Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	NVC and Interview Dates	Hey, Personally I have been in steady contact with the consulate (with questions etc) since well before we filed our petition, so had come to deal with the same officer each time we made contact - through that ongoing contact she inevitably asked when we hoped to travel, we said ideally january 2013, at which point she offered to request our case file from the NVC be expetited to them, as long as we advised her once the last forms had been sent in, (the I-864 AOS documents etc etc) at which time she would allow a week or so further and then request all our entire file. Our interview was given by the consulate not the NVC. I too had read many a post and many forms that eluded to the fact that the NVC had some say so over my interview time, however any NVC or consulate staff I ever spoke with always advised me that the consulate would send my interview date to me once my case file had been received and reviewed by them. Hope this helps somewhat, I tend to waffle. Kel	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2012-11-29 11:15:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Forgot courier bag	Interview is 8am tomorrow morning and being a dummy forgot to get a registered post bag for them to mail my passport to me if approved. I remembered when I was in the air flying to auckland for the interview and so when I landed in Auckland of went to the post shop in the airport and asked for a signature required post bag which is apparently what they gave me. I got to my hotel and checked in then went to get food; while eating it decided to do some research and turns out not only is it the wrong type of bag but it is too small. All post shops are closed at the moment and the earliest they open anywhere near me is 8am which is my appt time. How big a deal is this? Can I have my interview then buy post bag and drop it off to the consulate or is there going to be a big song and dance like most of this process? Thank you for any advice you can give. Scott the following link is from a guy who found himself in the same pickle the morning of the interview. He advises it was no problem that he had his interview and popped downstairs to buy the reply paid courier bag from the post office on the ground level and then pop back upstairs with it. http://www.visajourn...ealand-success/ Goodluck today Kel	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2012-12-05 11:07:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post IV Bill question	For anyone from new Zealand who ever reads this thread. There is a fee that gets paid at interview stage it's presently $299 and the request is this be paid in cash. The fee I imagine is subject to change but just thought I'd throw this out there for future filers. Cheers guys Someone challenging their own post on VJ, surely that has to be a first. Anyway, dont usually respond to my OWN posts, but thought for prosperity, and in the event anyone in the future ever reads the above, i wanted to make sure I wasnt misleading anyone. okay so FINAL word on this issue IS, the interview letter I got from the Auckland Consulate clearly stated I must pay $299 in cash at the interview, which is why I made the aforementioned statement. HOWEVER, POST interview, I can tell you that when I asked who I should pay my $299 fee to, I was promptly told I need not pay anything as all fees had been paid to NVC. So there it is. Thanks.	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2012-12-08 11:08:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post IV Bill question	For anyone from new Zealand who ever reads this thread. There is a fee that gets paid at interview stage it's presently $299 and the request is this be paid in cash. The fee I imagine is subject to change but just thought I'd throw this out there for future filers. Cheers guys	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2012-12-03 18:12:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post IV Bill question	Thank you for the reply I did send in passport sized photos, just meant pictures of us together. But someone just told me they will ask to see them at the interview. nope that's all we had to pay. good luck! Thanks for the reply lilsweetie. Much appreciated. Kelli,theres absolutely nothing left to be paid to the consulate,the only real big thing now,besides little micelenous things,would be your plane fair,but my advice would to not book anything till after the interview gudluck n welcome to america soon Thanks Louie Much appreciated + Medical exam fee + Passport courier fee (whatever your embassy charges you to return your passport after the interview) Thanks max and or Patricia	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2012-10-11 00:25:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Post IV Bill question	Hey people Just curious to learn from whoever may know - once you've paid the following: $420 USCIS fee $ 88 AOS fee $230 IV Bill Is there any monies paid to the consulate around interview time? Was always of the opinion that there was like a $900 fee to pay at some point to some establishment. And people have always implied that this process is super expensive, but thus far it seems relatively reasonable :/ Also I've gotten this far in the process and no one has so much as asked for a single photo of me and mine yet, does this only happen at interview stage. Cheers, Kelli	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2012-10-10 02:01:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	NVC (post-NOA2)	so do you just keep calling every so often asking for it? Hey Ash/Tiffany, certainly I dont pressume to speak for anyone but myself and my partner when I offer insight or my tidbits of information, but from 'my personal experience' I was on top of it from the get go, meaning I called the NVC until I got the info I was after, I found it more frustrating to sit back and wait/wonder, than I did to call the NVC and be told "nothing to report yet" so I say call as often as the urge strikes. In retrospect, it may not have sped (sp?) anything up, but our processing time seemed shockingly quick, even as we went through the process it seemed fast. Further, have you been doing it all on your own, or calling the Embassy in Auckland for advice? They have some absolutely overwhelmingly helpful staff who will keep you going through this process by answering any and all questions as they arrise, they were only 2nd to the lovely crowd here at Visa Journey. Best of luck guys, speedy journey to you. Kel (of kelnjohn)	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2013-03-05 06:41:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Diabetes possible visa refusal??	Thankyou everyone. Most grateful for the replies	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2012-11-04 18:49:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Diabetes possible visa refusal??	If a spouse of an american citizen was diabetic or carrying weight, is this reasons for possible refusal? Edited by kelnjohn, 03 November 2012 - 12:00 AM.	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2012-11-02 23:59:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Co-Sponsor	I have no clue why it wouldn't paste the actual URL address, I just made another failed attempt. Apologies for the ultimately useless link. Edited by kelnjohn, 30 September 2012 - 12:06 PM.	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2012-09-30 12:04:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Co-Sponsor	http://www.***remove...quirements.html The aforementioned link discusses your other question re: using assets to meet income requirements. Hope this is useful	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2012-09-30 11:48:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Co-Sponsor	One more question...Does the co-sponsor have to be related to me by blood? For example, can it be a family friend or an extended family relative? Thank you! Hey again The following exert hopefully helps; A joint sponsor is someone who is willing to accept legal responsibility for supporting your family member with you. A joint sponsor must meet all the same requirements as you, except the joint sponsor does not need to be related to the immigrant. The joint sponsor (or the joint sponsor and his or her household) must reach the 125% income requirement alone. You cannot combine your income with that of a joint sponsor to meet the income requirement. And this is the link to the poverty guidelines; http://www.uscis.gov...form/i-864p.pdf	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2012-09-30 11:41:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Co-Sponsor	NOPE...it's very doubtful. The co-sponsor should be EMPLOYED INSIDE THE USA....no exception!!! Any reason why you cannot provide for your fiancé? I mean I don't want to be mean OR anything. How can you build a family if you cannot provide? (if your the man/petitioner) To be a family man you should able to be a provider. Sorry but I’m just saying. (put it this way your not only going to be burden in the USA...but ALSO for your own family) My advice is to work 2jobs to start planning to have your own family!! Incorrect information and your moral 2 cents. Awesome. Anyway, I myself would pay this post no mind. On topic however, I believe the following to be the requirements; Be U.S. citizen or national or a permanent resident Be at least 18 years of age Be domiciled (live) in the United States Meet all of the financial requirements of a sponsor Goodluck OP	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2012-09-30 10:39:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	How to start from Australia	Enlisting the services of an Immigration Attorney, would be a waste of money 'in my humble opinion' for the shear fact that you will still be the one who has to gather all information, answer questions, do all leg work, getting legal assistance just means you're paying someone a ####### load of moola, to instruct you to 'gather all information / answer questions / do all the leg work' As for the '1st step' in getting started, visiting the USCIS website would be my first suggestion; http://www.uscis.gov You're partner will need to be the one involved at the outset, he needs to file an I-129F, aka Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) Download Form I-129F (201KB PDF) Download Instructions for Form I-129F (219KB PDF) Download Form G-1145, Notification of Acceptance of Application/Petition (1KB PDF) Once the petition has been reviewed and after question mark period of time, if the petition is approved, you'll receive notification as to what to do moving forward. Hope this helps, Goodluck Kelli	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2012-10-05 12:40:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	NOA 2	Please bear in mind when reading this, I can only speak from personal experience. In my case, post USCIS changing my status on the website to "approved" it took just shy of 8 weeks to get physical confirmation of the approval in the post. I had however, as patience is not one of my virtues, heeded no ones advice and phoned the NVC within days (my timeline reflects how many I can't right this second recall) and supplied them my email address at which time I almost instantaneously received emailed instruction of my "Next" steps. Hope this helps, or at least gives another alternative Goodluck with your journey	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2012-10-21 16:40:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Proof of engagement?	My fiance is getting ready to schedule her interview, in the packet of info they request proof of engagement. Any suggestions on what to put in here? Wedding invitations, receipts for wedding dress/bridesmaids dresses/cake etc, if you had an engagement party, those invites, things of that nature would work Good luck	kelnjohn	Male	New Zealand	2012-11-12 17:13:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	It was great meeting Grant, Brook and Clay today! They made what would have been a long, quiet wait much more enjoyable! We had to be up at 5:15 am in order to make it out the door and across the bridge by 6:30 am. It wasn't that hard to get up though, considering we hadn't slept much the night before (we were both worried we'd sleep through the alarm!). Once we were in the city we parked in the open air lot across from the train station (paid $15 to cover it for the day so we wouldn't have to worry about the time running out!) then went and sat at a cafe until it about 15-20 min before the scheduled time for the interview, then we went up. We wanted to make sure if there were any lines to get through security it wouldn't make us late. Thankfully it was pretty clear though. All our stuff had to go through the x-ray machine, keys, cell phones and such were taken and locked in a little locker by the guard and we were given a number card to claim them back with. The first woman we talked to at the Consulate was really helpful and seemed to have a good handle on things. She reviewed a whole file of paperwork filled with all the original forms and such we sent to the various places, as well as the original documents we had submitted to the NVC for the police checks. She then asked to see our passports and took the courier envelope we were told to bring with us. After that Chris was fingerprinted (using this interesting electronic scanner thing, way cleaner than the ink and stamp method! LOL). She asked how long we'd been married for and what are travel plans were, and said that as things are now, Chris' permanent resident card would be "conditional" since we haven't been married 2 years yet. I asked if we waited to enter the US until after our 2nd anniversary in December, would the permanent resident card then be without conditions and she said yes, we'd just need to remind the immigration officer at the POE. We talked about the procedure to apply to remove conditions and she said while it's entirely up to us what we want to do, it is a pain and can be a long process (which we've already read a lot about). Then she said that they didn't have to affix the foil in the passport today! Instead we could have the interview with the Consular Officer and have everything approved, then once we knew when we wanted to leave we could just call them up and let them know we're ready to have the passport processed. We could drop it off and it would be back to us in about 2 days, and we'd then have 6 months from that point to enter the US. So it gives us a bit of room, since if they had issued it today the 6 months would have been up in January, and our anniversary isn't until the 21st of December...so we'd be cutting it close. Then she explained what the envelope packet is (basically you are hand carrying your own records, they don't keep anything on file at the Consulate, which is why it is so important that the envelope not be opened and safely make it to the POE!). The Consular Officer that was scheduled to do our interview wasn't in the office yet, so we had a seat and enjoyed a long chat with Grant and Brook and got to see their little one (SUCH a cute baby, he stayed quiet the whole time!). It was kind of funny to chat with a fellow American after being out of the country so long! After a while passed (must have been about 45 minutes) we were called up to the window for the interview, which surprised us since we figured Grant and Brook would be before us! I swear the woman who conducted the interview must be the "long haired blonde" some of the reviews speak of because she was sooo friendly and cheerful! She checked Chris' fingerprints again, asked where we'd met, how long I'd been here, when we got married, if I liked living here, what Chris' profession is (we took a copy of the CV just in case, but she never asked for it), checked our passports, went through the stack of papers initialing them, asked to see proof of our finances since I didn't have to file taxes last year, and gave us back the originals of Chris' birth certificate and our marriage license. She asked if we'd happened to bring any pictures of our wedding (I don't think it would have been a problem if we didn't have them, but thankfully I thought to get some printed off yesterday just in case!). Then she had Chris swear an oath and sign some paperwork. After all that she closed the folder, told us that the medical check was good for a year and the police check was good for 6 months (although they can get it renewed if necessary), so to just let them know when we were ready to have the foil placed in Chris' passport....and we were done! We looked around for Grant and Brook to wave bye, but we didn't see them, so I thought maybe they had an even faster interview than us and then ran to save the car from the tow truck! Glad everything turned out well for you guys too, it was really nice meeting you, I hope your move to the States goes smoothly! Thanks for all the well wishes everyone. Of this whole process the interview was what I dreaded the most and it turned out to be the easiest part of all! Thanks in a huge part to the excellent staff at the Auckland Consulate, they really to go out of their way to help.	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-08-19 06:42:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Amaciar- Thank you SO MUCH for posting that! I've read it several times to try and convince my brain that all will be calm, easy, and drama-free tomorrow. I'm so glad things went smoothly for you guys, have a safe flight home! Kim- It's great things are starting to move quickly for you guys after so long (not fast enough though, I'm sure )Our paperwork from the Consulate said to bring a foolscap sized registered envelope, but after talking to the people at the post office Chris decided to get a foolscap Courier envelope. The difference being registered is signature required but doesn't have track and trace, where as the Courier one is trackable, overnight delivery and signature required. Perhaps that would work for Russell? Pace offers urgent courier service, same day delivery to most places in NZ so that could be an option too. Unless of course he's going to stay around Auckland until it's ready to pick up, in which case picking it up in person would be the quickest of all! Well, tomorrow is the day! According to what the Consulate sent us, most of our documentation is there and all our fees are paid. Since police checks and all the "original" documentation for them is being sent to NVC now, we had to go that route, so they should have it all. Just in case though I've found all the copies for everything we've ever received from them and ever had to send and it's all coming with me tomorrow, along with pictures. I don't think they'll need any of it, but at least I'll have it, kind of like a paperwork security blanket! I'll be so glad when tomorrow evening rolls around... Good luck Grant!! If things are moving at a leisurely pace I'm sure we'll see you there!	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-08-18 01:22:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (rubyred @ Aug 14 2008, 01:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> no homesickness, though, despite this! i think it's because - as corny as this sounds - i truly feel like jordan is my 'home', and that anywhere he is, is where i feel most at home. "Feels Like Home" by Chantal Kreviazuk is my song for Chris, I can't hear it without tearing up. I bet you would identify with the lyrics too!	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-08-13 23:52:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Aug 14 2008, 12:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Look out Auckland......... here we come!! YES!!!! I'm so excited for you guys! Definitely call Dr. Stone, Chris called on a Tuesday and got an appointment for Friday of the same week. They have certain time slots set aside for those appointments so hopefully he'll be able to get in quickly! YAY!	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-08-13 23:47:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Grant- Chris is a Software Developer. So, another computer geek in the Kiwi thread! LOL Kim- Oh, Chris has been trying to talk me into Boston, since there are nice jobs up there. But I have a few issues with that. 1. Cost of living. 2. I have arthritis which reacts to the cold/rainy Auckland weather, so I imagine it might not like Boston much! 3. Since living in NZ each winter seems worse than the last, this year is by far the worst. When it's cloudy for more than 1-2 days my brain forgets there is such thing as night and day and I can't sleep. I'm lucky if I sleep from 6 am to noon on those days. I think it has everything to do with the angle of the sun in the winter because I don't have this problem in the summer. So, I'm concerned that if I go live in Boston or Seattle (another city on our list) I'll end up being formally diagnosed with SAD. BUT, I know some people are responsive to sun lamps, so that's an option. And Boston is on the East Coast and I'm an East Coast girl for sure! Plus, they have kick ### doctors in the area, and I can't remember the last time I lived somewhere with 4 distinct seasons, so that would be fun to see again, and probably interesting for Chris to experience! And...I've always wanted to live in the New England area for a bit. As you can see, trying to figure out where to look for jobs has been challenging! But I'm trying to be relaxed about it. I figure if at the worst we move somewhere that makes me sick or Chris hates, we can just move again. We have no kids, not much to move, and just my dog to drag with us, and she's pretty happy as long as there's food, water, treats, and no loud noises (she's a scaredy dog!).	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-08-11 17:52:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Grant- Chris is in the same mode at the moment re: putting out feelers and figuring out which companies to apply to. Once the visa is in hand, then the real applications start! The best looking job offer (as far as which one will suit Chris best) in a place we can see ourselves living for a few years is the biggest factor in where we will go! Scary and exciting at the same time... Amaciar- Good luck to you and your partner at the Consulate on Wednesday!! Hopefully the medical certificate will get through quickly so you won't be held up much! Let us know how it goes! We interview next week on the 19th (same day as Grant) and I'm entirely too nervous for my own good. I keep reminding myself we have one of the best Consulates here and things usually go swell, but somehow the cynical side of my brain is not listening! Kim- Oh yes, we will be selling everything possible! Too bad no one here is settling in NZ and looking for things... Thankfully, most of our furniture is borrowed from family and such so they'll be getting it all back! Anything else will be sold, lists will be made, books will be packed and stored in Chris' parents house, and anything that doesn't fit in the suitcases will be mailed, because that's cheaper than using a "shipping" company, even if I have to use a ton of tiny packages! And as for VSC, well, with all the "hurry up" brainwaves we're sending their way, you're bound to see something soon! Michelle- Yay for getting it all sent out!! Here's wishing you a fast, problem free processing time! Kiwiana- So sorry you had to leave your SO, but I hope things process quickly for you so you'll be back in the US in no time! And yes, the doctor in Remuera, very helpful! Cdneh- Eh, vaccinations. If Canada is anything like the US I'd assume that they had requirements for certain ones to start school, so you'd have had to have the basic ones automatically. I think for people from places like New Zealand, Canada, UK, etc... should really only have to have the "time limited" ones (like tetanus) given and no antibody tests required because those countries have had rigorous vaccination programs for quite a long time. Sure would make the medical check a little less costly!	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-08-11 02:15:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Cdneh- Yay for finally getting a NOA1! Hopefully things will process quickly for you. You may not have a problem waiting until say mid October to book a flight to the US for around Christmas. I say that because when we flew my brother here for our wedding (which was in December) we only knew about 5 weeks before we needed him to fly out, and we were still able to get him a ticket arriving here at the beginning of December and back to the US on the 27th of December I think. As long as your dates are a bit flexible it may be doable. Like, traveling on the 24th is insanity, but on the 27th-29th seats are actually cheaper. Plus, you're flying one way, so that should help I'd think. We don't have tickets yet and still foresee leaving NZ by the end of the year. It may cost a bit more, but at least once you have a day you won't have to change it and pay penalty fees! Kelvan- Oh no! I hope your second packet gets through without someone losing it! Michelle- Yay for getting that paperwork sorted! Hopefully your partner will file soon so your case will start processing! Amaciar- I've been hunting around but I still can't find anywhere that will ship things for a decent price. It's to the point where I think mailing it would cost about as much as shipping it with an excess baggage place! I mean, I checked rates for 2 book boxes and it was like $1,000 USD with one place! I could send them book by book via NZ mail for cheaper than that! *snort* There has GOT to be a better way...I'm not giving up yet! I let you know if I find anything useful. Right now we have no idea where we are moving to, just that at some point we will be grabbing all my stuff from Alabama (where my dad decided to retire), so in theory I can ship things to them (even if they will whine about things taking up room). But other than that, we have no firm plans, since where we go depends on where Chris finds work. Ah well, we have no kids so why not have a little adventure? Kim- Sending good juju to you and Russell. I check here everyday to see if there's been news, I imagine you both must be in pacing mode. (((hugs)))	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-08-02 07:01:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Amy- I'm glad the Consulate seemed to be able to straighten it all out. But I wonder why you've even had to deal with the NVC? If you're a resident here working you can do Direct Consular Filing (which is a much better deal than the long, USCIS-NVC-Consulate route we've been dealing with!). Congrats on the early interview date! Ours is on the 19th (as is another member here) so you get to go first and then tell us how it went! Michelle- How goes the paperwork? I always try and set a "reward" for after a set of paperwork gets sorted out. Usually it's something as simple as a coffee at my favorite cafe, but picturing sitting there relaxed, stirring and sipping reminds me that I'll have it over in no time, and makes it a bit easier to tackle. Oh, and I agree with Kim, a glass of wine while filling things out won't hurt... Kim- I know there's been no news yet since if there was you'd be shouting so loud we'd be able to hear you clear on the other end of the world...but I often think of you two and send a bit of "hurry up" energy towards the NVC! If Amy and her partner could get a date for August 13th at this short of notice, I've decided that it's perfectly viable for Russell to be cooling his heels with the rest of us come August 19th! Oh, and aren't there 1-2 people getting ready to fly off to the US? Hope all your last minute details and travel plans are going well!	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-27 20:45:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hey all! Chris had the medical check done with Dr. Marcus Stone in Remuera this past Friday. I ended up staying home since I'm trying to NOT catch a cold (but I have the sniffles thanks to the recent weather in Auckland!). I'm SO glad I read through this whole thread and took note of what doctors people saw and how the visits went. Chris says the appointment was a breeze! Got an updated tetanus shot, went around the corner for the x-rays and blood work...in total even with waiting at the other places it was all sorted out within 2 hours! All of that totaled $280, better than some other places I've read about! This weekend I spent some time sorting out copies of all our paperwork to take with us just in case something didn't make it from the NVC to the Consulate. Since they've started doing the police checks from the NVC, they have all of Chris' original documentation (boy you'd better believe we paced the floor until the package tracking said it was delivered in the US!) so we don't have to take any of that, but I'm taking copies of all those as well (yes, I'm obsessive ) Thanks for all your input on the shipping stuff to the US thing. I still don't know what we're going to do, but I am checking to see if we can get a lot of those computer books used from Amazon and then just packing the essentials. I've been sorting through clothes to see what all we can donate. If the rate for an extra suitcase is about $175 I'm going to see what sort of box I can ship to the US for that price, just so I can compare. I have a friend who used to work for an airline company and she mentioned that some places used to allow you to ship luggage with them even if you aren't flying with it, but someone has to go pick it up at the closest airport. I'm going to see what I can find out about that. The truth of it is that I LOATHE dragging tons of suitcases, and where as most of you are coming home to someone in a set place, we won't be. So we'll be living out of those suitcases and lugging them everywhere we go until we get all my stuff and transport it to wherever we end up. My goal is to stick with our laptop bags, a giant suitcase, and a smaller one if need be. That's it. We'll see if we can pull it off or if I have to eat my words...	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-27 20:30:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Kim- Hahaha! Yes, those that go into psych often need to see one too. I wouldn't be an exception to that either! I think some people are natural counselors. I've always been the peacemaker in my house growing up and the counselor to all my friends. When they have a terrible day they all hunt me down on IM to talk them off the ledge (since they can't call me for cheap anymore!). Doing all the schooling to be a licensed psychologist though is daunting, so I've thought about doing the 4 year degree and then a certification program to be a Life Coach, and working on the rest of the schooling gradually. Working for yourself is the greatest thing IMO. It's a lot of responsibility, but if you're good at following through with your plans and paying attention to detail it sure beats having a boss outside of yourself to answer to every day! I don't have much patience with computers at the moment, but Chris is hoping I'll learn programming by osmosis one day. That's so neat how you and Russell met! Chris and I met on a mailing list for our Myers Briggs type and struck up an conversation about something off list at one point and the rest is history. I had no clue when I joined that list I'd meet my match, it wasn't a dating list at all! I think Russell's Geology degree will have a better market in the US for sure! NZ is so small when it comes to some things. I was reading yesterday how if you want to be a Meteorologist just about the only place to work is MetService and all I could think of was "What if you don't work well there, you're screwed!". Our general understanding of how NZ immigration works is that once you've passed the 12 month mark of being here on a visitors visa, once you leave the country, you have to remain gone for at least one year before coming back. The rules in their manual are a little difficult to interpret though, so it could be I have to stay out for the same amount of time that I spent here. I've been here almost 26 months. So either way, once I leave I'll have to stay gone for a while!	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-23 05:55:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Michelle- Titirangi is beautiful! We drive through it every time we head to Piha (which is not nearly enough). It's my favorite beach here, probably because it's the first place Chris took me to after my plane landed in NZ. I have a thing about walking barefoot on the ground when I'm stressed, it helps me feel grounded, so I requested to be taken to a good walking beach so I could put my feet in the water, in June. It was cold! I guess it's no surprise I got married on a beach, barefoot. Rubyred- When my partner and I met in person for the first time it was just like that. It took a few minutes to associate the person in front of me with the voice on the phone and in the emails, but within a hour or two I felt like we had always been together. It's so odd... Meeting online means that you get to know the person from the inside out, instead of from the outside in. I think that's why when you meet in person everything is so...right. Oh, and about the K-1 thing. I also think that if you were to get married say 10 months from now you'd be able to adjust status. From what I read in the past messages in this thread, you didn't go over intending to marry and a lot can happen in 12 months. I came here and got engaged, figured we'd do the K-1 thing and enter the US to get married, but then we thought why bother? We knew what we wanted, we already felt married, and there was just no real reason to wait. So 6 months after arriving here we got married! I planned a wedding in less than 2 months. Anyone else headed to the states to live- Are you shipping any of your belongings over to the states besides the 2 suitcases you're taking on the plane? We don't have enough to ship a whole crate, but Chris has a lot of books that I think we should take (I'm a book person myself and have missed mine immensely these 2 years). I priced just parcel shipping and it's wicked expensive. So I'm curious as to whether anyone has found some good solutions to that dilemma.	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-23 05:50:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Jul 18 2008, 02:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm born and raised in Leominster, MA. It's about an hour (40 miles) north west of Boston. I own the home my mom grew up in and my family all live within miles. We spend a lot of time together ...which is why Russell is moving here. Of course, we've known each other for 10 years and Russell has always been aware that I wouldn't want to leave here... right now anyway. I do agree tho, NZ is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Especially where he is... (opotiki)... his parents own some seaside maori land in whangarua bay as well. We'll be back as often as possible. Just a shame it's so far away. I'm actually in the IT field too but I work for myself. Small world. How neat you guys will meet up. Gee if we're approved this week perhaps we can get that Aug 19th date too! Let them know we're coming! Awww...when I was growing up I always wished we'd just live in one place with all our family around us! If things were that way I would have had a much harder time coming here. But, with growing up here, there, and everywhere, and having crazy family estranged from each other on both sides (seriously, my parents families are like soap operas) I've never been settled in one place. Problem is I get attached to the places I'm in at the moment, and every time I leave one I'm miserable for a while. I'm already moping about leaving NZ! We're plotting a few places to try and go before leaving since I won't be able to come into the country for over 2 years (since that's how long I've been here). *sighs* Why can't NZ be closer to the US?? My bank account would surely appreciate it MUCH more! It's incredible you've known each other for so long! And soon you'll be together...we'll keep hoping that August 19th interview date for him too!! I've often wondered if people in the IT industry have a higher rate of online romances than the general population. I don't work in IT, but all these couples have got me thinking that once I have my psych degrees and such sorted out online couple's therapy might be the way to go...and I married the perfect person to help me sort out the technical side of it! Cheers! Tiara	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-20 08:15:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (gshennen @ Jul 18 2008, 11:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi Tiara Cool - we will run into each other definately. You can listen to all my interview answers at the Consulate (the interviews don't appear to be the most private thing in the world). My wife (the USC) may not be there, as we have a young baby (Clay), and it may be easier if we do not bring him (less stress and all that). Although we are umm'ing and ahh'ing whether she comes. The lady in the Consulate said there was no need for her to be there if it was easier for her to stay home and look after Clay. Yes - we went the DCF route. We are pretty experienced with the Consulate now, as we have been there a few times to register our two kids as US Citizens, get them passports etc. We filed in person for my immigration Visa (just showed up with the paperwork, and the Consulate staff were brilliant). Security is easy and quick. They just make sure you are there for legitimate reasons, xray your bags etc, take your keys and cellphones off you, and let you in. There is sometimes a queue, but you won't wait longer than a few minutes even then. 9 am is probably the busiest time, so you may want to get there 15 minutes early. Cheers Grant Hey Grant, Ah yes, I've read that interviews are just done at a window, so that should be interesting. Thankfully in NZ we don't have to deal with some of the problems I've read about at other Consulates in regards to styles of questions that are asked. If we had a baby I'd be inclined to stay home as well, but would probably feel torn about it. I'm sure you'll both make the right decision when the day comes, sometimes these things are best decided in the spur of the moment! I'm glad to hear security isn't too much hassle. We live over on the North Shore so we'll have to head across the bridge before morning traffic (6:30-7am...meh) so we'll find a cafe to chill at for a bit and then head to the Consulate. Plus, I'm all too familiar with the odd things that tend to spring up when you've got an important appointment to make, so we'll be there early. LOL Cheers, Tiara	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-20 07:58:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (gshennen @ Jul 17 2008, 09:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Our interview for me is August 19th as well. 8.30am for me. Cheers Grant Hi Grant! 9 am for us! We're sure to run into each other since I hear sometimes the process can take a few hours (or at least their notice said so). Since I'm here in NZ we'll both be at the interview. How exciting! I'm biting my nails already... You did DCF, right? I'm assuming you went in person to file, how was the Consulate? Does getting through security take very long? Cheers! Tiara	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-17 08:15:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Michelle- We filled them out by hand after I ended up yelling at the program for a bit. We ended up filling them out several times until everything fit nicely and legibly, sent them the originals, and kept a photocopied set for ourselves. Kim- Good to meet you too! I can only imagine what you must be feeling. I hope your approval comes fast and you guys can push up the interview date. It's amazing how much trouble people have to go through to be with the ones they love. No one I know had any clue what all goes into trying to be together when you've fallen in love with someone half a world away. They all assumed as soon as we got married we'd be on the next flight to the US. *snort* I'm glad I've gotten the chance to live here though (even if we live in constant limbo). NZ is a beautiful country and I think that experiencing leaving everything to come here has made me more aware of just how much Chris will go through moving to the US. I've already found sources in the US for Kiwi food. LOL We'll move back here at some point, just not to Auckland (it reminds me of LA). I noticed you're an east coast girl, so am I! Although not Boston (really want to visit up there though), I'm from Maryland. My dad was in the military though so I moved like every 3 years. Still want to be back on the east coast, but right now I'll take anywhere Chris finds a good job (since I'll be going to school), so odds are it'll be more like Seattle or San Fransisco area (all the IT jobs). -Tiara	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-17 00:12:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hey all! Nice to see all the Kiwi/American couples posting! When I joined this site last year there weren't many around so I didn't really get into posting. I moved to Auckland in June of 2006 so we could live together for a while before applying for a fiancee visa for my partner Chris. But after thinking about it we decided to just get married here and do DCF since there was no huge reason we needed to get married in the States. Of course, after getting new passports sorted out (we both changed our names) the Consulates were not accepting DCF due to the Adam Walsh Law. So we dealt with NZ immigration to try and extend my visitor's permit in hopes that the Consulates would be accepting DCF relatively soon. Well, they did, but because I was on a visitor's permit they decided that wasn't enough, so we had to file with USCIS instead. Trying to handle all that paperwork while not actually being present in the US has been an adventure, dealing with NZ immigration on top of that has been even more fun! But, it doesn't matter really because we've been able to stay together here. We really feel for all of you that are processing while living apart. We met online and so spent time apart until I was able to move here, but I'll never forget the feeling of being separated like that. We just got notification of our interview date, August 19th! A friend of ours in the States is handling Chris' side of things but she didn't receive any medical forms and we probably won't see my set of forms from NVC for another 3 weeks. I'm debating on whether we need to contact the Consulate for the information on the medical check since we don't have any of those forms and mail between here and the NVC has been anywhere from 3-5 weeks for some odd reason. I've heard some Consulate horror stories but from the reviews I've read of the Auckland one the people there seem to be pretty efficient and helpful for the most part. I hope that's our experience too! *crosses fingers* Hope everyone is staying warm, or cool, depending on which side of the equator you're reading this from! Cheers! Tiara	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-16 23:30:00
USCIS Service Centers	Has anyone sent their applications "signature required" to TSC?	Our documents were delivered today at 5:55 am!! Yay! I'm so thankful they got there... Thanks everyone for your help! -Tiara	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2007-06-11 15:54:00
USCIS Service Centers	Has anyone sent their applications "signature required" to TSC?	I wouldnt be so quick to say the documents didnt get delivered. Usually anything trying to be delivered to a Service centre after noon on a Friday, will get that "undeliverable" message. Regardless of where it's sent from. I would wait til Tuesday, i think you may be surprised!! Jodee Thanks Jodee! I guess we'll just bide our time then... I hope they try to redeliver it, I don't know how long it will sit there before they send it back! *sighs* This would have been much easier if the US Consulate would let me apply here... *grumbling* Probably what happened is USCIS had already picked up their mail when your pkt arrived. They should get it tomorrow. Good luck. Meriem Thanks Meriem! It got there before noon on Friday, but if they close early on Fridays I bet their pick up time is different. I hadn't thought of that before... What an unusual spelling of your name (it's said like Miriam, right?). I like it! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thanks for your replies everyone. I kind of feel like a dork because apparently a lot of people have this same problem with TSC and post about it on VJ. I had tried searching to find any posts about it before I posted my question, but I guess I just wasn't using the right word combinations to bring any of them up. I ran across a few of those threads by chance last night and did the whole *D'oh!* thing... *grin* My apologies... I don't mean to be an annoying newbie! I appreciate your patience with my question... -Tiara	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2007-06-10 15:06:00
USCIS Service Centers	Has anyone sent their applications "signature required" to TSC?	I am currently living in New Zealand with my spouse (I am the US citizen). We gathered all our documents for submitting the I-130 application, checked our list about 20 times...followed all the "general tips for submitting applications" found on the USCIS website, and sent our application to the TSC. I called up the customer helpline (at 3 am my time) to find out what shipping options we had available to us and the woman I spoke to said to just send it general mail because that's the only way anyone can send documents to them. I wasn't comfortable with that because of all the personal information being sent (I have identity theft paranoia). The woman at the post office here said we only had 2 options for sending documents internationally- send it general mail (and hope that it gets there) or Track and Trace, which tracks it from the moment it leaves the post office here until it reaches its destination in the US, upon which it requires a signature to confirm it's been received. She said there would be no problem sending it signature required to the P.O. Box there, they've always been accepted. We sent it Track and Trace...then traced it online all the way from the post office to TSC. According to the tracking system the delivery attempt on June 8th was unsuccessful. So now it's on its way back to New Zealand and we're out our postage (about $20 USD) plus the return fees, which may be more than the initial postage! But the worst part of it is we'll have an application that's still not submitted. *sighs* So, I'm curious, has anyone tried sending them documents by any other means than general mail? I could swear I've read in other people's timelines that they had their documents signed for upon delivery, but maybe I'm just misreading what they've written. Surely I'm not the only one with issues about sending documents internationally and then pacing the floor 'til you get notification they've received it. I'm hoping someone here has had some experience with this and can offer a solution... Thanks for reading my post! -Tiara	yankiwi	Female	New Zealand	2007-06-10 06:00:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Anyone else doing this with a chld involved	Just wondering if there is anyone else out there that has gone or is going through this. I know its a waiting game, and we are only 2 months in, but I just wish it was over, so we can go and carry on with our lives. We have an 18 month old child together. She is already a US Citizen, just waiting on me.	misstl	Female	New Zealand	2011-05-20 03:56:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	BIrth Abroad	You should not have a problem at all getting citizenship for a child where one of the parents is a US citizen. If the US citizen is the father, they must acknowledge the birth of the child, and it helps to be on the birth certificate. You need to make an appointment with the US consulate of whatever country where the child was born to report the birth aboard. Also the mother will need to go to the consulate if they are not the US citizen. The US citizen must prove that they were in the country for a particular period of there life, I am not sure for when, my husband took his high school transcript and that worked. If the US citizen is the mother, then you will not have any issues. Also a good thing to remember that if a child is entitled to US Citizenship then they can not travel to the USA with out a USA Passport. My daughter is a US Citizen, she was born in England, I am from New Zealand and my husband is from America. We had a lovely day out at the London Consulate, which wasn't really a bad process. But she has both American and New Zealand Citizenship without any issues. Oh and at the time of her birth we weren't married.	misstl	Female	New Zealand	2011-06-02 02:34:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Wedding Ceremony, Or Just Legal Marriage?	A bit late to the party. My husband and I just had a confidential marriage at a County Clerk office in Los Angeles, no witnesses, apart from our daughter (1 year old), but that wasn't required. We had no party and actually no photos, only the all important document saying that we are married.	misstl	Female	New Zealand	2011-06-02 02:47:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Pictures as proof of relationship	Are pictures really that important if you have been together for 6 years, as wouldn't there be plenty of proof that you are actually in a relationship. I only ask as my husband and I have been together for 5.5 years, and why we could provide pictures, most are all online, I would have thought that there was plenty of evidence already of the relationship. And to be honest, why there are some, we actually don't have lots of photos of us together in the photo, as it would have been one or the other taking it.	misstl	Female	New Zealand	2011-06-02 13:54:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Police Checks	I think the main thing I was after for the police checks, is it 10 years or 5 years, of addresses they are interested in, or is it any place since 16 for more than 6 months they want to see a police check for. But I think you have answered the question for me.	misstl	Female	New Zealand	2011-06-05 17:20:00