Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	San Fran is the number 1 liberal city in the USA; Seattle is pretty well up there to though. http://dailycaller.c...endly-counties/ I would love to live in San Fran! Maybe not IN the city though, I think my perfect area would be a smaller center near a bigger city, kind of like how Bellevue is close to Seattle but is still a small city on its own. It would be weird not having any friends or (his) relatives close by though, but if I could meet more Kiwis that would be a consolation. On another note, can anyone tell me how long it was after they filed for removal of conditions that they had an interview? Thanks! Edited by Zeddess, 16 November 2012 - 12:19 PM.	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2012-11-16 12:19:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Thanks for your input guys Sometimes I think we should have moved to a bigger city (Seattle would be the closest), but all of my husband's family and friends are in this little isolated desert town so here we are! I am super liberal so I feel really out of place in a conservative, religious, gun-totin', deer-huntin', truck-drivin', country-music-lovin' area. I've honestly just about had as much as I can take. It's hard to stay positive when it's been nothing but struggles since day one. I think once I get a lot of these loose ends tied up I'll consider moving back home or at least to a bigger city in a different area. The hard part will be convincing my husband to come with me!	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2012-11-12 11:36:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	I see you're living in WA - which is where I am going to be but only for 6 weeks. When I visited my (then boyfriend) in May I felt out of place there. Conversely, when I visited him when he was sent to the East Coast, I felt much more 'at home'. This is despite WA and Christchurch having pretty similar climates and landscapes! We're a year apart in age. I don't know if it's weird or not, but when I'm there for 6 weeks (we'll be moving on to San Fran and then to Germany for 4 years) would you like to catch up maybe for a coffee or something? Sometimes all it takes is to hear our accent to feel a little happier again. I even get that here in Aussie! Yes! That would be so nice, thank you I haven't met another Kiwi here in the time that I've lived here, and obviously the ones back home have no idea what it's like. I love my American friends and they try so hard to help me fit in, but they too don't really understand. All the immigrants I've met are either a lot older than I am, and/or they've been here 20+ years. I really enjoy living here from a superficial and materialistic standpoint - unlimited broadband & smartphone data, cheap food, cheaper alcohol, affordable clothes, makeup and shoes. I would never be able to afford a brand new car in NZ. But when it comes to feeling like you really belong, and having people "get" your sense of humor, NZ wins hands down. I don't feel so judged and pressured over there. Whereabouts in WA will you be? Are you looking forward to moving to Germany?	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2012-11-09 11:35:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hi all, just wondering if any of you have had a hard time fitting in like I have? It'll be 3 years in March since I've lived here and I absolutely hate it. I went back home in September for a few weeks and even though it's incredibly expensive, I miss the laid back attitude and the culture. Americans are too brash and rude for me and take everything so seriously. I want to move back as soon as I can but we're having money problems and there are legal issues that might take a while to get through. It's literally one thing after another and I've just about had enough, I miss my family and friends in NZ. This was a very eye-opening experience but I wish I would have moved back home sooner.	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2012-11-08 13:06:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Same here, haven't been on here for months until I got an email asking me to update my timeline lol.. I'm waiting to apply to remove conditions in July sometime, hope nobody has faced any major obstacles and life is treating you all well! Congrats to rubyred for getting to the end of the immigration road, that must be awesome. Did anyone see that Bret McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords won an Oscar for his Man or Muppet song? Proud Kiwi moment right there!	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2012-02-27 18:59:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Couldn't agree with you more Y&E, I hope that if anyone here has friends or family in Christchurch, they are all OK. I've been feeling really homesick lately and the earthquake just made me want to be close to my family in Auckland, because you never know what could happen. I've been here for a year now and although I found a good job and good friends, I miss NZ terribly. We're considering moving back to NZ at some point in the future, but I'm not sure how my Permanent Residency will be affected by that, will it be revoked so that if we ever moved back to the US we'd have to go through the visa process all over again?	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2011-03-06 22:20:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Thanks kelzm and kiwiana, it's such a relief to know that it's not just me! I started looking early August just to get a head-start and I swear I must have replied to about 50 postings by now and have only heard back from two, I'm thinking it's probably not having any US work experience. Something I've noticed is that the US is fairly intense about the application/interview process here. I used to be a legal secretary for about 5 years without a degree so I'm just applying for any sort of office clerk job, even applying for jobs at the mall. My husband's still in college so I need to find something asap, I'll see how I go with volunteering somewhere or trying a temping agency. Thanks for the advice!	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2010-09-26 20:17:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Congratulations Emma!!! Update on my AOS process - had biometrics a month ago, received my EAD card last week, have been relentlessly job searching but to no avail (boy is that hard work! Did anyone else have trouble finding a job?), and we have our AOS interview on October 12. I was hoping that maybe we'd be transferred to CSC because the office is almost 2 hours away but oh well, I wonder what determines whether you have an interview or not? Is there anything specific I should take to support our case?	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2010-09-20 11:36:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	So my visa expired today and I still haven't sent in the AOS package, because for some reason the civil surgeon won't certify my I-693 form without a full immigration medical, which I do not NEED. Is it supposed to be this hard to get something signed? Anyway, my social security is still in my maiden name because it took 10 weeks to get so I haven't been back there yet, but I've used my married name on all the forms. Are they going to chuck a wobbly if I don't send in the medical form or am I worrying for nothing?	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2010-06-28 18:23:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Ok, first few questions: what would my current USCIS status be and do I have an alien registration number? It's been 8 weeks since I applied for a social security number, but since DHS entered my birthday in wrong that had to be corrected before I can get a social issued to me.. which is still pending. Can I apply for AOS and the EAD card without a social? Because it's probably going to take another 4 weeks or so and then longer to change my name. Thanks guys!	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2010-06-03 20:44:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hey guys, a quick update: I'm now a married woman yay! Just came back from our honeymoon on the Oregon coast, now to start the AOS process! I'm probably going to have a lot of questions about this since most of you have already been through it. Hope things are going smoothly for everyone	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2010-06-01 14:21:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Is this the same process in NZ or do you just get it yourselves and take it along with you? Hi Emma, yep it's the same process here - the Embassy sends you a consent form thing to sign so that they can ask the NZ Police directly for it. So I'd just sign the form and give it to them, then send in the cert you requested when you receive it, maybe it'll help speed things along?	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2010-04-23 14:36:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hey everyone! I've been in the US for a few weeks now, really enjoying it. Aside from all the wedding planning, we just bought a cheap little runaround car for me, it's even a manual! Looks like everything is going smoothly for all of you too I have a question about the I-693 form that you have to complete so that your vaccinations are recorded properly for the AOS - I don't have a copy of the vaccination worksheet that the doctor filled out at my medical, how am I going to prove that I've had them done so I don't have to have another one? I have receipts from the medical center but maybe I should try and obtain a copy...? damn	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2010-04-19 13:03:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hey everyone, just thought I'd stop by real quick to let you know I'm flying out in 6 hours!!! I'm not the biggest fan of flying so I'm kind of a wreck this morning but I'm sure I'll be ok, I just can't wait to finally get there. See you on the other side!	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2010-03-29 14:06:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	GREEN CARD!!!!!!!! Awwww YAY!!! Congratulations you two, that's awesome, and without an interview! You must be so stoked, enjoy the celebrations. Just an update for everyone, I'm getting ready to leave NZ in 6 weeks! I'm so excited but also really sad! How did you guys cope with leaving all of your friends and family behind??	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2010-02-16 05:15:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Merry Christmas to you too kiwiana! I hope everybody here is doing well and enjoying the holidays It's a beautiful Christmas day here, with a high of 24 degrees still waiting for my visa to be delivered though! will probably be next year now..	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-12-24 18:51:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Ohh that's right Kim, I knew I remembered you saying you might be moving to Portland. Searcy sounds like such a cute little town! the locals must be fascinated with your accent hehe. I think finding a job in the Tri-Cities shouldn't be too hard, it's not a huge place but they have one of the highest job-growth rates in the US what kind of job are you going to be doing Kelly? I hope you get your snow soon! kiwiana and cdneh - what parts of CA and VA do you two live in?	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-12-03 19:04:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kelvan @ Dec 3 2009, 03:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hey congrats on passing your interview Zeddess! Not long to go now I have a friend who lives in Washington state, in a place called Port Angeles I'm in Olathe, Kansas. I looove our apartment, and I am actually dreading going to work now cos I love being in it so much hehe! We went for a walk tonight and it was 0C!!! ZERO! Can't wait til it snows! The first time is always the best I think hehe. Yay thanks! Whoa Kansas is a long way from the ocean! Do you ever miss it? I really want to go to Port Angeles because Twilight was filmed there hehe (shameful I know!) Snow is awesome! It snowed in Richland, my SO's town, on Christmas day last year and it doesn't often snow there, so that was pretty neat, felt just like being in a sno-globe. Where did you guys all live back in NZ? I can't wait to move from a big city to a small town	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-12-02 22:15:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Oh wow we're all going to be really spread out - I'll be in Washington state, I love it there, reminds me a lot of NZ. My SO's town is about a 3 hour drive southeast of Seattle and is a hell of a lot drier than the rest of Washington - 300 days of sunshine a year though! I love the consistency about that because the weather changes every hour in Akld and it's driving me nuts	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-12-02 21:41:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Dec 3 2009, 01:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Congratulations!!! Excellent news! I was wondering how it went Have you decided when you are traveling yet? Thankyouuuuu!!! I brought heaps of evidence with me like chat logs and photos and emails, but he didn't ask to see any of it, which I took to be a good thing. Although I don't think I'll feel truly relieved until I have the visa in my hot little hand! lol I'll be leaving NZ around late March/early April as that's when my SO can come over during his spring break and have me go back with him. It gives me a few months time to save up as much money as possible and spend plenty of time with my friends and family before I go, because we won't be able to afford to come back for a while Is it getting really cold where you are? Auckland has been having this awful humid and overcast weather, but definitely isn't feeling like summer yet!	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-12-02 20:21:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hey guys, well I've been conditionally approved pending my police report clearance, which I'm sure will be fine lol. There was a loooooot of waiting around! The lady who gathered my documents was really lovely, and I think I actually spoke to the interviewer man for about 5 minutes, he just asked me the regular questions - how we met, how many times we've met in person, what he does over there, what I do over here, what our families think, etc. So hopefully I'll have my passport back with my visa in it sometime next week	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-12-02 18:28:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Thanks Kim and Kiwiana you can bet the first thing I'll be doing is rushing back to work to jump on here and tell you all lol! I'll be moving back to my parents this weekend so I can really concentrate on saving up as much money as possible to help support me over there (still not used to the idea of having to depend on someone else), so that's going to give me an opportunity to clean out a whole bunch of stuff! Glad I wasn't the only one that had to have the tetanus shot - my arm hurt like hell for a week!!	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-11-30 16:03:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Well I had to go back to the doctors because they found I wasn't immunized against measles or mumps... so now the medical is officially over, almost $500 later! Did it cost that much for any of you?? I also forgot to sign the police clearance form (whoops) and I only just received it back in the mail on Saturday. I couriered it to the consulate today although seeing as my interview is on Thursday, I doubt they're going to get it back from the police in time anyways. Should I contact them to reschedule my interview or do I just wait and see what happens?	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-11-29 22:54:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Aww hope you guys enjoy your first Thanksgivings! Still another year to go for me although I can feel it's definitely getting warmer here the last few days... summer is on its way!! I had my medical a few days ago, everything seems fine there so that's good! Interview is next Thurs so hopefully by this time next week I will have been approved but arrggh I feel so far behind!	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-11-26 15:37:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	WOOHOO finally! Congratulations cdneh!!!!	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-11-18 00:21:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	OMG so packet 3 was waiting for me as I got home from work tonight! I'm reading over it and it sounds fairly straightforward, just the medical that sounds confusing! I'm sure I'll be alright, I might go to the one in CityMed (near my work) as I've been there before and I'm pretty sure they have lab/x-ray facilities there too. geez I'm going to feel like I've had a warrant of fitness after all that poking and prodding! How soon after you send back the forms do they schedule you an interview? Also, what sort of amount of funds are they looking for me to have? I've barely started saving up! and I don't necessarily have any recent photos of us together... just some from when I was there in July and even then I think we're only together in one or two. It's actually kind of a relief to hear the interview is conducted so casually, I have this scary image of a small and dingy interrogation room with a bright light LOL. If they take your bag from you though does that leave you with nothing to entertain yourself (not even a book?) while you wait for the second part of the interview...? think that's all the questions for now! thanks for all the advice, I'd be lost without you guys	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-11-10 03:31:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Thank you so much for digging those out cdneh! that's really nice of you I work a little bit further up Queen Street from the Embassy in Auckland, which is pretty handy, and I'm not too far a drive from the doctors in Remuera either. I'm trying to compile a whole bunch of evidence for the interview (emails, IMs, text messages, phonecalls etc) but I'm still terrified that it's not going to be sufficient as he can't come to the interview and I don't have a ring yet. Did any of you guys go to the interview by yourself??	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-11-09 23:00:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Thanks for the congrats guys!! Still pretty nervous about the next stage but trying to be optimistic. Just a few questions... how long does the petition usually hang out at the NVC for before it comes to NZ? My fiance is starting to work on the affidavit of support but what are you supposed to do with it, or does the embassy explain these things in the package they send you? Silly questions I know but I just hate not knowing what to expect.. I hope you hear something soon on the GC cdneh. good luck with job hunting for you kiwiana and soon for kelvan! and congrats to kelzm for finding work too I feel sorry for that random Vietnamese couple on the page before that got denied a visa	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-11-09 02:23:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hi guys, So we finally got the NOA2! YAY!!! I know it's not huge news but it means that the wait is over at last (it was a looooong 3 months) and now things will start to move quickly and become more real and scary. No doubt I'm going to have a lot of questions in the coming weeks about all the forms and the medical and the interview, eeeeek. Very sad to hear about your aunt, Kim. it was lovely that you were able to spend that time with her though.	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-11-03 15:19:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Cheers Kim, I would really liked him there for support but I've heard the interview is pretty easy anyway and probably not as scary as I imagine lol. Do they mind if you don't yet have an engagement ring as "evidence"? He's a college student so is finding it hard to pay for tuition, plane tickets as well as a ring He refuses to let me help though as I'm already saving up to move over there (arrghh!) Aww a little pink echo! I bet she loves it. That's really clever mailing yourself boxes, I never thought of that! Pretty sure I'll be able to fit everything into 2 suitcases though (touch wood!) because most of the things I have are small and compact, clothes will probably be the biggest concern I reckon.. I have a habit of "just in case"!	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-11 23:09:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Thanks for the advice I'm 22 so I don't really have too much to sort out, so I was thinking maybe once I have the visa in my hand then I'll give notice to my job and sell my car, etc (maybe leave about 6 weeks after)... but yeah I'll definitely start tying up loose ends while we're waiting and organizing things I'll have to take, luckily my mum will be able to keep the stuff that I don't want to sell/throw out but can't take over with me. YES! you're so right with stuff breeding overnight, I found that out too I when I was moving back home. It must have been so hard trying to pack your life into 2 suitcases! No matter how much I plan in advance I always seem to do things at the last minute, I'm an extreme planner yet an extreme procrastinator at the same time right now I'm just concentrating on saving up in case I don't get a job for a while but can still pay off my debt. does it matter if my SO isn't able to come to the interview with me? He'll probably miss out by a couple of weeks which is a shame	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-11 17:14:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hey guys, just thought I'd say that we're officially waiting to be approved now, yay! I've just been reading and observing what's going on with everybody and trying to keep up lol, I'm really far behind so it's a bit hard to understand what happens later on in the process... Congrats to Kelly & Evan! you must be so happily exhausted!! lol. Sorry you lost your license Kim! but well done for getting your US one, hopefully your NZ one turns up soon, or if it doesn't at least you can get a replacement, although it's probably not quite the same as having the one you've been driving on for years... what an experience with the tornado though! glad it didn't come too close, although Portland sure would be safer tornado-wise.. when are you guys moving? Good luck with the parallel parking Ana! glad that you're enjoying driving don't worry I'm completely hopeless at parallel parking even here, I've driven a few times over there but parallel parking is definitely NOT my area of expertise lol, let us know how you get on! Did you end up getting the Geo? And thanks to Julie & Alan for your lovely note of support, I appreciate it heaps -Camille	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-10 23:56:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jul 30 2009, 10:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> AP...arggg...lol...Administrative Processing, or Additional Processing...we were told both. It just means that they started sujecting K1's to extra checks at the National Visa Center. They hadn't done it in the past that often although Kim and Russ were stuck there for three weeks last year. The trouble was that as it was pretty much a new thing for K1's, there really wasn't much to read here about it. We started a thread which is 'stuck' to the top in the Visa Centre forum, and at least now if people get stuck there there is more on it. We had our NOA2 November 18th last year, and Auckland were getting to interviews pretty quick so we had hope for Christmas. As it was, after 7 weeks that didn't happen. I was lucky though in many ways, after I emailed the Auckland people a few times, which I suppose was good as they had heard of us, they did send out packet 3 based on me having the ACK number, So that way I was able to get the medical and the rest done while we were still in AP. WHen we finally got out we were ready to go! More good news is that even if you get stuck there, times have come way way down, to weeks not months. The lady that interviewed me in Auckland did say that she could see we were in AP for random checks for quite a while. Random...talk about the short straw Oh geez, sounds frustrating! I really hope that doesn't happen, but if it does at least I'll know know where to go. It actually sounds pretty convenient to get all the medical etc done while you were still in AP and be all ready to go when the time for the interview rolled around. I'm really hoping my timeline ends up looking something like yours (minus the 7 weeks in AP of course lol). So it's basically just random extra checks they subject your petition to and does it happen to most of them? Glad your biometrics was a walk in the park QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jul 30 2009, 10:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Lol......... I now have seven. California - Michigan - Tennessee - Arkansas - Oklahoma - Missouri - Illinois. We're moving to Portland Oregon either late this year or sometime early next year, (I can do another winter here but I refuse to do another summer ), so that will be a few more as we'll be driving there. Not sure which way we'll be going yet as it will depend on the weather at the time. Chris drove trucks across the country for years so he's been just about everywhere, I have a lot of catching up to do but the list doth groweth.....lol Which state will you be moving to when you get the go ahead from immigration? Wow, awesome! The Tri-Cities in southeast Washington state will be my home, so I'll be pretty close to Portland It'll be so much fun when you to drive to Oregon, one day I really want to drive all the way to the East Coast and then fly back to WA, but those midwest and southern summers must be unbearable! What's the temp gotten up to this summer? I just got back from the Tri-Cities a couple of weeks ago and it was about 100, it wasn't toooo bad because it's a dry desert heat. Seattle was a nice temp, but it's too similar to Auckland and I'm kinda over the big city living	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-29 19:51:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Thanks for the welcomes guys! QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jul 30 2009, 12:18 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I have two more states to add to my list of " States I Have Been To".......lol (Illinois is just over the bridge from St Louis), and I just love the whole stadium atmosphere, so as I said, it was all good. Omg I can't wait to start my "list"! How many states do you have on yours so far? I've only been to Washington & Idaho so there's only 48 more to go! Haha QUOTE (cdneh @ Jul 30 2009, 08:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I agree with everyone else...the wait is the worst. We were stuck ast NVC in AP for over 7 weeks after getting our NOA2, and that sure as heck didn't help at all! Yeah, the long-distance thing has taught me a LOT of patience. I just wish it would hurry up and be the end of the year already because I'll definitely know by then if we've been approved and I'll also get to see him again, yay!!! Sorry for the ignorance but what exactly is AP though? I've heard it around but just not sure what it does and why?	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-29 16:32:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jul 29 2009, 12:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Welcome Zeddess You've found the best place for getting help to go through the whole "let's go live in America with our loved one" drama....lol. Everyone here is very friendly and only too willing to help where they can. If you're in Auckland you're lucky because the doctor we all used, Dr Marcus Stone, is really nice. The medical is a breeze and the people that interview you at the Auckland consulate are very nice too. It's a drawn out process, believe me, but well worth it in the end. You'll be just fine. Aww thanks! It's definitely a saga just trying to be together that's for sure! Never thought I'd have to "apply" to be with my loved one but life has a funny way of doing things sometimes.. it's totally worth it though and I can't wait for the end result Such a relief to know the medical and interview aren't scary at all, now all I have to worry about is being confused with which forms and documents go where! I won't think about that though until the time comes QUOTE (cdneh @ Jul 29 2009, 03:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Zeddess, here is a link before I forget to the Auckland consulate. That email address can be quite useful, and they do answer very quickly. http://www.visajourn...ex.php?ctry=New Zealand&cty=Auckland Cheers for the link, very helpful! Thanks for the link to Kiwiana's medical review too, really gives me a clear idea of what to expect so here's hoping I don't get too stressed out about all the things I'm supposed to do! What do you reckon has been the hardest part of the whole process?	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-28 23:30:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jul 29 2009, 10:16 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> No worries I sure all of us will be happy to help I don't know where you are there, but quite a lot of us went through Auckland, and can certainly help if you are going through there. Kiwiana wrote a truly wonderful write up on the medical she had, and when I went along afterwards I found that a big help..right down to finding the place. VJ has been such a big help for us, first with the K1 and now doing our AOS. Biometrics tomorrow for me Ohh how exciting! That seems like a million years away for me right now, but I'm sure it'll go quick! We're wondering why we didn't do this earlier, we've been talking about it and gathering information on it for probably about a year now, so I'm really looking forward to getting it all over with! It's so tough flying back and forth Yup I'm in Auckland, so it's really handy to have the consulate being just down the road! I'll definitely have to check out the write up that Kiwiana did on the medical as that's probably the main part of the process which I'm really unsure about (the mysterious package 3). Good luck for tomorrow!	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-28 18:32:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Wow thanks cdneh and kiwiana, I'm so glad I found this site! No doubt that I'm going to have heaps of questions for you guys in the coming months, already I've learned so much just by reading everyone elses posts, so I think I have a pretty good grasp of what I have to do (hopefully!!). Our case is relatively basic (haven't really had much life experience yet!) so we're crossing our fingers to receive the NOA2 by like late November if all goes well. From what the statistics have been telling me, the processing times for Kiwis seem to be pretty decent so I'd be absolutely stoked if I get to go over before my 23rd birthday in March! Anyway just wanted to say hi and thanks for the help in advance, really appreciate it and will keep you posted!	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-28 17:05:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hey all! I'm really new at this and it's all quite daunting, but seems like you've all had amazing journeys that have worked out wonderfully. We've only just filed our petition last week so I'm right at the beginning of mine! I'd just appreciate any advice you have about how long we should expect it to take as I know it varies so much, he's coming to NZ in December so I'm thinking it would be awesome if I get my interview while he's here, I'd be too freaked out to go on my own!! Is 5 months from now a bit unrealistic for getting an interview? Thanks again!!	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-28 05:08:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Proof of paid fines - DUI related?	So I guess what I'm trying to find out is if anyone has actually had citizenship approved with a DUI charge, or a 2nd degree negligent charge, OR something that has been deferred?  If it's based on good moral character, I should be fine.  I really don't think that having a couple of wines with dinner after a musical rehearsal, and then deciding to drive home because I had work the next morning and wouldn't have been able to go back and get my car, makes me a horrible person.  But you never know with US immigration officers	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2013-05-24 11:17:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Proof of paid fines - DUI related?	Thanks, but I've made it through the immigration process sans lawyer so far.  I think if I just complete the form and send in supporting documentation to the best of my capability, I'll either obtain citizenship, or lose $600.  Either way, it really doesn't matter, I'd just like it for the ability to move back and forth between my two homes.	zeddess	Female	New Zealand	2013-05-24 10:32:00