mamadrama

Yeah, we considered the idea of him coming over as a tourist and then adjusting his status and applying for permanent residency, but in the long run we were afraid it wouldn't work like we wanted it to. Lots of things changed post 9/11. The visa process isn't nearly as straightforward as it used to be. We went through it 13 years ago and it's even changed since then and has become more complicated. My husband is considering applying for citizenship instead of renewing his green card. He's British and here legally, so not really a target for anything, but things can change in an instant. In fact, a new rule was trying to get passed just last month and that particular one DID affect us.

In general I agree with you about Michael's attitude. When we bought our house, though, it took 8 months from start til end. Obviously that's not "normal", but sometimes stuff does happen. He only divorced 2 years ago so he hasn't been in that condo for very long. Still, though, even if he was just living there while he shopped for houses and went through the sale it doesn't explain why he didn't rent a 3-bedroom to begin with.

That's Reese Witherspoon. The one in MY GIRL is Anna Chlumsky. Still, have an upvote because your comment was still funny.

She dodged a bullet with this one. This asshole has been harassing women right and left on FB and he's had his account closed several times. I actually got a message from him about 6 months ago and when I responded and said that I, married with kids, wasn't interested he sent me a few choice words. Words that rhyme with "hunt"and "witch."

Yeah, the rules are slightly different depending on which visa they come over on. The K-1 has a few extra steps. We actually had 4 total face-to-face interviews throughout the process-one in the UK (which he did alone) and 3 in the US. It was a pain because our nearest processing center was 4 hours away and sometimes the interviews took less than 15 minutes. I only had to be at 2 of them. At that last one we were running late so I dropped my husband off at the door and parked. By the time our son and I reached the elevator, my husband was finished and ready to leave. At that time we were lucky that the process ran so quickly for us. From K-1 application to permanent green card it took 3 years. There were others on Visa Journey who applied at the same time as us and they were still waiting for their initial paperwork to process when we we're getting our work permit (which was unnecessary because his work permit arrived 1 day before his conditional green card). He's not getting his citizenship so he has to get a new green card next summer. Unless you go for citizenship the process never really ends.

I'm not crushing on it, either. I found the website that listed it for sale and I wasn't any more impressed with the interior shots of it.

I wouldn't be surprised if the house and vehicles were all leased. Dude brags about being a "rich American", but so far it looks a little disingenuous. If you don't want to drop $14,000 on a couch then why take her to a store where those prices are not uncommon? I'm familiar with that particular store. It's not cheap and he should know that. At the very least he should've sat down with her and had a talk about finances. I actually thought her buying the car was pretty smart. They weren't sure the visa was going to go through and she probably (rightly) suspected that if it got denied he'd dump her and move on to someone else. She probably bought the car as some kind of insurance, a means of earning an income if he cut her off.

Now that they are living in LA I'm wondering how much of that attitude was just for show. On the show she acted like she never wanted to leave her town, David's job prospects be damned, and she wouldn't dream of breaking up the family band. And, yet, here we are...I also have to wonder how much of it was "editing". (Yeah, yeah, I know that's what they all blame it on.) Like maybe she picked an apple and said, "My town has the BEST apples" but they cut the scene before we could hear her say, "but they're nothing compared to the fruit/vegetable/whatever in _______." I kind of ignored her attitude about her hometown, it was her singing and the fact that it riled up my cats and puppies that had me hating on her scenes.

My husband and I are dying for me to get on Farmer's Only to see which dude in our area matches up with me. No stingers allowed.

Right. It's kind of based on what country the fiance is coming from and which interviewer you get. They're not so much interested in what happens when someone comes over on the visa-they're much more interested in what happens after the couple is married. They can't really judge scam/no scam in the beginning because anyone can generate a few letters/emails/calls. That adjustment of status is where it's really at. We brought our vacation albums, wedding pictures, utility bills, etc. Of course, it also helped that we took in our toddler son and I was 7 months pregnant.

Yeah, every time she starts into that baby talk I keep expecting her to announce that she's knocked up. That certainly feels like this is where that's going. I got frustrated last night because Mike wasn't being clear enough. When she kept asking WHY they had to wait, I kept expecting him to say, "Because I want to enjoy the pregnancy with you and don't want you on the other side of the world pregnant with my kid. What if something happened? I don't have children and I'm really looking forward to going through this WITH you." I mean, he eventually said that at the end but it still wasn't super clear. He just kept going around and around.

They just had to show proof of meeting and spending time together to get the visa ball rolling. The REAL test will be the adjustment of status. About two years after marrying they will have to submit proof of an active marriage. They will need to show joint bank account, utility bills with both names, vacation photos, etc. i know I have said this ad nauseum, but I hate that this show makes it look like most of the K1 people are bringing over their loves on a whim after having only known them for a short while. They are not reflective of the process as a whole. I offer consulting services on the K 1 process and have been through it myself. Most of us met our future spouses the regular way (we lived abroad, they lived abroad, etc). The visa isn't meant to give couples 90 days to get to know each other.

To be fair, this isn't the first time they have met. Unlike the other dummies, they seem to have spent a fair amount of time together. I think this trip to visit her is his third or fourth. It seems unlikely that her best friend wouldn't have talked to her about Squiem (?). I think that they are ultimately a boring couple and production are encouraging them to talk about sticky things (exes, biological clock, etc) for drama that otherwise wouldn't be there.

This American lived in Bregenz, Austria for 2 years...

You don't have to sell me on small town living. I live in the mountains on a 200 acre farm in a community so rural that it takes more than an hour to reach the nearest Wal-Mart or Kroger. Our county has 6,000 people. Some people came in and bought the farm, 5 miles away, next to us last year and now we're worried about the community getting too crowded. I enjoy visiting the city, but I would live even further back if I could.

Tania wants to be the "neighborhood witch doctor." Well, good new chick-you are halfway there, just gotta work on the medical part.

If I looked like an Oompa Loompa on the tell on then I would think twice about throwing scalpels and syringes.

Don't you just hate it when your gossip source lets you down? I need intel on Evelyn, too. If she turns out to be a friendly, polite, loving young woman then I will be pissed.

Good aliens I hope this is all for the show and that, in reality, he is a lovely man with a strong grasp on English and her kids adore him.

Ì find generalizations like this just highly hypocritical. If I, as an American, say "Well people from ______ country are mean/mostly stupid/lack common sense/uneducated" then it turns into "Wow, that is such an ignorant, American thing to say". Yet many people find it perfectly acceptable to say such things about us. It isn't okay either way. I lived in England for many years, am married to a Brit, and have 2 children with dual nationalities and I still don't feel comfortable making a sweeping generalization about everyone in the UK. Evelyn is a real piece of work, but it's hard to say how much of that was her acting a part, youth, isolation (her family was kind of cultish), or just her own brand of special ignorance. I wound up not caring much for David either so they kind of canceled each other out in the end. Her personlity was slightly more palatable on AMERICAN IDOL. Too bad her singing wasn't.

So I am American and have been for 40 years. I don't mean to be argumentative,but how is a blanket statement stereotying all of us as "uneducated" any different from Evelyn's attitude about France? It is a little offensive. We are a very large country and you will find various levels of education, understanding, and acceptance of other cultures depending on where you go. As a well-traveled person I try to refrain from generalizing people from other countries because people in general are far more complicated than superficial stereotypes, and it is difficult to make real generalizations and solid observations after a quick jaunt through a place on vacation. We are a huge place filled with hundreds of dialects, subcultures, educational systems, local governments, and geographical features . Many of our states are larger than entire European countries. My own state is so big that we have more than 100 counties, it takes 10 hours to drive from one end to the other, and you are going to find differences in each locality. It would take far more than a "couple of months" to get to really know us. While it is true that some people here are convinced that 'murica is the best place in the world and they have no desire to travel to or learn about anywhere else, others love to travel abroad and have a healthy respect for lots of different places. Many of us here on this forum are American and I think you will find that, by and large, we are very open minded about other cultures. Evelyn is obnoxious and a little ignorant, but she is not representative of us as a whole.

Well who says I'm not already a sexy, aging dummy with a heart of gold? 😉

I feel oddly validated. It's never too late to try something new! 😉

Between HOUSE, DESIGNING WOMEN, GOLDEN GIRLS, and GILMORE GIRLS I feel confident that I could work as an interior designing, elderly, diagnostician innkeeper.

I was a nude model for artists and for students at a university (figure drawing classes) for years and I loved it. I know it isn't the same, but it really increased my confidence and in 9 times out of 10 rather than feeling awkward or uncomfortable I was the one trying to put everyone else at ease. The money was amazing. My mom used to buy some of the pieces and it was funny to see people take second looks at the paintings and sculptures in her house, trying to figure out if it was really me.