Visa Watch 2014

It's been a while since I've blogged, but I think I began to believe thinking too much about our move meant my visa would never arrive. As of yesterday morning however, (nearly) all worry and concern faded away with a single UPS package. Somehow I was able to convince the good people of the United Kingdom that I am, in fact, not a delinquent and am worthy to stay for a while and work in their fine country! - Achievement Unlocked! - Visa Acquired!

While frustrating, I now say with relative confidence that we have mastered the process of obtaining a Spouse Visa from the UK. I won't go into great detail here, but lets just say the directions outlined on the UK Immigration website are.... lacking. What we thought would originally take 3 weeks processing at the British Consulate General in New York actually ended up taking 8+ weeks processing in NY AND in Sheffield, UK, $300 in additional expediting fees, $100 in international courier fees, and a week spent frantically gathering highly detailed "additional documentation" at the request of the Entry Clearance Officer. Fun times!

Through it all, there were a number of instances where Anna and I both though that this was never going to happen. My Visa would be rejected for one reason or another, we were sure of it. Maybe the entry clearance officer just had a thing against "Seans?" What if the marriage certificate, bank statements, Valentines Day cards, AND multiple photos we provided still weren't enough to convince this magical person in Sheffield that we were actually married for 5+ years? In retrospect, we worried quite a bit about ridiculous impossible outcomes, but at 5am when a cat is meowing at your face, this is what runs through your brain.

Oh, and one more complaint. The Sheffield Visa office seems to enjoy sending purposely vague emails. "You'll hear from us shortly." ....nothing for a week. "A decision has been made on your visa application." ....is that a yes or a no? So frustrating!

Anyway, we have everything we need now. BA tickets booked for next Wednesday, flat lined up... We're in the home stretch now. Anna's just finishing getting everything set for Chad's travel, and we have some boxes to ship, and one more car to sell - the Gold CRV went off to the big Carmax in the sky this afternoon.  That's about it though. We're actually moving to England. Holy shit.

Nearly every evening we have left now is spent with friends and family, and filled with bittersweet goodbyes. Some of our friends threw us an excellent going away party on Saturday evening:

...and a fantastic brunch with Lydia & Amy down in Houston at Benjy's on Saturday morning. I had the BBQ Brisket Migas, because it was the most Texan thing on the menu, and I better enjoy it while I can.

Mmmm... Migas. Anyway, hopefully I'll update a bit more frequently now that things are definitely moving forward. Exciting times ahead!