By Victoria
Colin is flying out of Dublin, Ireland directly to the Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC (technically northern Virginia) at about 7:35 a.m. EST (in a few minutes). Dublin actually serves as a Point of Entry (POE) for immigration into the United States, which means they check your visa papers over there instead of having to wait until you land on U.S. soil. I got to talk to Colin this morning, and he's been accepted to immigrate to the United States!
Reportedly, it was very easy. All he had to do was hand his sealed visa packet envelope -- which he received after being approved at his London interview -- to the immigration officer. The officer opened it, looked through the papers, took a photo of Colin, and reminded him that we have to get married within 3 months. That was it! So once Colin lands in the Dulles airport, all he has to do is go through regular international customs/security.
His plane is scheduled to land at 3:35 p.m. EST!
Friday, June 26, 2015
Monday, June 15, 2015
Next Step: Legal Marriage
By Victoria
Once Colin is accepted at the border of the U.S., the K-1 Visa 90-day period to get married kicks in.
To be married in the state of Virginia, we only need to have a marriage license issued to us by the county court, have any certified officiant perform the marriage/fill out the marriage register, and have the officiant mail the form back to the courthouse. There is no requirement for witnesses, no blood test, no waiting period -- nothing like that. Easy! But there is also no Justice of the Peace at courthouses here, so we do have to find our own officiant. We can be married pretty much anywhere in the state, though...you could probably stand on the sidewalk outside the courthouse and have the officiant sign the marriage register right after you get it, if you wanted.
Given this process, it should be pretty easy for us to be married within a month after Colin arrives! There's no point in waiting, as that will only drag out the subsequent process to get his green card/permanent resident status and his work permission. (Yes, this will require a boatload of more forms and evidence, plus another months-long wait.)
As I've mentioned previously, we'll worry about having a small wedding ceremony later on, possibly a year afterward. We still plan to celebrate once we're married, though!
Once Colin is accepted at the border of the U.S., the K-1 Visa 90-day period to get married kicks in.
To be married in the state of Virginia, we only need to have a marriage license issued to us by the county court, have any certified officiant perform the marriage/fill out the marriage register, and have the officiant mail the form back to the courthouse. There is no requirement for witnesses, no blood test, no waiting period -- nothing like that. Easy! But there is also no Justice of the Peace at courthouses here, so we do have to find our own officiant. We can be married pretty much anywhere in the state, though...you could probably stand on the sidewalk outside the courthouse and have the officiant sign the marriage register right after you get it, if you wanted.
Given this process, it should be pretty easy for us to be married within a month after Colin arrives! There's no point in waiting, as that will only drag out the subsequent process to get his green card/permanent resident status and his work permission. (Yes, this will require a boatload of more forms and evidence, plus another months-long wait.)
As I've mentioned previously, we'll worry about having a small wedding ceremony later on, possibly a year afterward. We still plan to celebrate once we're married, though!
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Preparation for Leaving (and Official Move Date)
By Colin
I have an official announcement for moving: My ticket to the U.S. is booked for June 26th.
I think my final day at work will be this Saturday (5th), and the next 3 weeks will be complete bedlam with getting everything else fixed before I go.
My visa expires July 7, so my time was running down. The visa lasts for six months, but they start it at the date of your medical exam instead of the date you're actually issued the visa.
My preparations are now well under way.
I have started to sell larger things that I won't be able to bring with me. DVDs and CDs are being taken out of their boxes and the boxes thrown away. I've used the boxes that blank CDs come in to store the discs, saving a lot of room and weight. Aside from a lot of digital media, my main items for shipping are a few books and a couple of smaller electrical items. These should fit in one or two medium sized boxes.
I have also had some good news regarding the flat. I thought that under my Co-Ownership terms of agreement that it was impossible to rent, but since the flat had still not sold after a few months on the market and a reasonable reduction in price, I contacted Co-Ownership regarding my situation.
I attended an interview at their office and was told that I could rent the flat with certain clauses in place (permission from my mortgage lender, a legally drawn up leasing agreement with the tenant, proof that it had been on the market for a certain period of time and so on).
I'm still waiting for a form from the lender, but from what their man told me on the phone, he sees no reason that I would be turned down, which is a big relief.
If anything else of note comes up soon, I'll post another update!
I have an official announcement for moving: My ticket to the U.S. is booked for June 26th.
I think my final day at work will be this Saturday (5th), and the next 3 weeks will be complete bedlam with getting everything else fixed before I go.
My visa expires July 7, so my time was running down. The visa lasts for six months, but they start it at the date of your medical exam instead of the date you're actually issued the visa.
My preparations are now well under way.
I have started to sell larger things that I won't be able to bring with me. DVDs and CDs are being taken out of their boxes and the boxes thrown away. I've used the boxes that blank CDs come in to store the discs, saving a lot of room and weight. Aside from a lot of digital media, my main items for shipping are a few books and a couple of smaller electrical items. These should fit in one or two medium sized boxes.
I have also had some good news regarding the flat. I thought that under my Co-Ownership terms of agreement that it was impossible to rent, but since the flat had still not sold after a few months on the market and a reasonable reduction in price, I contacted Co-Ownership regarding my situation.
I attended an interview at their office and was told that I could rent the flat with certain clauses in place (permission from my mortgage lender, a legally drawn up leasing agreement with the tenant, proof that it had been on the market for a certain period of time and so on).
I'm still waiting for a form from the lender, but from what their man told me on the phone, he sees no reason that I would be turned down, which is a big relief.
If anything else of note comes up soon, I'll post another update!
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