Hi, JennyEye. I can completely relate. My wife arrived in London last Friday, and I am still waiting on my visa, but am closing out the apartment in NYC as well as prepping our two cats to leave for London on this coming Friday.
I am nervous about the paperwork, nervous about traumatizing the cats, and worried that I will miss something (today I was obsessing about the size of the carriers and whether or not their "ears are not touching the ceiling").
I am also really worried about my not getting my visa approved because my wife (as of July
has been a student without income for the last five years, and she is my sponsor. So our application was not necessarily "cut and dry" though we did et advised by a senior case manager at the UKBA who consults with the school my wife got hired at. Still. I am nervous, and on Friday I will send the rest of my small family to London and be here by myself waiting on the good/bad news.
Closing out an apartment/house is not easy. We can't bring anything with us but what we can fit into three or four suitcases each. I will be crashing with multiple friends on their couches as of Saturday. I have not quit my job yet, just in case things go south, but the uncertainty is killing me.
My wife is looking for an apartment, and opening a bank account, and doing her best to prepare for the arrival of the cats. She will start her job on September 4. And whether or not we like it, I will most likely not be there to help ready the house or see her off. She doesn't need me to do those things, but when we started dreaming this
"move to London" dream, that was a big part of it. Instead, we are now on two different continents, trying to do what we can, but mostly just stuck... waiting.
Hang in there. You don't have long till you are reunited with your family on the other side.
KG
Visa App delivered to Sheffield via Fed-Ex: July 25, 2013
"Received and processing" email received: August 7th, 2013
Decision email received: waiting