Visas, part deux

Okay, plan getting your visa WAY in advance.  Make sure your employer has everything set on their end, and bug the snot out of them if you need to.  Then get your application in super early.  We are STILL waiting on an NI number, which we can't complete the visa application without.  We live about 30 minutes from the Atlanta UK Consulate, but since we won't have them ready by the time my son and I leave GA, we're going to have to make the 6-hour trek to NYC to get them.  Funniest (or saddest) part is that we fly into NYC to get our flight to the UK.  However, our layover isn't long enough to allow us to go get them then.  Talk about a nightmare.  Ugh.  I'm past starting to regret this decision to move to the UK...