Hiya!
I've been an long time guest (stalker) of this forum. Thought I'd formally introduce myself and give my story. I am a US citizen from Louisiana and I met my husband,, a UK citizen, 4 years ago on-line. We did the long distance dating thing for almost 3 years. During that time, we had lots of ups and downs. It was financially draining for both of us to make the journeys to visit each other. On my second visit to the UK, I was refused entry and sent right back to the US several hours later. If only I knew then what I knew now! I initially lied about how I met my husband. I was embarrassed to tell the Immigration Officer I met him on-line so I told him I met him while he was on holiday to the US. Little did I know,I would be flagged to to further questioning and that they would call my husband and ask him the same thing. Well he told them the truth about us meeting on-line. Also, I didn't know I needed to have documents proving my ties to the US. I didn't bring my mortgage statement, bank documents, paycheck stubs, letter from my employer stating when I was due back to work. Plus I brought almost no money. I was due to be paid by direct deposit the next day, but couldn't prove it. Needless to say, it was an extremely difficult time for us. I was advised by the immigration officer that I wasn't being deported or banned from the UK, just refused entry. But, he advised that I didn't try to return through the visa waiver program, but get a visitor visa instead.
Not long after that, we decided that we were going to get married. One of the best things we did was hire an immigration lawyer. The lawyer advised me to not return to the UK until I had my spousal visa. He said if I was to get refused entry again, it could create problems for my spousal visa. My husband and I got married in January of last year and I got my spousal visa on March 15th of last year. It was a long road to get there. During the time of us deciding to get married and getting my visa, my husband lost his flat, became redundant, and we were working with limited funds. Luckily, that's where the lawyer came in handy. He told us exactly what documents to get together for the visa, how much we needed to save, what proof we needed for our relationship, and packaged our application in a very organized manner.
Once sending off our application to LA, I received an email that my visa had been approved in just one week! The visa followed two days later and I was headed to London a week after that!
At the end of March, I will have been here a year. It has been a pretty positive experience so far. Of course I miss my friends and family and lots of my American conveniences and foods. I'm hoping to pass my driving test next month and buy a car. At least I will have some freedom back and be able to get away from the London buses sometimes! In the US, I worked as a surgical technologist, assisting surgeons during operations in the operating rooms. However, the UK doesn't recognize my degree in Surgical Technology and therefore have had to go back to waitressing. I miss my work and the feeling of loving my job. I'm trying to hold out to later next year when I get my ILR so I can get the NHS to pay for my courses I need to transfer my license here.
Here is my list of Pros and Cons of the UK for me
Pros
-public transport- I love going out and not worrying about a DD or taxi.. just a night bus or train ride home!
-the chocolate and cheese!
-ease and cost of traveling around Europe... hello.. Easyjet!
-London... I never tire of walking along the southbank at night. The views are amazing!
-Primark.. Love that store! Might only last a few washes, but its ok when I only paid £3 for a top... Argos is another new fav
-fashion... been an adventure for me trying out different fashion styles that just wouldn't work in south Louisiana!
-Cider!! although its in the US, its something I never had till moving here.. I love my Strongbow!
-Pubs- I love the idea local pubs.. where u can go have a drink right down the street, probably know everyone in there and not be considered an alcoholic if you go there more than once a week! My first job when I moved here was working at a small local pub. One of the best experiences and a great intro for me to the UK.
-NHS.. so far has been pretty good for me. Able to see a doc same day I call, £7 prescriptions and free birth control. Considering I was paying $150 a month for my insurance plus $25 co-pays for doc visits and scripts, plus $65 a month for birth control...
-weather in London sometimes... didn't miss the heat and humidity from Louisiana especially when their temps in the summer were 100F and here it was a nice 75F!
Cons
-really miss my Ranch dressing and crystal light (not a big fan of squash, especially the black currant) .. have to order it from a UK company on-line or stock up when I go home
-the fact that a shot of alcohol here is 25 ml and at home its 44ml.. always feel like my drinks are watered down.
-my car... and drive thru... all in a few hours I could get all my errands done. drive thru the pharmacy, dry cleaners, fast food, bank, and best of all, drive thru daiquiri shops... Only in south Louisiana can you buy alcohol in a drive thru! lol
-my full size washer and dryer that only take 30-45 minutes each. Just recently got a washer/dryer combo here. Although it beats hanging my clothes all around the flat to dry, it still takes 3 hours for a cycle and the clothes come out pretty wrinkled and sometimes not completely dry.
-Outlet stores, Ross, Burlington Coat Factory, Bath and Body Works, Victoria Secret
-separate hot and cold faucets
-being a new driver here in the UK when I have been driving in US for over 15 years and getting used to driving much smaller cars.. I went from a Ford Explorer v-8 to a 1.2 liter Peugeot
-weather here in London sometimes.. miss my heat and sun from Louisiana
Anyway, that's the last few years of my life in a nutshell. Just want to say thanks to all the people who post here everyday. I found so much valuable info here when I was struggling to get my visa.
