Home Sweet Home

That my Spousal Visa paperwork was couriered into the British Consulate General in Los Angeles in the early morning hours of Friday, July 25th 2008. Then seven long hours later I was told that it had been approved and that this thing of beauty had been printed and put into my Passport.

I can not believe it has been a year since that day. For those of you reading that have gone thru any type of Immigration process you will know the stress that I was feeling a year ago today. Not to mention all the stress up to that day! But to know that they had the paperwork and that a decision would be made shortly. I was a nervous wreck!

But as you can see it all worked out in the end... and now a year later I am happily living in England. Thank goodness I will not have to go thru that stress again!

High: 63°
Low: 51°
Forecast: Partly Sunny
Sunrise: 5:14 AM
Sunset: 9:18 PM

Well... today was the day. Long story short, I got my Indefinite Leave to Remain Visa! I followed all of the guidelines and had all of the paperwork that they asked for. Bank statements, bills in both of our names, lease agreement, etc... and what did they ask to see?

1) My passport and Andy's passport
2) My certificate that shows I passed the Life in the UK test
3) £950.00

They never asked for ANY of the supporting documents that they said they require.

There was a little hic-up at the start with them trying to tell me that I already had Indefinite Leave to Remain. So I had to explain that my current Visa was in fact only a Spousal Visa but it look different because we have been married for more then four years. We had to wait while the lady called her supervisor. Then we got called to another window for the actual interview part. She took my passport and my new passport photos and told us it would be an hour for the Visa to be issued and that was it. We waited and they called me back up to collect my Passport.

I am now allowed to live in the United Kingdom for as long as I wish! Now there is some noise going around that they are going to try to force citizenship but I planned on getting that anyway when I am eligible so that is not a big issue. I am just glad my last Visa is sorted and now I do not have to worry about it any more.

So... after that was over Andy and I went on a little Beatles sightseeing tour of our own. We went down Mathew Street to see the new Beatles Hotel and of course the Cavern Club.

Then we drove to a little town called Woolton, it is just south of down town Liverpool. We went to St. Peter's Chuch, Strawberry Field and down Penny Lane.

The above picture is of one of the gravestones at St. Peter's Church and is one of the speculation stories about where Paul McCartney came up with the name Eleanor Rigby. Paul and John actually met at this Church's Hall and they spent quite a bit of time here.

It was also a lot of fun to go see the gates to Strawberry Field. It drives me crazy that so many people have written all of them but I guess you can not stop people from being stupid.

I took quite a few pictures of our little drive around today so if you would like to tak a look you can go see them here.. you do not have to be a Beatles fan to enjoy!

Spent all night tonight getting everything filled in, paperwork in an organized fashion and now I am ready for Thursday!

The passport photo story got even crazier tonight. After work Andy and I decided to run by the Co-Op instead of going into Middlebrook to Asda. I went in, did not smile, had my shorter bangs/fringe and stuck my hair behind my ears. I then took the pictures home to find out that they were very very dark compared to the others and that the background was more of a dark grey and not white. *triple ugh* That is £12 down the drain.

So after we ate some dinner we decided to run back into Middlebrook and to Asda so that we can try a fourth time... which turned out to be a charm. I think I look like crap in the picture but it matches all of the rules so that is all that matters.

Okay. First of all, I again apologize for the horrible photo. I tried to get a better shot but I had to settle on this one because I am way too busy to try to not get the flash to show...

I have my ILR appointment in Liverpool on Thursday so I have started getting everything together today. When I was in the States working on my Spousal Visa I let myself get way too stressed out about it and then with the cats paperwork (which was even harder then my own) I was a complete mess! This time around I wanted to wait until a few days before to start so that it did not take over too much of my life. It is seriously amazing how a person turns into a ball of blubber when it comes to dealing with this Immigration stuff.

Andy and I stopped by Asda after work as we both had to get some passport photos taken. Unfortunately I do not think that I will be able to use any of the above.

I took the ones on the left first and after I came out Andy pointed out that it stated in the instruction poster (which was hanging just to my right the entire time) that my ears should be in fact showing. *ugh* That is £4 down the drain.

I then had to go back into Asda to buy something else so that I could get £10 back in pound coins so that I could try again.

So... I take the ones on the right. We get home and I look thru the photo guidance instructions and what do I see? It says that you can not have any hair hanging down and into your eyes. Darn my bangs (fringe). *double ugh* That is £8 down the drain.

I went into the bathroom and trimmed up my own bangs and will attempt to go back tomorrow after work. I will take all of them to my appointment on Thursday and they can pick which one they like the best. I guess it is good to have choices.

In short... I passed! Woo Hoo! Andy stayed up with me last night and quizzed me and it really did help. I took seventeen practice tests and passed all of them so my confidence was a bit high but still I was nervous that there would be too many questions that I did not know. Here is how the day went.

10:00am : Since we stayed up late studying we let ourselves sleep in a bit.

10:00 - 12:30 : Did a few more online practice tests while Andy played around on the Wii Fit.

12:30 - 1:00 : Making our way to the test centre. It was at a place around 12 miles from where we live and in a building called Red Rose Training. At first I thought we were in the wrong place because it was a truck driving facility but nope we were in the right place... how could I doubt our little Tom Tom?

1:00 : Made our way into the building as we were told that we needed to be there by 1:00pm (no later) as the test was to start at 1:30pm. Inside there was no where to sit and about 20 people crammed into a very tiny space. I walked into one of the offices and was told to go ahead and wait out in the 'waiting area' and they will start checking people in shortly.

1:15 : People start getting checked in.

2:00 : I am finally checked in and Andy decides since there is no proper waiting area he will wait out in the car. They took my £33 and checked my Passport as ID.

2:10 - 2:20 : Moved to a room where we were each called in one by one to verify our information (name, address, etc.) and yet again my Passport was viewed for ID.

2:20 - 2:40 : Moved to another room where we were told to wait until it was time to go into the testing room.

2:40 - 2:50 : Finally were taken into the testing room. Upon walking into the room my Passport was viewed once again for ID. We each sat at a computer and were told guidelines for taking the test, such as no talking, no study materials, etc. Then we were allowed to take a practice test of 4 questions just to get us in the grove of the questions format and how to tick each of them. We are then told that when we are ready to start the actual test they will come around and start it for us.

2:53 : I ask for my test to be started and yet again my Passport is viewed for ID.

2:55 : Started test, time allowed 45 minutes.

3:02 : Ended test.

3:02 - 3:45 : Waiting in yet another room because until everybody has completed the test they can not print the results and hand them out.

3:47 : I am called into another room where again my Passport is viewed for ID and am I told congratulations I have passed and am asked to sign the pass certificate.

So... 2 hours and 47 minutes and 5 checks of my Passport later... I am finally walking out of the testing centre and am very glad that it is all over! The test itself only took me 7 minutes and this was with me answering all of the questions and then going thru each of them again to verify my answers.

What is to happen to my study guide and test question booklet? I am passing them down to Meg so that she can study for her test which she might be taking this summer.

Now I have to call the Home Office on Monday in order to set my in person appointment for my Indefinite Leave to Remain Visa and then hopefully that will be all... until of course when I qualify for citizenship and then it will be yet more work.

So what has Christine been busy doing lately? Well here is your answer. My Life in the UK Test is scheduled for this Saturday January 31st at 1:30pm. I am SO very frightened.

Only 4% of American fail this test, I have a feeling I will be a part of that percentage.

There are just so many little things that I know they are going ask and I can't seem to keep all of the numbers straight in my head. 84%, two-thirds, one half, three quarters, etc... *ugh*

Some of you that know a little about the Immigration process may be asking why I am taking the test so soon after arriving in the UK, well here are the reasons.

I am currently here on a Spousal Visa that will expire in December 2010. Normally somebody that is here on this type of Visa must wait a full two years after arriving to go for the next Visa which is called Indefinite Leave to Remain. In those two years you are required to keep bills, letters, bank statements, etc.. showing that you and your spouse have been living together in a marriage.

Since Andy and I have been married for over four years (in fact over eight) we 'proved' our relationship while in the US when I applied for my Spousal Visa. So my Visa has a special notation on it which means all I need to do in order to go for the Indefinite Leave to Remain is to take and pass The Life in the UK test and I can then immediately apply rather then having to wait the normal two years.

Why go ahead now? Well...

Fees are normally raised in April of every year and seeing as how the price is already £750 ($1071) for postal applications and £950 ($1357) for in person applications there is no way I want to have to spend even more money on this. Oh and we do plan on doing an in person application because I want to get this over with and do not fancy sending my Passport into the Home Office and wait the nearly 14-16 weeks to find out if I have been approved.

Also right now there is quite a bit of immigration chit chat going on that there are a lot of changes in the works and one of those changes is that they may be doing away with the Indefinite Leave Visa and I want to make sure to get it now since I qualify so that any changes later will not apply to me as I will already have it and hopefully any changes to the next step of Citizenship I can be grandfathered in.

So... long boring post but this is what I have been trying to study for and hopefully I pass on the first go. It is something like £34 for the test and if I fail it just means I have to try again later and it will be yet another £34 each time. *ugh*

Everybody, please wish me luck and be thinking of me at 1:30pm GMT on Saturday!