going to be married, and those were the only questions asked.
>He
>turned his attention back to the vast lump of paperwork in front of him
>and started looking through it. He found what he needed pretty quickly,
>and stamped and signed a couple of bits, whilst saying things like
>"ok... uh huh... and this is you here... Oh that's great, I can work
>with this one!"
>Finally he just beamed, and held the petition up to
>show his friend once more. "Look, this one's even got tabs on the
>bottom of the pages!!"
>'so it's all ok then?'
>"yep, it's great"
>'my
>fiancee's on the other side of those gates, she's going to be thrilled
>to hear you say that. So, really ok?'
>"yep, best I've seen"
>And with
>that slightly surreal experience it was all over. There was no scary
>interview room, no difficult questions, the whole thing took no more
>than ten minutes.
>He waved me on, toward baggage reclaim, and thus
>ended the big scary POE experience. My SG and I were reunited within
>ten minutes or so from this point, and I've been grinning ever since!
>Cheers,
>Mr Pink
>~and SecretGarden
>~~Back where we belong!
experience and congratulations! :-)
J
On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 19:13:56 +0000, mrpink
<member4021@british_expats.com> wrote:
>Well, I guess that went ok then!
>I promised that I would faithfully
>report my POE experience as soon as I got the chance, and now that the
>chance is upon me there's really not much to report. It was all very
>simple, very quick, not at all daunting, not much of anything actually!
>So, from the beginning.
>I'd loaded two suitcases to bursting point,
>and I was a bit concerned about how much they were going to weigh. My
>Dad loaded the cases onto the conveyor belt at the airport check-in
>desk, and the lady behind the counter told me that one of them was over
>the limit but she was going to let me off... Thank you! She put a big
>orange "HEAVY" tag round the handles of both of them though, which at
>least helped me identify the things at the other end.
>After I had said
>my goodbyes to my family I went through Security at Departure, and to be
>honest I was a little disappointed that the metal plate in my hand
>didn't set the alarms off. Titanium, I'm told - very strong, very
>boring. Oh well. The excitement came almost immediately afterwards
>when the handle on my carry-on bag broke with what seemed like a mile
>before I got to the gate. Another overloaded bag, *sigh*
>The flight
>itself was fairly typical, although the screaming baby several rows
>behind me was offset by all the conveniance and space of three empty
>seats beside me, so I suppose that sort of balances it all out.
>The
>plane landed three minutes early, and the baby at the back started a
>fresh round of screaming to celebrate. It took a little while longer
>than usual to disembark, due to a medical drama unfolding in the first-
>class section. Never did find what that was about.
>I'm not at all
>nervous about flying but I must admit to some slight jitters about
>facing passport control. What's it going to be like, this secondary
>inspection thing? Will they take me into a windowless office and sit me
>behind a desk? Will I be kept waiting for an hour while Agent Smith
>intimidates me? Nah, nothing so dramatic!
>It took almost an hour to
>get through the line of people waiting at passport control, and the
>screaming baby was no comfort there. Finally I was summoned to the desk
>far over to the right... This was it, the dreaded POE moment!
>I
>stepped up to the counter as directed, and before me was a round faced
>young man with ginger hair, whose opening words ("Jeez, will somebody
>shut that kid up?") confirmed that this was *not* Agent Smith. I gave
>him my passport.
>"So you're on a K1?"
>'yes'
>"Ok, where your K1 stuff
>at?"
>He couldn't be any less intimidating if he tried. I gave him my
>brown envelope, which fell to the desk with a whump!
>"Oh man, look at
>the size of that thing! What've you got in there?"
>I told him that we'd
>made a point of being thorough and he just shook his head. Finally he
>got the thing open and groaned again, and held it up so his colleague on
>the next desk could see. This guy was big on the "oh man" line too, and
>asked if I'd got a complete criminal record in there too. Oh how we
>laughed.
>Agent not-smith then pointed out the fingerprinting scanner,
>and told me he needed a left index finger first, then the right index
>finger, and finally a photograph. The left finger was fine, but as my
>right hand has been out of action for so long the skin was too dry to
>leave any kind of mark. I tried pressing harder, and he said "Just do
>the left thumb then, it's really not important." The photo was taken by
>a webcam-like thing on the end of a flexible arm, and no sooner had he
>pointed to it than he'd pressed the button. I've a feeling that my
>photo is going to show me with my mouth hanging open, halfway through
>saying "huh?" He asked if I was aware of the 90-day rule for a K1 visa
>and I told him yes. He asked where we were going to live and where we
>were going to be married, and those were the only questions asked.
>He
>turned his attention back to the vast lump of paperwork in front of him
>and started looking through it. He found what he needed pretty quickly,
>and stamped and signed a couple of bits, whilst saying things like
>"ok... uh huh... and this is you here... Oh that's great, I can work
>with this one!"
>Finally he just beamed, and held the petition up to
>show his friend once more. "Look, this one's even got tabs on the
>bottom of the pages!!"
>'so it's all ok then?'
>"yep, it's great"
>'my
>fiancee's on the other side of those gates, she's going to be thrilled
>to hear you say that. So, really ok?'
>"yep, best I've seen"
>And with
>that slightly surreal experience it was all over. There was no scary
>interview room, no difficult questions, the whole thing took no more
>than ten minutes.
>He waved me on, toward baggage reclaim, and thus
>ended the big scary POE experience. My SG and I were reunited within
>ten minutes or so from this point, and I've been grinning ever since!
>Cheers,
>Mr Pink
>~and SecretGarden
>~~Back where we belong!
Feb 11th 2004, 1:38 am
#27
Found: My soul mate!!
Joined: Sep 2003
Location: Milwaukee, WI, USA (Mr.R formerly England)
Posts: 199
Re: Made it! Fun with POE!
Welcome to the "right" side of the pond and the chilly Midwest Mr Pink!!! Really glad to hear of your thankfully boring POE experience and that it went so smoothly. I'll be forwarding this thread on to my hubby as his POE will be Chicago as well.
Lucky you, reunited with SG after just 10 minutes at baggage claim ... seems I'm always waiting for my bags for a half hour at O'Hare (altho sounds like the wait at POE made for a shorter baggage claim wait). I "just" missed you at the airport actually, I returned from my visit to Mark in the UK on Monday.
I bet you two must be in heaven, finally reunited for good. I'm *so* thrilled for you and wish you the very very best life has to offer!
Lots of love,
Jackie
Lucky you, reunited with SG after just 10 minutes at baggage claim ... seems I'm always waiting for my bags for a half hour at O'Hare (altho sounds like the wait at POE made for a shorter baggage claim wait). I "just" missed you at the airport actually, I returned from my visit to Mark in the UK on Monday.
I bet you two must be in heaven, finally reunited for good. I'm *so* thrilled for you and wish you the very very best life has to offer!
Lots of love,
Jackie
Feb 11th 2004, 3:49 am
#28
K1 via London
Joined: Sep 2003
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Posts: 1,959
Re: Made it! Fun with POE!
Originally posted by mrpink
I'd loaded two suitcases to bursting point, and I was a bit concerned about how much they were going to weigh. My Dad loaded the cases onto the conveyor belt at the airport check-in desk, and the lady behind the counter told me that one of them was over the limit but she was going to let me off... Thank you! She put a big orange "HEAVY" tag round the handles of both of them though, which at least helped me identify the things at the other end.
I'd loaded two suitcases to bursting point, and I was a bit concerned about how much they were going to weigh. My Dad loaded the cases onto the conveyor belt at the airport check-in desk, and the lady behind the counter told me that one of them was over the limit but she was going to let me off... Thank you! She put a big orange "HEAVY" tag round the handles of both of them though, which at least helped me identify the things at the other end.
The suitcases were packed so tight that the customs officer joked that we should put a "cation: under pressure" sticker on them, hahaha.I'm so glad to hear that you made it safely over there - without even setting off the detectors. So what does SG think of your hand??
Feb 11th 2004, 5:51 am
#29
The Missus
Joined: Sep 2002
Location: Northwest of Chicago
Posts: 6,239
Re: Made it! Fun with POE!
Originally posted by Steffi
I'm so glad to hear that you made it safely over there - without even setting off the detectors. So what does SG think of your hand??
I'm so glad to hear that you made it safely over there - without even setting off the detectors. So what does SG think of your hand??
Hi all! Had a few moments to check in and touch base. Everything is going well, but very very busy! I'm so glad he's arrived safely, everything seems to be going smoothly and we're feeling fine.
Could be a different story in less than forty eight hours though......the wedding is Friday morning!
Thanks for all the good wishes and I'll check in soon!
~SecretGarden
~and Mr. Pink (he'll have to get a Valentine that says "To My Lovely *Wife*" !! )
Feb 11th 2004, 5:53 am
#30
K1 via London
Joined: Sep 2003
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Posts: 1,959
Re: Made it! Fun with POE!
Originally posted by SecretGarden
the wedding is Friday morning!
the wedding is Friday morning!
