Visa Process Drama

Nope, I am not talking about the credit card, I am talking about the little piece of paper that allows you to live and work in another country. And what a process this is. I guess we knew about this, we saw it coming, but still, we were not prepared. We got an email yesterday from his new employer –he has been approved for work in the UK –now it is time to finish the visa process, which by the way has to be approved and documents returned to us prior to Jan 3, when he is supposed to be going across the pond to begin work. Ummm, this is December 17 as I write this, next week is Christmas, the following week is New Years, see where I am going with this? Being a little familiar with the immigration process for someone coming to the US, I knew that to come here, you had to prove that you have a skill that enables you to work in the US without taking a job away from a US worker. This is similar to the process in the UK –my husband’s company had to run through a points system and advertise the job to make sure that a UK local is not losing a job opportunity over this. Luckily, my dear hubby has a skill that does specialize him for his new job - Global Head of Quality Management, Global Data Centers, – he has his MBA in International Business Strategy. That plus a few other factors, and his being qualified over others was the easy part in all of this. But then there are more steps involved. Including A LOT of documentation that has to be sent to the UK Consulate in Chicago, the closest one to us –originals of our marriage license, birth certificates, degrees, passports, offer letters, applications, quite a bit of money ($400 a piece X 4 of us–thankfully to be reimbursed once he starts employment) and two additional things that threw my head into a tizzy. The first was passport photos. Again. If you didn’t read my last blog posting on this topic, we had a very hard time getting our toddler a passport photo. Now to find out we need another one for her visa? If I had known this fact when we did her passport, I would have had them make duplicates. So it was back to Walgreen’s last night after school, trying to get everyone a new passport photo for our visa. We finally got one, after a massive temper tantrum thrown on the floor of Walgreen’s (I am so proud), and a lot of bribery (happy meal and a sucker). I feel like a good mom. Now, I just hope the picture is accepted -it might be a little questionable. The second thing that surprised me was a biometrics appointment. Luckily Gerbie is under 5 and not subjected to this. We made an appointment for the rest of us as fast as we could, at the center in downtown Columbus. We luckily were able to get in for Monday, December 21. But the company guy said –that might not be soon enough, try to walk in on Friday and see if they will take you. Now, the website says, you have to have an appointment document to even get in through security, but we are going to give it a shot tomorrow morning. Wish us luck. More to come…..