A thousand words.. nah... some photos instead

[Wayne]

Your wife should get her 2 year permanent resident (green card) in the mail. You don't need to apply for anything until 90 days before she is in USA for two years. She can come and go from USA; you don't need adjustment of status, advanced parol or anything like that.
However, you need to gather evidence that you are living together as man and wife. You can open a joint bank account. Add her name to your utility bills. Buy something together. Of course, the best evidence is having a child together!
If you have life insurance, list her as your primary beneficiary. You can add her to your health insurance policy.
Each state has different rules about driving on a license from another country. A social security number is probably required to obtain a new driver's license.
In order to get a driver's license in Ukraine, you need to have about a dozen doctors check everything off. Depending upon your state, she will probably need to pass the written and road tests. You car insurance rate and coverage could change with a driver that has a Ukrainian license.

[calmissile]

Your wife should get her 2 year permanent resident (green card) in the mail. You don't need to apply for anything until 90 days before she is in USA for two years. She can come and go from USA; you don't need adjustment of status, advanced parol or anything like that.
However, you need to gather evidence that you are living together as man and wife. You can open a joint bank account. Add her name to your utility bills. Buy something together. Of course, the best evidence is having a child together!
If you have life insurance, list her as your primary beneficiary. You can add her to your health insurance policy.
Each state has different rules about driving on a license from another country. A social security number is probably required to obtain a new driver's license.
In order to get a driver's license in Ukraine, you need to have about a dozen doctors check everything off. Depending upon your state, she will probably need to pass the written and road tests. You car insurance rate and coverage could change with a driver that has a Ukrainian license.

Big time!!  AAA will not insure a new wife from Ukriane even with a new California license.  She must be insured initially under a state plan.

[Daveman]

Your wife should get her 2 year permanent resident (green card) in the mail. You don't need to apply for anything until 90 days before she is in USA for two years. She can come and go from USA; you don't need adjustment of status, advanced parol or anything like that.

Thanks Wayne.  That's good reassurance.  We thought everything is done for now -- but you just never can quite trust a bureaucrappy.. 




SO... on car insurance..  even after she gets her license here, we can expect a good porkin' by the Ins company because she's a new immigrant?   Ahhh, the fun and excitement...

[Vaughn]

SO... on car insurance..  even after she gets her license here, we can expect a good porkin' by the Ins company because she's a new immigrant?   Ahhh, the fun and excitement...

Shop around. Some of the smaller "agencies" don't ask how long she's been licensed, or driving, for that matter. Others do - and will sock it to you. There are also state laws governing these situations. Ours prevented our insurer from jacking the rate for Elvira's first six months as a licensed driver. True to form, at the half-year point they bumped our premium big time - so I paid just enough to keep the new policy active, then bailed. Check with your state's Insurance Board or whatever the governing body is called there - get the facts. Some local agents will cite fantasy to suit their profit line.

[2tallbill]

Late to the party but Congratulations Dman !!


Udachi!


Bill

[ML]

SO... on car insurance..  even after she gets her license here, we can expect a good porkin' by the Ins company because she's a new immigrant? 

How about this:  Just don't put her on the policy.

With 'most' insurance policies (and it may even be in the law) ANYONE driving your car is covered under the policy.  People let people borrow their cars all the time.

And further (not that it matters in the case at hand), 'most' insurance policies (and it may even be in the law) cover the named insured when they are driving ANY vehicle that they are licensed to operate.

[Wayne]

Not puting your wife on your car insurance might work until she gets a violation or accident, or any other reason why your insurance company could find out that she is driving, then they would want to list her as an "excluded" driver on your policy. I don't know about what state you live in, but where I live, if an "excluded" driver uses your vehicle, it voids the insurance for everyone. If you have an "excluded" driver, their name is printed on the proof of insurance form that you must have in the vehicle if you are stopped by the police.
 
Also, you should look into the laws for your state concerning driving with a Ukrainian license.
 
Yes, AAA does not like Ukrainians! Yes, it is discrimination big time!

[ML]

Not putting your wife on your car insurance might work until she gets a violation or accident, or any other reason why your insurance company could find out that she is driving, then they would want to list her as an "excluded" driver on your policy.

What more can you tell about this?
You say they 'would want to . . .'
What do we know about the incidence of this?
For many car owners, others many occasionally drive the car; parking lot attendants, etc.
At what point do the insurance companies get sticky about this . . . occasional drivers, etc.?
Any insurance agents here?

[ML]

Yes, AAA does not like Ukrainians! Yes, it is discrimination big time!

Insurance companies are the ultimate users of statistics.
If they see a substantial difference in the accident and claim rates by a certain category of people, then it is only prudent business policy to take appropriate remedial action.  i.e. try to exclude them, charge higher premiums, etc.

When any insurance company (health, auto, home, etc.)  is forced to take on those who have a history of big claims  . . . then the rest of us pay big time.
Be careful when casually and quickly throwing around claims of discrimination.  It will come back to bite you (and the rest of us) on the ass.

[Daveman]

Well ladies and gentlemen... this is officially my last night living as a "bachelor"... so it's beer, pizza, my recliner....


and Monday Night Football!!      

[calmissile]

Well ladies and gentlemen... this is officially my last night living as a "bachelor"... so it's beer, pizza, my recliner....


and Monday Night Football!!   

Conratulations!!
We should have had a bachelor party for you.  LOL

[Brillynt]

Conratulations!!
We should have had a bachelor party for you.  LOL

A virtual bachelor party from around the globe. 

Congratulations.    

[viking]

Good show man !!!! Welcome to the club. Congrats.

[Daveman]

Thanks y'all!


She's en route.  And I'm not!  for a change! 

Unfortunately though, I feel like freeze dried molten cat crap.. only slightly exaggerating.  Good thing I have all day for some hair of the canine - which has been proven to counteract anything feline related.

[Shadow]

Have a good time welcoming her and show her around. I remember the first weeks I showed MrsShadow around the area and made sure not to show just the good parts but also the lesser ones with 'Moscow house blocks'.

While you are busy we will be sure to start catfights, post inappropriate materials and insult each other. 

[Daveman]

Well now, it's been a year since my last post here..  She finally arrived yesterday.. man, this FSUW lateness is ridiculous, isn't it?


It's been a year of bliss, adaptation, learning, patience (from both of us) etc.  She already was somewhat adept in English, but dove right in to study daily.  Her improvement is absolutely astounding.  Now she's progressed to the point of  preparing for the GRE.  She has a little part time job as a hostess in a Turkish restaurant in the downtown area.  It's perfect for supplementing her English study.  Usually she works only three or four hours a day and is exposed to an enormous variety of accents and dialects.  The southern accent was a major hurdle for her.  She understood nothing. Her most stressful challenge was our next door neighbor, Jerry, who is now forever hilariously christened as "Jelly" even though she has finally mastered the American "R" (can't say Western "R" because there are several variants).  Now she can carry on a conversation with him as well as with anyone. 


His wife is originally from the Appalachian mountains and Maryana is originally from the Carpathian region, so they have very similar backgrounds.  It's often surprising how similar, really.


She passed her driving test first try, and now sports around in a slick Honda Civic Hybrid.  She wanted a hybrid and the Prius just looks... nevermind..


M^TM has become seriously TJMax, Marshall's, Burlington Coat Factory happy.  Of course she loves to shop and look great and she does, but she loves it even more, I mean like orgasmic glee when she finds a bargain on good stuff.  It doesn't matter whether she has a pocket full of money or not.  She'll spend six hours going through an entire store.  I mean physically touching every single item in or near her size area, then try on approximately 6,784 of them, to leave with one blouse and an accessory.  I went with her the first time and wound up having to sneak over and trip the fire alarm to force her out of there.  Never again. After that I dropped her off and let her call me when she was done. Now that she can drive, I just enjoy my ManCave time and let her have at it.  Conversely, she refuses to attend car shows, etc., with me.. however, we both love going to places like Fernbank Planetarium and Observatory, etc. 

She has developed a very nice network of friends here. Our neighbors, of course, but also several FSU ladies from around the city.  All are married to american men and Zero are mismatched in our little circle of acquaintances.  I think we have the largest age gap in the group with eleven years.  For her birthday, we had a combo halloween/bday party where all the couples came over for a feast, darts, pool, and a night of good times.  I enjoy socializing with all of them.  They are all absolutely normal.  I'm sure there must be some typical MoB'ers here somewhere but we haven't met any.  Or, it could be like the old poker adage "if you look around the table and can't tell who the sucker is.. it's you."


She has transformed the house into a quaint little home too.  Though we do have some battles over what gets thrown away.  She has a rule of "Old or Ugly", which happened to eliminate an old coffee percolator made back in the 70's from its kitchen dwelling and relocate it at the local landfill... son   of   a    bitch...  This is when we had a serious discussion that just because everything is "hers too" that does NOT mean she gets to decide and toss out my half of anything.  It was a bit of a battle actually because she didn't get it at first.  We finally came to the agreement than anything that existed here before her arrival MUST have my approval before tossing it out, and that to do otherwise, even with the best of intentions, is both disrespectful and intolerable.  She also ridded us of a few antique figurines valued at, oh, a thousand bucks or so because why? you guessed it.. old and ugly.  Funnily enough, I really didn't care about the figurines. Obviously we could have sold them, but it didn't bother me that it happened.  But my beloved old ugly coffee pot still bothers me when I think about it almost a year later. AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!!  So I've learned to wave my arms and mumble "These are not the Old and Uglies you're looking for..."


"Who would buy this old ugly sheet?" -- welcome to our first yard sale.  Within 20 minutes of her last utterance of "this is stupid no one will come here" she had about $40 in her hand and went out of her mind grabbing stuff to sell.  I then had to explain that there exists in this world two distinct categories.. there is "yard sale crap" and then there are "items we have that whether you want to believe it or not, we can really sell for decent money".


Moving along...


She regularly drinks that god awful Kefir but at least she doesn't grow anything with it... yet...


Ah, there are hundreds of hilarious and, er, not so hilarious stories over the past year and overall it has been a blast.  She has had some bumps and moods in adaptation process but really, this year has been mostly a breeze.  She did go back to Ukraine for a month last January for a work project there but since then has had no desire to even visit.  She'll probably go visit family this summer.  She's been on her own since she left her family to go to Univ.  so there's not much difference in family relations whether living here or there.  She talks to her family and friends via Skype but thus far, homesicknesses has been a non-issue.  No real problems at all save for the normal Mars/Venus stuff all couples go through as they adapt to living with someone. 


I guess that about wraps up this little update.   

[ML]

Hey Daveman, thanks  for the nice write-up re the first year.

We are 2 and a half years in, although not married.

The Kefir can be used to make some really great white mild cheese, which then can be used to make syrnike.  You will love it with chopped walnuts, honey and sour cream on top, so encourage her to make it.

Before the GRE, it may be best for her first to study for and take the TOEFL.  Most schools will require some minimum score on the TOEFL.  And without a good TOEFL score, one is unlikely to do well on the GRE anyway due to the reading comprehension skills needed.

But maybe the TOEFL is already finished up . . . you didn't mention.

[CanadaMan]

Thanks for the update Dave!
It's good to hear all's going well with your marriage. 

She regularly drinks that god awful Kefir but at least she doesn't grow anything with it... yet...

One man's meat is another man's poison!
I've been addicted to Kefir now for quite a number of years.
I have it everyday with my cereal.
I'm actually a bit of a Kefir connoisseur now. 

[mendeleyev]

Nice report, Daveman!

[Faux Pas]

Congrats Daveman!

I've discovered it is a life of perpetually turning corners. Many of those corners are in the first year. I have surmised that you've turned one of your most important corners the, "pick your battles wisely" corner 

[GQBlues]

...M^TM has become seriously TJMax, Marshall's, Burlington Coat Factory happy.  Of course she loves to shop and look great and she does, but she loves it even more, I mean like orgasmic glee when she finds a bargain on good stuff.  It doesn't matter whether she has a pocket full of money or not.  She'll spend six hours going through an entire store.  I mean literally touching every single item in or near her size area, then try on approximately 6,784 of them, to leave with one blouse and an accessory.  I went with her the first time and wound up having to sneak over and trip the fire alarm to force her out of there.  Never again. I dropped her off and let her call me when she was done.

Ditto with my wife the first year although her fascination lied with Ross. I can't believe the patience of having to go through that many racks of clothing hoping upon hope, then trying each one she picked on. So counter to how I shop. And if the entire day yielded even just one article of clothing - to her it was time well spent.

I'm so happy those days have gone by. That, and those annoying subtitles. 

Anyway, Congrats Dave!
 

[southernX]

congrats dave

if your still happy , and you have survived the first year or so , and a few bumps, then your going fine 

i think all of us have had those moments shopping , i read recently that blokes will have a brain haemorage if kept shopping with a woman for more than 20 mins , reckon iv survived a few of those then ,

its in their gene pool to spend hours aimlessly wandering in and out of shops ,'' looking ''

SX

[Gator]

 
 
Congratulations Dave!  The joy that RW experience after adjustment is infectious.
 
I barely recognize the home where I have resided for 20 years.

[Boethius]

Congratulations, Dave.


Sorry about the "old" stuff. 

[JayH]

Congrats Dave--it is posts like your update here that I enjoy most on the forum. Happy guy talking about his new life-- I  am smiling as I visualise your reactions to situations !! LOL