Originally Posted by SecretGarden

Congratulations, Maggie and Son!

I haven't been around much lately, but I was keeping my fingers crossed that you'd get through it with out any trouble.

Have a drink to celebrate!

~SecretGarden
~and Mr. Pink

Originally Posted by Maggs

? I hope he is able to do what he loves best.
Maggie

Originally Posted by Ray

I am not saying a word ... about the collar and dog leash..

Originally Posted by Ray

I am not saying a word ... about the collar and dog leash..

Originally Posted by Maggs

Ray you are a little devil!!

Maggie

Originally Posted by Maggs

K3/K4 to permanent resident.

Hi to those interested in the end of our journey....until Citizenship that is!!

My son and I flew over from Chicago to UK on 12th June for medical in London on June 13th. Our IR1 and IR2 interview at the Embassy was on Friday 17th. We travelled down to London on the 16th and stayed the night at a cheap hotel. We collected the results of our medical and x rays on Thursday at 4PM. Our interview was on Friday at 9am and we were there waiting in line with others with interview times. When we were allowed in we went to get a ticket and ours was no 4 (for immigrant . There seemed to be many more for non immigrant visas and interrviews. There were screens to watch the progress of each number.

We were only waiting for about 30 minutes when our turn came. We took all our paperwork to the ikiosk and a nice guy checked through it all and put both mine and my sons in order. He then said everything was fine and to take a seat and wait for our names to be called. Just one thing to mention here. My son is 20 and they asked him to sign a form to say he agrees to selective service. My son had already done that when he came in on a K4 in March 2004. Apparently he didn't have to do it at that time as the K4 is a NON immigrant visa and the I-130 is an immigrant visa. Only people with an immigrant visa needs to sign for selective service. At least that is what this guy said to my son.

After about 15 minutes our names were called and we went to a different area where the consular officers were. At our kiosk the Con Off asked us to raise our right hand and say that to the best of our knowlegde all the information was correct, which we did. He than said that everything was in order and explained whilch line to go to at the POE...which is the visitors line and then secondary inspection. He than said "Welcome to America" and I felt a big lump in my throat and went all emotional!! e told us our passports would be back with us on Tuesday which worried me a bit as we were flying back to the US on Wednesday.

We then went to the courier service and lined up to give our details. They said they would process the passport as soon as they received them. We then left the US Embassy, seeing Ozzie Osbourne leaving at the same time! We went to have a cup of coffee and then headed back to the Midlands to wait for our passports. Only then would I feel ok... no, I'd only feel ok once we entered the US and got our stamp, No, I'll only feel ok once I receive our green card in the Mail!!

We received our passports really fast, the next morning Saturday at 10am. That was impresive. We flew back into Chicago on Wednesday and it was just as easy. We lined up at the visitors line, had checked everything and then we were told to wait for another officer who would process our paperwork. So we sat next to a few other people waiting to do the same. When we saw an immigration officer about 20 minutes later they took our fingerprints, the old fashioned way with ink, twice, and asked us to sign next to our fingerprints. The immigration officer then stamped our passports with a stamp which I assume is the I-551 and that was that. We were given a piece of paper with information on what to do if we didn't receive our green card and that was it, we were on our way.

We came home and now it's just a matter of waiting. I don't know when we will get our green cards. The Con Off in the Embassy in London said they would take about 4 weeks and the immigration officer at Chicago POE said it could take 3-6 months to arrive. So it's the waiting game again!

I am just releived that for now it is over and done with... for 2 years and 9 months anyway!

To Hawkslayer: Thanks for your words of encouragement. They were well needed.

To Cindyabs: How are you doing with your process? It can't be long for you both now.

Best wishes to everyone

Maggie

Originally Posted by SecretGarden

Actually to be fair......Ray's picking up on something I said in The Lounge the other day.

Anyway, don't want to hijack your thread but since you asked, we're doing pretty well. We're in an in-between period now where he has a fulltime day-job in publishing and is handbinding evenings and weekends---he's got enough private work to make it hard to finish it all quickly in the time he's not at the regular job, but not enough yet to be able to comfortably quit the day job. His hands are in pretty good condition---the ring finger on the right hand will never be straight, but he has a functional grip and can still play standup bass, too, so it's all good!

My focus this week has been sending out letters to bookshops, libraries, museums, historical societies, and antiquarian bookdealers in the state---hopefully the letters will usher in enough potential invoiceable business that he can quit the day job.

So, anyone reading this---if you need books bound, repaired, restored, your own works bound, or documents repaired....or know someone who does.....PM me and we can give you more details. We listed an ad in the classified section of BE, but no responses so far on that one!

He's fantastic at what he loves to do best......even without the dog collar and leash.

Thanks for asking, Maggs!
~SG and Mr. Pink

Originally Posted by shepslady

Hi Maggie
Thats such wonderful news to hear. Bet you are so glad that you can at least have a rest for the next couple of years. Great that things went so well for you & your son & am happy to know you are both back in The US with your new status.

Cheers
Shepslady

Originally Posted by HunterGreen

Congratulations, Maggs!

Elaine