u/General-Comment-8505

M3 Ultra | 32-Core CPU | 256 GB RAM | 1TB SSD

Managed to score this beauty a week or so ago. I’d almost given up on getting hold of one, as everything on the Apple Refurb store was getting swiped within seconds and I refuse point blank to pay scalper prices (screw you guys). Even reached out to some industry contacts (I’m in music for film and TV) but no leads there either.

Someone had mentioned getting hold of a 256GB RAM model from Microcenter on here, so I added it to the list of websites I was manually checking. One of my cats woke me up around 4am, I happened to check the Microcenter store nearest to me (based in LA so nearest store was Tustin, CA) and low and behold, they had one (1) single unit in stock. Bought it right there, picked it up about six hours later.

It’s been a crazy busy week getting it set up (I’m migrating from a gigantic old PC that handled Cubase/Vienna Ensemble Pro and an M2 Pro Mac Mini that ran Pro Tools to having everything on one system), but this machine is WILD. I have over 160GB of sampled instruments loaded into RAM, three heavy DAWs all at once (Cubase for writing and programming, Vienna Ensemble Pro for sample host and Pro Tools for picture playback and monitoring) - all that, and it barely breaks a sweat. Without doubt the single most powerful computer I’ve ever worked on, and in such a ludicrously small/quiet form factor.

Fingers crossed for everyone else out there fighting the good fight against the bots and scalpers, hopefully at some point this nonsense dies down.

Hi all -

In the midst of an unmarried partner visa application for myself (sponsor, UK citizen, been living in the US for nearly 10 years) and my girlfriend (applicant, US citizen) and hoping to get some advice/hear what others have done.

I'm a self-employed composer for film and TV here in the US, working through a California LLC as an independent contractor.

I meet the threshold for income, but I'm starting to pull my hair out while attempting to meet some of the evidence guideline as set out in Paragraph 7 - specifically: 7 (h)(i)(bb) If the business is not required to produce annual audited accounts, unaudited accounts for the last full financial year and an accountant’s certificate of confirmation, from an accountant who is a member of a UK Recognised Supervisory Body (as defined in the Companies Act 2006) or who is a member of the Institute of Financial Accountants, The Association of Authorised Public Accountants, The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, the Association of International Accountants and The Association of Accounting Technicians

I've never been asked to produce unaudited accounts (or audited for that matter), and after being ghosted by my accountant/tax preparer after asking about it (slightly concerning), I'm struggling to find any information.

Given that the guidance (rather unhelpfully) states that for self-employed people outside of the UK should attempt to find "reasonable equivalents" for the required evidence - what have other people been submitting for this evidence? I use basic accounting software - I can produce income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements but when I put this to the solicitor we're working with he seemed to suggest it's not "official" enough, and that I should somehow try to get these documents "certified" by an accountant or similar.

Paragraph 7 (h) states that "one of the following must be submitted", but those options are audited accounts (I'm not required to keep/produce audited accounts); unaudited accounts (solicitor seems to think this is my best shot but has been disappointingly unhelpful with what I should actually be submitting); a certificate of VAT registration (not a thing in the US - does anyone know of an equivalent I could submit? As an independent contractor I don't charge sales tax or have anything certifying a tax registration beyond the LLC formation documents); evidence to show planning for the business (I work from a home studio and no planning permission is required for that in LA); or a franchise agreement signed by both parties (I'm not a franchise).

Hoping somebody out there is able to share any advice/experience they've had - we've been at a standstill with this nonsense for nearly two weeks and we really can't afford any more delays getting this application submitted. If anyone could share what evidence they ended up submitting if they were in a similar situation it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance

Microcenter Came Through

Difficulties With Evidence As Self-Employed Sponsor