Just Jenney

After a couple of false starts, Mark and I have finally decided and agreed on our plans for the upcoming two months...

False Start #1 -- Our original plans
March 24 - Mark gets his K-1 visa
March 25 - Jenney gets week-long vacation approved by boss
May 1 - Mark arrives in the US on his K-1
May 2 - We apply for Mark's SSN & our marriage license
May 5 - We get married

False Start #2 -- Mark realizes he needs more time to prepare for The Big Move
March 28 - Jenney asks and gets (phew!) approval to push back vacation
May 29 - Mark's new arrival date
May 30 - New date to apply for SSN and marriage license
June 2 - Our new wedding date

We were all set to go with this second plan, but we became increasingly concerned with all the indications that applying for Mark's SSN on his second day in the country probably was going to delay things even more than if we simply postponed our wedding. There's simply no way he'd be in the BCIS system that soon, and that would mean the SSA requesting verification via snail mail -- probably adding months to our wait time. Luckily for us we're just doing a simple ceremony (just us, the officiant, and two witnesses) so moving the date around is no problem. So we decided it was a safer bet to just push back our wedding date by three weeks (most people say you're in the BCIS system in about two weeks), then apply for his SSN just before we marry. That way Mark can (hopefully) get his SSN before he gets his EAD, so he can get a drivers license and eventually a job when the EAD comes through.

The new -- and FINAL!! -- plans are...
May 29 - Mark arrives in the US on his K-1
June 12-17 - Apply for Mark's SSN and our marriage license
June 18 - We get married! (yay!!)

It's been a rollercoaster the past few weeks, let me tell you. Actually, it's been harder emotionally to deal with since Mark got his visa -- which is exactly the opposite of how I'd expected it all to go. I honestly thought once he had his visa, I would just be all smiles, all the time. But our plans have changed so much since then, been tossed around and postponed, it's been more trying than the waiting around for the petition to be processed. In five weeks, Mark will finally be here -- not a long time relatively speaking, but it still feels like an eternity away. I'm actually looking forward to the AOS part, if only because it means we can wait it out together.

In the meantime, I have to prepare for Mark's arrival (make room for two in my little apartment!) as well as our wedding (like pick out a dress and make a bouquet, that sort of thing). It helps a little bit, keeps me busy, but honestly I just can't wait to see him again. I just want this whole thing to finally be over...

Anyway, sorry for the unloading. No one else understands how hard it really is, except other people going through the process. Thanks for listening... and thanks for all the great advice that's helped get us through this. It has been invaluable.

~ Jenney

dbark

It must be tough to be waiting these last few weeks, knowing Mark has visa in hand! I imagine he has a few loose ends to tie up in the UK too. Does he have a lot of personal items to take? If so, has he found a reliable mover yet? I am starting to look into that myself. I am also wondering about who to inform about leaving the UK, like the Inland Revenue (tax people). Has Mark got a date to give up work yet? It must be so exciting at this point, to finally have a wedding date and the end, or rather the *beginning* is in sight!

Debbie

thing2

Its amazing realising quite how many ties have to be cut. I hadn't thought of the Inland Revenue, has anyone else told them?

Also, should I remove myself from the electoral roll ?

The things I have covered include : my pensions, magazine subscriptions, bank, getting a Royal Mail redirect, medical records, utilities, isp... That's all I can think of off the top of my head, my list is at home.

I'm keeping my UK bank account open with a nominal amount in it - transferring it to a Barclays overseas account - they call it Global Solutions - you pay no UK tax on it.

Just Jenney

Yes, Mark is trying to tie up all those loose ends. He's already given notice at work; he's got to sell his car, close out the insurance, etc. He also needs to get a drivers license with his photo on it (he just has the non-photo one now), as we already know he'll need it for auto insurance coverage through my insurer.

We haven't discussed notifying Inland Revenue of Mark's plans, but I'll ask him about it. As for bank accounts, he has one checking account and one credit card. We're still trying to figure out the best way to handle those...

Mark doesn't have a lot of personal items to bring over, at least not in the sense of furniture or big items. (One of the main reasons we decided that HE should move HERE!) But he does have TONS of CDs (over 2,000) and DVDs (a couple hundred), not to mention books. He's sorting through them all now, bundling them to sell on eBay, give to friends, throw out, etc. As for his computer (which he built), he's just going to bring the basic hardware components and software, and leave the rest (monitor, keyboard, etc.).

We're not doing the typical mover thing, actually. He's going to send some stuff via post to me -- clothes, books, CDs, etc. -- and bring the rest as luggage when he comes over. He may pay for one piece of extra luggage, but three bags/boxes and a carry-on should suffice, at least for the essentials. Anything else that he can do without for a few months his family will bring over in the fall when they visit.

More than anything I wish I could be over there to help Mark get all this stuff done. I'm sure that if I'd had the benefit of being over there during these past few months, he'd already be back here with me now. But oh well... Mark also has to say goodbye to family and friends, and I think that's the hardest part. As much as I wish he was here, he needed extra time, so how could I not give it to him, given that he's turning his world upside down for me?

~ Jenney

meauxna

Just a thought J/M, I emailed my insuarnce agent while we were on the way home and had the DAH added to my policy before he even got to the US. Now, we *were* already married, which might make a difference, but maybe one more call to make will help the time pass more easily

PS: why didn't you send this post to usenet? I'm starting to notice that more often on ppl's posts...

Rete

WOW! I'm almost speechless. People really do buy CD's and DVD's in those quantities? For what purpose? Speaking strictly for myself, I must be an oddity as I own in total 20 tape cassettes and VCR tapes. And that is for my entire adult life which is more than 34 years.

I'm was horrified that my husband arrived in the States with a small box of cassette tapes (about 40) and about 30 of VCR tapes. In nearly five years, he has never watched one of the VCR tapes and has listened to very few of the cassettes. But now he has started purchasing CD's and DVD's which just sit and collect dust until I have to take a rag to them.

Rete

nini

Good luck to you, Jenney&Mark. Hope your plan will go smoothly for you. For me, as soon as my fiance gets his visa, I want him to fly out the next day. Feel like I cannot wait another day, but I must. We are going through HCM consular in Vietnam, and it would have a 4 months wait at least for the interview.

Again congrat on getting his visa, and good luck to both of you.

ni

pondhopper

Hi all

I am coming to Tennessee on May 21st with my K1 visa. I notified the tax people and they tell me that when I leave the UK I am allowed to claim ALL my allowances until April 2004 !! Yes that is not a misprint April 2004......So all the tax I will pay before I leave will be refunded direct to my bank account. now that is a good tax system.
Good luck everyone
David

thing2

Just a question on this. There was a whole thread a while back on paying US tax on UK savings. Obviously, if you had paid UK tax, you would not then pay US tax on it (ie - be double taxed).

But what if no UK tax is paid as pondhopper says above - will US taxes be due on this in 2004 ? ie - are you saving in one place only to pay out in another ?

Tiff

Yep people do buy in these quantites for other forms of entertainment then just a TV or computer.

I would imagine when my fiance gets over here and we add all his, mine and my daughters cds and movies together we will be well into the thousands. I am the only one that has cassettes those were before both of their times

pondhopper

Thing 2
you are confusing two things.
Your income this year until you leave the Uk is assessed for tax in the UK and the allowances are given until the end of the tax year this mean's that (in my case) no tax is payable. But as I have already paid tax on the last two months salary then I get it all back.
There is no liablity to US tax on this money as it has already been dealt with by the UK tax people.
David

Just Jenney

Well, in Mark's case, he worked at a Virgin Megastore for 6 years. So over 6 years, he probably bought one CD a week, all with a 25% employee discount. It added up!!

He's not going to bring all of them over -- that's why he's sorting through them now and bundling them for sale on eBay. That means getting rid of CDs he no longer likes and/or listens to, which will bring the overall collection down to a mere 500 CDs or so.

~ Jenney

thing2

No I'm not. I know exactly who my Thing is

Seriously though, just the word tax confuses my little brain. I think I get what you're saying

Just Jenney

Actually, I did NOT opt for it not to go to Usenet. I never touch those selection buttons at the bottom, ever. It looks like the system self-imposed that selection and it didn't go to Usenet. I have no idea why, but I do know it wasn't me.

~ Jenney

thing2

Very very similar to what I'm taking over. I'm pretty much all ebayed out after selling most of my unwanted things. Word of warning - being paid is great, but packing it, tracking it & sending it - seems to take forever.

Apart from what I carry over, I'm sending everything over with a shipping firm - going to cost around £500 but I want it all done in one fell swoop.

Surely posting it over will end up being expensive / difficult ? Have you considered the potential customs issues with doing this. There are various issues regarding possessions entering the US without the owner.

http://help.customs.gov/cgi-bin/cust...cGFnZT0y&p_li=

http://help.customs.gov/cgi-bin/cust...cGFnZT0y&p_li=

The one-stop shipping solution also deals with all the customs issues.