Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Joint Bank Account: Married(US citizen + Romanian citizen)	Well, the US regulations on bank accounts must be a whole lot looser than ours if people are able to walk in and add randomly to their accounts. My husband could add me to his account with no problem, I couldn't be issued with a card until I had a valid SSN/ITIN or presented in person which I couldn't do. (I have the ITIN so it's a non-issue for us now). The ITIN wasn't a PITA to obtain. Better planning perhaps or understanding what is required to obtain one. The painful part was paying for a public notary and the apostille on my passport biographic page. Took the IRS less than 4 weeks to issue me the ITIN. In Australia, no bank would touch us unless he appeared in person and presented 100 points of valid ID. I couldn't even make him a signatory or give him authority to operate in the event anything happened to me unless he appeared in person.	Deb+Steve	Female	Australia	2010-06-15 01:55:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	K-3 being switched to IR-1?	Fingers crossed ...	Deb+Steve	Female	Australia	2012-03-15 08:31:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Medical in the morning, need help fast.	Were you born in Australia? I was, and the only "booklet" I have is from birth but it's not a "international vaccination record" it's a "baby book". Where you write my length, weight etc, immunisations, any time I get sick or break an arm/leg.. but it's written by the parents (except the vaccination part) but even then the vaccination section isn't signed in any official way... It's only valid in Australia BECAUSE it's not signed in any official way and BECAUSE the parents keep it and change it at will. There is this: http://www.travelcli...ocket-guide.asp but it appears to be some sort of private company thing (i.e not an Australian standard) and I've never seen or heard of it before. Wouldn't have known it existed if I didn't google it out of interest. I might get one considering it's recognised by "WHO" but it says I need to have a visit with them... umm... maybe when I'm in Aus next? or hopefully I can get around that... Hey Vanessa Yea, it's a great little booklet. I wasn't born here and the first time it was offered to me was a couple of years ago from my local GP. It's a little traveller's booklet. Definitely if you're heading back this way, take your records to your GP (if they do travel vaccinations)and ask them for it and they will transcribe it for you. I'm at work or I would have scanned it for you and posted a pic!	Deb+Steve	Female	Australia	2010-04-27 18:18:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Medical in the morning, need help fast.	ya, are you asking about the International Vaccination Record ? Don't know about Australia, but in China it's a 'yellow booklet', the data gets transcribed by hand, ONTO this booklet. It's not part of the sealed medical envelope, it's yers to keep. Might be free in Australia, but if not, expect to pay a small fee. We do have this, too. It is yellow and it's free. Must be a universal thing. I already had one and she just added the ones I had for my immigration. Nothing to do with immigration over here, though. But still a great way to keep track of what I've had because I have no vaccination records apart from that.	Deb+Steve	Female	Australia	2010-04-27 06:04:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Original documents..	Hey Emma P4 will list what (if any) documents need to be provided at the Consulate. There should be a checklist with letter codes. NVC will send the file with the originals to the Consulate. I'm assuming you submitted all the originals with the DS-230. As for the Consulate's requirements, make sure you're not reading the instructions for DCF.	Deb+Steve	Female	Australia	2010-05-03 06:49:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	RFE at interview.	I got my shiny visa on my passport today! The stuff my fiance sent must have been adequate Soooooooo happy like oh my god. :D:D:D:D:D Congrats Emily ... !!!	Deb+Steve	Female	Australia	2010-05-20 06:46:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Australian police certficate - fingerprint	Hi all, I used to be a post grad student at the UQ (Brisbanne city) in Queensland, exactly from early 2004 to end of 2005, and currently live in Saigon. Now i am applying for K1 visa, which obviously requires a police certificate from Australia with fingerprint. However, for us, international students, the AFP (Australian Federal Police)did not run a fingerprint check during our stay over there! The available police certificate they can issue is the Name check only certificate. And it doesnt meet requirements from US Embassy. Before, in Vietnam, the IOM (International Organisation of Migration) used to be the only authorised body to work on fingerprint check and then applicants could use the result to send to the AFP. But now they are not allowed anymore. I don't know where to go now. Anyone experienced the same or similar situation? ANy advices from you all will be highly appreciated. Thanks a lot. Here is the link for obtaining PCC's in Qld. There is a number to ring. http://www.police.ql...ase/polcert.htm The ladies are very nice. They should be able to tell you how they will accept the fingerprints and be able to forward you the application form. Best of luck ...	Deb+Steve	Female	Australia	2010-07-14 06:59:00
Australia and New Zealand	Police Certificate - Are fingerprints necassary?	That sucks, In QLD I just turned up at the local police station and they did myself and my older daughter, it was all ink fingerprints and very messy but the cops made it an entertaining experience. it then took blooy ages to get it back	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-03-17 02:33:00
Australia and New Zealand	AOS interview tomorrow	No advice just loads of good luck xx	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-04-04 02:12:00
Australia and New Zealand	Best place to visit in Australia	Sure! I myself havent been to the north island yet, but my fiance says the best place to go there is wellington, he says auckland is just like any other big city. So really the only place i can speak about with any knowledge is the south island. queenstown is really nice (small, but touristy, lots of places to shop and eat, and its a little more upscale too. oh and it also has bungee jumping, shotover jet, and more kind of extreme sports if thats your thing). a MUST see is milford sound, so beautiful, lots of hiking, kayaking, or boat tours. If you like camping or backpacking thats a great place to do it, but even if you dont just a day trip is totally worth it. Another outdoorsy destination would be mount cook and all the glacier fed lakes near it. Again, just stunning, and if you enjoy hiking and nature i wouldnt pass that up. Theres a really nice hotel at mount cook, the hermitage, so you get the best of both worlds (nature and luxury lol). I also really loved Christchurch, but havent been back since the last big earthquake, so Im not sure how it is now. Before, it was like a big little city, had all the amenities of a big city but still felt nice, clean , quaint, had some neat museums and things to see. But I know it suffered a lot of damage I would also recommend going in the spring, things are in bloom, and little baby animals all over the place. Hope that helped a bit! Maybe some kiwis can add to this too, especially some info about the north island Wellington is acutally pretty boring, Auckland is better (and I am originally from Wellington so that's saying something), from Auckland it's easy to get to Lake Taupo which is just beautiful and Rotarua which has all the hot mud pools, maori cultural centres and hot springs, very very much worth the trip. You also have the Bay of Plenty on the North Island is just lovely. People tend to go to the south more often because of the snow but there is lots of great stuff mid north.	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-03-03 15:21:00
Australia and New Zealand	Best place to visit in Australia	I'm a Queenslander so i'm going to say Queensland particularly the gold coast and sunshine coast	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-03-02 02:36:00
Australia and New Zealand	The big move - is it really going to be worth it????	We don't have fluroide in our water in Logan (brisbane) so my kids all took fluroide tablets when they were little. In the US I drink bottled water cos tap water is so hard!	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-04-05 02:00:00
Australia and New Zealand	The big move - is it really going to be worth it????	corn syrup is really bad for you.	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-03-19 15:21:00
Australia and New Zealand	The big move - is it really going to be worth it????	Ahhh so that's why I don't think american coke tastes wrong. Josh thought it was in my imagination!!	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-03-18 00:39:00
Australia and New Zealand	The big move - is it really going to be worth it????	Haha....Mine used to pick out the carrot beetroot and pineapple....then he got used to it... I was very sick yesterday and sent yank husband up the store for lemonade....now he has lived in Oz for nearly 12 mths before so he must have known but said nothing....eventually he comes back with lemonade and yeah...its lemon solo stuff....I specifically told him not sprite or mountain dew....just schweppes lemonade but no...they dont have it here....been here for all this time and I never knew that....and now we have ran out of cheesymite....14 year old son is not impressed we cant just go to the store and buy some.... I was really hung over on a trip to see hubby and asked him to order me a lemonade, it was the gross lemon juice stuff they have here and made me vomit. he said "oh I wondered if you meant sprit but figured you would have said that" DUH	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-03-12 01:23:00
Australia and New Zealand	The big move - is it really going to be worth it????	I will definitely have a copy of that Vanessa lol. Lyn, make your own custard from scratch, it's not that hard once you get the hang of it, you can google the life out of recipes. I hadn't actually thought about where to be buried, we only discussed that we would be buried together, guess it will be which ever country we die in??? I don't really fancy the idea of somebody crying over my grave but I still want the big tombstone so Jesus can find me lol (yes died in the wool catholic!)	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-02-27 17:01:00
Australia and New Zealand	The big move - is it really going to be worth it????	OH my gosh Lyn, the furiturne thing. I had forgotten that. I HATE the American way of decorating and the overly ornate furniture. Even looking for bedroom lamps and ceiling fans has become a massive chore because I just want plain and simple lines. My husband doesn't understand modern and minimalistic but he is about to learn!!	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-02-21 17:00:00
Australia and New Zealand	The big move - is it really going to be worth it????	I had a rather interesting conversatin with the Ohio nursing board yesterday. Apparently Midwives in Australia have more autonomy than in Ohio, are allowed to do so much more than in Ohio but apparently I may have to go back to school to be registered as a Midwive there??????? I am so annoyed. it would appear it's going to be a painful process to get registered! the only upside is that at least I can earn semi decent once I am registered but being the door person at walmart is looking might fine compared to going back to school (when I have already done 5 yrs of it)!	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-02-17 17:21:00
Australia and New Zealand	The big move - is it really going to be worth it????	yeah I am seeing it all as an adventure at this point. At the end of the day I am Australian and can always come home and start again.	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-02-12 22:21:00
Australia and New Zealand	The big move - is it really going to be worth it????	We went CR1 visa and had a big wedding here with all my friends and family. I figured I was moving over there for him so my friends and family were going to get an awesome wedding!! Now he wants me to do it all again when I get there lol	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-02-11 21:41:00
Australia and New Zealand	The big move - is it really going to be worth it????	I tried, begged, pleaded but at the end of the day apparently my balls are bigger then my husbands. he is so entrenched in the American way of life that he can't see outside of it, so in order to be with the man I love I have to move. We would be way better off finanically in Australia, he would earn twice as much as what he does now and I earn twice as much as I will there. He just doesn't want to give up the security of his government job, but is asking me to give up mine (I work for QLD government and the benefit of that are far greater than the US government jobs). I hope I can talk him into moving here eventually but it is with a heavy heart that I go :-( (just being honest and yes he knows this).	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-02-09 15:57:00
Australia and New Zealand	Interview date	One other thing....Check your email. Your Packet 4 will come in your email with your interview date. It will go to both of your emails. Make sure you check your JUNK email daily as it will most likely get sent there. My fiance didn't see it until a day after it was actually there. Oh yeah and check your junk mail box! One of my interview letters went to junk mail and the other 3 to regular mail!	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-04-04 02:10:00
Australia and New Zealand	Approved!!!	How long did you have to wait between sending Pkt 3 and receiving Pkt 4? We did a CR visa not a K1 so it's different. I didn't send them anything. My case closed at NVC and then about 2 weeks later I got an interview date for 6 1/2 weeks time	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-04-08 16:41:00
Australia and New Zealand	Approved!!!	Our interview was today and we were APPROVED! It was so anticlimatic after all the stress, papers and tears, we were approved in 10 mins, no questions asked or anything. Now it's time to get packing	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-03-27 04:19:00
Australia and New Zealand	Interview date!!!!	Happy Birthday and congratulations	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-04-19 18:18:00
Australia and New Zealand	Sydney has us waiting	fingers crossed you hear soon. I remember waiting a few weeks for the interview and then it wasn't for nearly 7 weeks and i felt like it would never come, then it suddenly snuck up on me! Before you know it, it will be time start your new life :-)	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-04-04 02:07:00
Australia and New Zealand	Oh my gosh!	We leave for the US in 4 days!!	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-05-04 16:20:00
Australia and New Zealand	i-130 Approved.. questions for you	Ring the doctor and ask him. Some of the doctors do it without the date, they just need your NVC number. When I booked mine I didn't have an interview date just the NVC number. by the time my appointment came around though I had a date but the Doctor didn't ask me when it was.	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-05-05 00:51:00
Australia and New Zealand	His interview is tomorrow!	Good luck. Tell him to be prepared for it to be really anticlimatic! and if he's a nervous pee'er (like myself) wee before he goes in cos there are no loo's in there lol	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-05-06 16:38:00
Australia and New Zealand	Should we marry first then apply for I-130 or go the K1 route.	I went twice in 3 months and was grilled the second time by immigration about my intentions and given the speil about it being illegal to enter the country on a VWP with the intention of marrying an US citizen for immigration purposes. It was rather intimidating, particularly seeing as we were a relatively new couple and hadn't decided we wanted to get married yet! I felt very pressured lol.	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-05-02 05:35:00
Australia and New Zealand	HE WAS APPROVED!!!	congratulations guys!	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-05-13 19:22:00
Australia and New Zealand	Shouting it from the rooftops, I have my visa!	Nothing feels quite like it. Congratulations	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-05-14 17:03:00
Australia and New Zealand	Approved!	congratulations	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-05-16 21:03:00
Australia and New Zealand	Interview Scheduling at Sydney Consulate	my interview was on March 27 and was scheduled February 14th	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-05-16 21:01:00
Australia and New Zealand	We have arrived!	So my children and I made it safe and sound to the US. We somehow managed to get on the plane without paying excess baggage. POE was a PIA. We were made to sit to the sit and told that we were not their priority adn we had to wait til everybody else was seen, lovely welcome to America that was! They had lost our luggage and wanted me to get them more photos of one of my kids. I was like "well I can't cos the airline lost my bags" so note to everybody, bring spare pictures in your carry on!! He ended up letting it go and after 2 hours we finally got to clear customs. Thank god I had special assistance (cos I'm hugely pregnant and travelling with 3 kids) and somebody had gotten my luggage for me. Our new American friends and family have thrown us a party to welcome us which was lovely and we have done some serious shopping! Starting this week we will get down to the business of a noraml life, enrolling in school, joining gym etc. Thanks for all your help this far guys, it's been invaluable. xx	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-05-13 19:33:00
Australia and New Zealand	How Long After Your Interview Did You Have Your Visa In Hand?	mine also took 2 days	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-04-22 02:30:00
Australia and New Zealand	New 2011 LAND DOWNUNDER, Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi	Well this conversation blew my mind because Josh and I were just having a conversation yesterday about how easy (or not) it would be to transfer money using paypal and now I get on here and BAM there it is!! I love this place lol	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2011-12-10 02:03:00
K-3 Spousal Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Husband growning impatient with the process	I understand exactly where you are coming from. We are going CR1 route and have been apart for over a year and it is hard. In marriages where you see each other everyday there are trials and tribulations and many couples wonder if they will survive, it's not unique to long distance relationships and I don't think it's realistic to say "true love will conquer all". We too have good days and bad days, I am 18 days out from leaving and am still stressed that I'm doing the right thing. All you can do is have faith that once you are together all the things you love about each will come flooding in and make the transition easier. good luck xxx	Amanda and Josh	Female	Australia	2012-04-21 02:28:00
Australia and New Zealand	Police Check with NSW	Is there anything else I can get sorted before NOA2?	Adrian_Trischa	Female	Australia	2012-06-14 07:18:00
Australia and New Zealand	Brisbane medical	How long did it take for you to get your medical? Also - was the police station available for the check on the weekend?	Adrian_Trischa	Female	Australia	2012-06-14 07:25:00