Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	CIS Ombudsman	I read it --- the only plus you have is that at least you two can be together through it --- having my husband in England and me here is the pits... There are pro's and con's to each and every case, I guess. I am sure not having your husband with you causes considerable stress, as being unable to plan for a future together is - not knowing where you are to be as a family. I just wanted you to see the difficulties we have been through and that we have been going through this for over three years now. The Ombudsman did nothing for us, after numerous requests for help. I hope you and your husband are together soon. Nicely written, showing step by step of frustration. I understand completely! I admit that I kind of skimmed through it, but I didn't see the notations on the day that you actually contacted the ombudsman. Can you give us a little more detail? I sent in a request for assistance and they have submitted a formal inquiry. I am hoping they can help us, but you are discouraging me. I am sorry this is discouraging - but, believe me, I don't want to paint a rosey picture of a situation that has not been rosey at all. I can only be honest. We wrote to the Ombudsman back near the end of 2003 and we didn't receive a response at all. Then our congresswoman sent me an e-mail containing the Ombudsman's annual report for 2004. Her e-mail had the originator's e-mail address on it and I sent an e-mail request, to the ombudsman, for help. An "official inquiry" was instigated and nothing more was ever heard from them, apart from the usual response of "Thank you for providing us with the requested information pertaining to your son's pending case problem filed with USCIS. We will keep you posted on any case status information that we receive concerning your son s’ case problem. Again, thank you for your continued patience." I had this response from them last in September 05 and my patience ran out and I didn't bother writing to them again. They did nothing - nothing at all. Good luck - I hope you have better luck than we did.	Girona40	Female	England	2006-07-05 20:55:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	CIS Ombudsman	I read it --- the only plus you have is that at least you two can be together through it --- having my husband in England and me here is the pits... There are pro's and con's to each and every case, I guess. I am sure not having your husband with you causes considerable stress, as being unable to plan for a future together is - not knowing where you are to be as a family. I just wanted you to see the difficulties we have been through and that we have been going through this for over three years now. The Ombudsman did nothing for us, after numerous requests for help. I hope you and your husband are together soon.	Girona40	Female	England	2006-07-03 19:42:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	CIS Ombudsman	Well, good luck! If you read the "story" of our visa journey, you will see the problems we have had. We wrote to the Ombudsman years ago and they didn't do a thing. They even discussed our case with other attorneys at a formal dinner - where two of the attorney's confirmed that we were being treated unfairly - and the Ombudsman's office did nothing. Personally, I think the office of the USCIS Ombudsman will do nothing to help. The Ombudsman's Report confirmed that there are problems within the USCIS, and how they make money from the processing delays (EAD applications and AP applications that would not be required if their processing times were more reasonable) but have they done anything about them - nope! Good luck! So where are you in the process (no timeline) --- Is you your hubby/wife still in England? I didn't fill in the timeline, but if you "click" on my username you can read "our story". It will tell you EXACTLY what we have been through - it ain't pretty!	Girona40	Female	England	2006-07-03 14:37:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	CIS Ombudsman	Well, good luck! If you read the "story" of our visa journey, you will see the problems we have had. We wrote to the Ombudsman years ago and they didn't do a thing. They even discussed our case with other attorneys at a formal dinner - where two of the attorney's confirmed that we were being treated unfairly - and the Ombudsman's office did nothing. Personally, I think the office of the USCIS Ombudsman will do nothing to help. The Ombudsman's Report confirmed that there are problems within the USCIS, and how they make money from the processing delays (EAD applications and AP applications that would not be required if their processing times were more reasonable) but have they done anything about them - nope! Good luck!	Girona40	Female	England	2006-07-03 14:01:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	A "not guilty" question	This might seem like a really stupid question and i'm not exactly sure if i'm posting in the right forum, but I bet you guys know the answer. Here's our situation; My fiance just got his UK police certificate back and it has a record of an incident he got into a few years ago. Someone he was having trouble with charged him with common assault to get him in trouble at his job. He was charged, went to court, the person never showed up. They rescheduled the court date three times and the person never showed up so they dismissed the charges. On his police record it says something like Common assault, not guilty, no evidence, charges dismissed. My question is how do we handle this on the forms. When it asks has he ever been convicted he says no right? Should he include a letter just explaining the circumstances? How exactly should we handle it? Bottom line should I be worried?(*praying* please say no) Thanks for any advice you can give. mary If the question on the form is "Have you ever been CONVICTED" then the answer is "No".	Girona40	Female	England	2006-11-28 10:15:00
United Kingdom	Bringing electronic equipment to the U.S.	Tell him to sell his stereo in the UK - he will be able to buy a newer one here for half the price. It really isn't worth the messing about, bringing UK electrical stuff here as you have to use a converter. Stereo's, t.v's etc are so much cheaper here and there is soooooo much to choose from.	Girona40	Female	England	2006-02-20 19:29:00
United Kingdom	Flights Booked	Wishing you so much happiness in the UK. Good Luck, Safe Trip!	Girona40	Female	England	2006-04-06 21:22:00
United Kingdom	British wedding favor ideas	Anything that is Royal Doulton or Portmerrion. You can get some beautiful serving dishes or quiche dishes.	Girona40	Female	England	2006-05-08 11:33:00
United Kingdom	BRITS IN THE USA	ALABAMA: Shari (& British hubby, Keith) - Birmingham, Alabama Miranda and James (another future British hubby!) - Huntsville, Alabama Welshcookie - Mobile, Alabama (eventually) ARKANSAS: SpriteyStace (Stacy & Paul) - Stuttgart, Arkansas CALIFORNIA: Ladybutterfly444 - San Diego, California lynzm22 (lynsey and Jason)- Lancaster, California Daisy - hubby is north of Palmdale, California Perfect - South Orange County, CA ddchucksgirl - northwest Lost Angeles, CA robinklake - Myself and UK fiance are in sunny Santa Monica, CA! Purple Hibiscus - Huntington Beach, CA. COLORADO: Ladybird216 - Western Colorado Boiler - Boulder County, Colorado CONNECTICUT: Jayke (and hopefully within the next 3 weeks her British hubby) - Connecticut Bradfordplip - Time split between SE Michigan & NE Connecticut nickels&dimes - Connecticut (Nickels=Sheril UKC & Scott USC) FLORIDA: Kerry - Central Florida Munchkins (Val and Alan ) - Jacksonville Florida -to be with daughter and family atothelkini (Alan, N.Ireland) - Tallahassee, Florida missyandneil - Orlando, Florida Kate, Josh & bump - Tallahassee GEORGIA: Crazy Brit - Covington, Georgia Matti_n_Kelli: Hiram, Georgia IDAHO: MeandMyGeordie - Sher (USC) & Steve (Newcastle upon Tyne) South Central Idaho, Twin Falls ILLINOIS: pj1959us (hubby David)---central Illinois Luv2teach77 (And her handsome british Husband ) - Trenton, Southwest Illinois (Near Missouri border) JJM8081(British fiance Joe)--Chicago suburbs poppy33usa - just on the illinois side of the illinois/missouri border in the st louis metro area jpkeswim - Southwest, Illinois near St. Louis Missouri Crisscat - (Sharri & Neil ) Southern IL 65 miles southeast of St Louis MO and not far from alot of you here in IL LOL Yorkie - Chicago, Illinois Frances (Yorkshire hubster, VJ username falcozappa) - Chicago INDIANA: Annelizabeth - Southern Indiana Andy(uk) Patricia - Near Indy, Indiana Baileyj - Southwest Indiana KENTUCKY: Itsmeitsmeitsree! (Billy and Becky) - Lexington, Kentucky MAINE: clmarsh (Christina & Chris): Portland, Maine MARYLAND: Terry & Jeannine.... Towson, Maryland MASSACHUETTS: matanddanni-Southampton,MA MICHIGAN: Bradfordplip - Time split between SE Michigan & NE Connecticut euro (Amanda) & Mark(USC)..Brownstown (near Detroit) sanctifyer - somewhere near detroit in mid 2006 badbabe113 - Rockwood Michigan (near detroit) David(alias Scotty)Scotland to Livingstone County to be with Bess lizaanne (USC) & Simon (Brit) - Detroit area -one of these days, if this process ever ends Charlie76 - Michigan, Detroit area mary&tom - Southeastern Michigan Alison and Scott - Otsego in Plainwell, Michigan MINNESOTA: Chrissy25 - Southern Minnesota britsngrits - Twin Cities of MN - Paul-Peterborough JayJay - Minnesota Lake, near Mankato about 2 and a half hours away from the twin cities MISSOURI: DaniChristine - Dani (USA) and Anthony (Northern Ireland) MONTANA: wherezdabearz - John (USA) and Alison (UK) hope to be living together in Missoula (that's where da bearz are...) from end of Jan 2006 techgirl - Terry (USA) and Davo (UK)- Flathead Lake (western MT) NEW JERSEY: Gemma12nEl - Bergen County New Jersey VisagirlNJ - My fiance will be moving to Hudson County, NJ in APril NEW YORK: Louandmikek3 - Long Island, New York (Louise, UK and Mike, US) DavidUK- Manhattan, New York Gwen75 - Manhattan, New York Shakysgirl- Russell (UK) and Patricia (US)- upstate NY Donna(dmd01708) Oneida County, Upstate New York Estella76 - Marie (US) and Adam (UK) - Queens, NY Peachbythebeach - Me (US) Hubby (UK) - Long Island NORTH CAROLINA: Jo1973 - Durham, North Carolina saturn5man (Neil) - Near Raleigh, North Carolina Jaylen Brit(UK) and LenJayUS (US) - Lenior, North Carolina (from this year) OHIO: TenderCats (hubby) - Ohio Widge - NE Ohio Helen - Columbus OH OKLAHOMA: Sukie175 (Sarah) - Gage, NW OK (near Woodward) OREGON: Pam & Dave, Portland OR ZZZZZZ (aka Pam & Dave) Portland OR/ Southminster UK blandas - Move from Loughborough (just south of Nottingham) to Oregon. PENNSYLVANIA: Broma25 - Bucks County, Pennsylvania Britjohn- Delaware County, Pennsylvania (near Delaware border) Pumpkinsnook - Berks Co, Pennsylvania (arriving 17th August - 13 days and counting!) Antone and Lyanthya - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Abby(PAX) and Ewen - Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania (likely moving to NYC, NY in the summer of 06) SOUTH CAROLINA: zenaelarabi - (Oxfordshire to Columbia SC) pink_cloud-Charleston, South Carolina TENNESSEE: govols- Tennessee TracyTN (and future hubby ChasUK) - Nashville, TN TEXAS: Geordieluvr (aka Andria and her Geordie Peter) - Richardson, Texas medicjeff (wife Jane from the UK) Austin, Texas silent whispers - San Antonio, Texas tamarae (Shawna & Ciaran from the UK, arriving soon) - Lubbock, TX UTAH: HuffyTheSlayer - Salt Lake City, UT VERMONT: Lou - Central Vermont VIRGINIA: naiku - Northern Virginia (whenver this process is finished) mijkij (also NoVA) Litlemo (aka Ally - Geordie,,, Greg - USC) MrsBeer:30- N.Virginia WASHINGTON: arwensun1965 - Kent, WA samantha_lou - Vancouver, WA Alana (US) & Ewan (Scotland) in Des Moines, Washington...... torpedo_bob, Camas,Washington WEST VIRGINIA: Margyw- West Virginia rebeccajo (and robertwesley - Wes) irishman & southern gal in West Virginia Girona40 - Curt (USC) and Glenys, Michael and Sarah (UK) WISCONSIN: Michelle(USC)andCraig(England)...northern Wisconsin...border of UP of Michigan Badgerbabe - Green Bay, Wisconsin SteveLaura/LauraSteve - from London, UK to Milwaukee, WI Moonlite-just north of Milwaukee AllSerene-near Milwaukee I think? Mellie(and Scott)-near Milwaukee	Girona40	Female	England	2006-01-31 11:20:00
United Kingdom	ex partners permission	If you never married your child's father and they never applied to the courts for custody or access, then you don't need his permission to remove the child from the jurisdiction of the court.	Girona40	Female	England	2006-06-27 20:01:00
United Kingdom	'Chip' on credit cards?	The chip should nto effect the ATM though so you should be able to just get cash and spend that. I would suggest somebody with a non chipped card performs an experiment for all non chipped people. You can certainly use your US credit card in ATM's in England. It wasn't ALL merchants that refused to take it - those that had the old manual style of making a credit transaction had no problem. But, several places would not take it, saying it was not "legal" for them to do so, after the 1st May 06. Not sure how true this is, but it made for frustrating shopping that's for sure. Mind you - we did get a free round of drinks when we went into one bar and ordered lunch. We had our drinks while we chose from the menu and then, when we came to pay, they said they couldn't take the card because it wasn't "chipped". Hey Ho!	Girona40	Female	England	2006-06-26 13:59:00
United Kingdom	buying clothes in the USA	Oh Im glad Im not the only one ! I've been a over a year and still can't find me a pair of decent jeans. I'm only 5.2 so they're all too long or if I do find a "petite" section then they're baggy in the crotch !! Not to mention those high waisters! eughh I'm getting to the point where Im gonna ask my friend over in England to go into Next and just buy me about 4 of any of their latest pairs and send 'em over !! My son's girlfriend is only 5' tall and a size 2-4. She has terrible problems finding modern, trendy, jeans that fit too. We were pleasantly surprised when we went to the local outlet mall in Leesburg. Tommy Hillfiger has a really nice, low waist, short-leg, small-sized, jean that fitted her perfectly. Oh, and they were only $30 a pair!!! The added problem in finding jeans for her is that she HATES anything with any amount of stretch. Can't say I blame her, I hate it too. So, if you have anywhere near that sells Hillfiger jeans, give them a shot! Good Luck!	Girona40	Female	England	2006-11-25 16:56:00
United Kingdom	buying clothes in the USA	Frustration is the perfect word for what I am suffering! I have spent the entire day searching for a pair of jeans, for my daughter. She is 5'10" tall, so she is looking for something longer than 30" and she HATES stretch jeans! We have been in every shop in Dulles and can't find a single pair of jeans that are NOT stretch and have the right length leg for her. What is it with stretch jeans - it is soooooo difficult to find 100% denim. They all have lycra in them and to myself and my daughter it just feels like you are wearing a pair of leggings, rather than a pair of jeans. Anyone have any ideas where we can buy jeans that are NOT stretch and are longer in the leg?	Girona40	Female	England	2006-11-19 22:34:00
United Kingdom	visiting the u.k	Does anybody know if you are a usa citizen can you visit the U.K if you have a dui or dwi on your record? thanks No, there is no problem visiting the UK if you have a DUI or DWI.	Girona40	Female	England	2006-12-10 20:51:00
USCIS Service Centers	Can Anyone Explain the Receipting Update Article?	Does anyone understand exactly what this means? USCIS Issues Service Center Receipting Update: http://www.visajourn...eipting-update/ What I got from it was that applications received before the posted date would be completed within the regular processing time. What about the ones received later? Am I completely misunderstanding this? Thanks guys	Clarky and Tarah	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2007-06-19 14:22:00
USCIS Service Centers	USCIS Website?	I haven't had any trouble with the USCSI site, either. The other posters gave some really good advice. I hope it helps	Clarky and Tarah	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2007-07-09 06:57:00
USCIS Service Centers	83 days	I don't think anyone has gotten a 30 day approval from VSC in months. Alot of people have been waiting well over 90 days. There is a thread with really helpful lists that show where each member that has files stands in order of the NOA1 date. Check it out: http://www.visajourn...showtopic=74459	Clarky and Tarah	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2007-07-23 18:07:00
USCIS Service Centers	Do the employees have to be so terrible?	I hate when people are rude for no reason. Some people are just naturally mean. Sorry he ruined your day:(.	Clarky and Tarah	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2007-07-21 15:51:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Brazilian illegal in US wanting to wed US citizen	Hi. First, thank you for everyone who uses this site. It's great! And forgive me if I am posting this in the wrong place - this is my first time joining any kind of forum. And forgive me if anyone has asked a similar question, but I could not find anything like my situation (although I'm sure I just didn't look long enough :-)). I have been dating my boyfriend for roughly 1 year. I am a US citizen. He is from Brazil & came to the US illegally (via Mexico) and has been here for 3 years. We want to get married and are not sure if we should try for the fiance visa or spouse visa I am worried that the government/consulate will find out that he has been in the US illegally and will bar him for 10 years. He aquired a tax id # & driver's license in the US (license has since expired). When getting his license somehow a authorization form to work in the US was filed in his name. I assume either visa we apply for we will have to do the waiver, but does anyone have any suggestions on what is the best thing to do? I have spoken to so many lawyers & they each give me a different answer. Should we do the fiance visa? Spouse visa? If we marry, is it better to marry in the US, Brazil, another country? Also, I read on one of the postings that someone told the truth on their forms - that they stayed in the US illegally after their visa expired - and they were approved the visa. Is it better to "lie" of tell the truth? Sorry for the long post. I'm just so overwhelmed! Thanks in advance to all! Nicole & Wilson It is much better to tell the truth, no matter what. If it is big enough to hide, they will probably find out about it.	Clarky and Tarah	Not Telling	United Kingdom	2007-07-25 09:56:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	I-601 in the USA	Spookyturtle and Payxibka, Thank you so much, It was a blessing for me and everybody in this forum to have people like you. Please if you get new informations you think might help me, do not hesitate to share them with. Again thank you and may God bless you.	babyshaq4	Male	Cameroon	2008-10-29 13:57:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	I-601 in the USA	Thank you payxibka, I just dont know what to do or where to turn. This is the third lawyer who screw me over with in between many other attorney I met just for consultation, so you can guess how much money I spend already in this process, but yet I still illegal in this country with a wife, two sons, a college degree.... Again thank you.	babyshaq4	Male	Cameroon	2008-10-29 12:30:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	I-601 in the USA	Thank you so much spookyturtle, I was granted voluntary departure by IJ after my asylum was denied. So i have a final order of deportation against me. Does those informations change my illegal presence in the USA? If you dont mind emailing me at sergebabo1@yahoo.com I will send you the summary of my biography so you could understand my situation better. Again thank you so much.	babyshaq4	Male	Cameroon	2008-10-29 12:26:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	I-601 in the USA	Hey ARodrigues Thank you again. Do you have Laurel Scoot contact information? Yes the lawyer thought it was a good idea to file the I-130, I-485, I-601 and I-765 all at once. I was event told that it was the wrong way to go, that a motion to reopen was the best way to go for me. Yes my timeline is so mess up, i just want this over. Thank you so much, it means the world to me for you giving me your inputs.	babyshaq4	Male	Cameroon	2008-10-29 11:40:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	I-601 in the USA	Hey ARodrigues, Thank you for your question. Yes my I-485 is pending for the same period of time because i filed all of them together. I rescheduled my bionetrics appointment for the I-485 and I-765 many times because i was told i can be arrested and deported if i go to it. Yes i have an attorney who told me to look for another one who deal with deportation case and stuuf...I'm so lost. Please let me know if you have any other questions or advices. Again thank you.	babyshaq4	Male	Cameroon	2008-10-29 11:26:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	I-601 in the USA	Illegal presence in the USA...	babyshaq4	Male	Cameroon	2008-10-29 09:47:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	I-601 in the USA	No it wasnt requested by the USCIS. The inexperienced lawyer i have thought it was the best way to go to get me legal in the country. Thank you for your input Spookiturtle.	babyshaq4	Male	Cameroon	2008-10-29 06:49:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	I-601 in the USA	Thank you Spookyturtle for you question, this is the summary of my time in the US: ?Entered the USA in July 1999 on B1/B2 (I-94 valid through January 2000) ?High school from January 2000 to June 2002, played basketball (Graduated) ?Applied for asylum in June 2000 by advise ?IJ denied my asylum in September 2002 (Granted Voluntary Departure) ?Appeal filed in October 2002 (BIA) ?Married an US citizen in August 2003 oBad marriage (Arranged by my college basketball coach) oLawyer lied about applying for marriage petitions, but actually never did. ?Appeal dismissed in February 2004 ?Separated in June 2005 ?Divorced in July 2006 ?Death of a son in July 2006 ?Remarried in August 2006 ?Son born in September 2007 ?College from August 2003 to May 2008, played basketball (Graduated) ?Filed in August 2008 and pending (I-130, I-485, I-601, I-765) Please let me know if anything else i can answer for you. Again thank you.	babyshaq4	Male	Cameroon	2008-10-28 20:13:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	I-601 in the USA	Hello, I filed the I-601 in the USA a couple months ago in the USA. Does anyone knows what's the time processing for the I-601? What's the percentage rate of the I-601 in the USA? Does anyone ever filed the I-601 in the USA? If so please share your experiences with me. Please tell me anything you know about the filing of the I-601 in the USA. Thank you in advance for your answers.	babyshaq4	Male	Cameroon	2008-10-28 17:15:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Who needs an I-601 and an I-212?	Dimples28, I’m not a lawyer. However, from my readings and knowledge it is advised to file both if you have deportation and illegal presence against you. The I-212 is to overcome a deportation that has taken place at the government expenses and the I-601 is to overcome the illegal presence in the US. I hope that helps. Please if I’m wrong could someone correct me. Best wishes of luck, God bless you	babyshaq4	Male	Cameroon	2010-11-12 07:30:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	DOS recommendations to DHS on Waiver Of Inadmissibility!!!!	Hello Friends, Please if give me as much information on this as possible about this question. What’s the importance of the recommendation from the Chief Consul (DOS) on a Waiver Of Inadmissibility to the Adjudicating Officer (DHS)? Thank you in advance for the answers. God bless you!!!!	babyshaq4	Male	Cameroon	2011-08-11 04:40:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiver Of Inadmissibility Processing!!!!	Friends, Through the waiver inadmissibility process what does this mean: “Your submission is undergoing a background and security check”? At which time/part of the process this is done? Thank you in advances for all the answers. God bless you!!!!	babyshaq4	Male	Cameroon	2011-09-02 19:00:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	MY WAIVER HAS BEEN APPROVED!!!!	I received the email notification today that my waiver has been approved. It was approved on September 9th. I’m out of words right now because I’m so happy. After I collect my emotions I will post again with more details. God is great all the time and He answer prayers, I’m a living proof of it. To all who are waiting, keep the faith and trust in him, He will make it happen for you. I could not have done this with the support of this forum. Thank you for everything. God bless you all.	babyshaq4	Male	Cameroon	2011-09-13 14:25:00
Australia and New Zealand	New Zealand Police Check Lost?	My fiancé is a Kiwi currently living in Australia so we also had to get an New Zealand police check. We sent his DS-230 the day after receiving it and went ahead and requested the form we needed to get his New Zealand police check. The form is basically a form that authorizes the release of your police information from New Zealand to the consulate. When you get your packet three from the consulate there might be directions about how to get police checks from other countries (Sydney included a link that takes you to the State Department website). Under NZ, it says: For Immigrant Visa Applicants: Police clearance requests are processed by the Immigrant Visa Section of the U.S. Consulate General in Auckland. The Consulate General supplies New Zealand resident applicants with authorization forms. Overseas applicants should contact the U.S. consular office processing their cases to obtain a form authorizing release of police information. The authorization form should be completed, signed and returned to the processing consular post, together with a copy of the descriptive / photo page of their passport, who will then forward the request to the U.S. Consulate in Auckland for forwarding to the New Zealand police. The completed clearance will be returned to the requesting consular post, or direct to NVC, not to the applicant. The form must show the applicant's case number e.g ACK 2011------ So I think it will depend on if you are currently living in New Zealand when you request the police check or if you are residing in another country. You could possibly (if filing in New Zealand) email the consulate there and ask if you need to do an authorization or if you can use the one from the Ministry of Justice. Edited by Ashton & Ben, 09 July 2011 - 04:18 AM.	Ashton & Ben	Female	Australia	2011-07-09 04:14:00
Australia and New Zealand	A Few K1 Questions	I won't weigh in too heavily on your first two questions as I'm not sure about all the requirements for a cosponsor and I don't want to lead you in the wrong direction. After you receive your NOA2, the case will be forwarded to the NVC and then on to the consulate in Sydney. This can take a while, lately some people have seemed to be stuck at the NVC stage but it may not take that long. My fiance and I got our NOA2 on the sixth of June and our Packet Three from Sydney on the twenty-second. Eventually the Sydney consulate will receive your petition and send you what is called a 'Packet Three'. This is a list of information that you have to collect before your interview date (Packet Four). One of the things you will need is a Police Certificate from any place you have lived for six months since you were sixteen. The Australian police certificate takes a couple weeks to get so you may want to request this as soon as you have your notice of action. My fiance lived in Queensland and we waited nearly three weeks to get this, the final piece of information before we could request the interview so I would recommend getting this done earlier. You need the certificate with fingerprints which can be done at most police stations (at least in QLD). Call ahead to see if you need an appointment though. I believe these are valid for six months so once you have your NOA2, you should be good to get this if you are planning on getting the visa as quickly as possible. If you are planning on waiting for any reason, you may want to wait until you actually receive your Packet Three from Sydney. The other thing you'll need is a medical but I'm pretty sure that in Australia you must have your case number from Sydney before you can book your medical. What you will need to do before this, however, is get your immunization records from your family doctor/school/whatever as you will need these at the medical. After you have those, it's just waiting to get your case number from the consulate. As for the evidence, what the poster above me said is good advice. They will want to be certain that you are in a relationship now rather than a few years ago. Pictures from earlier in the relationship won't hurt but it would be best to collect as much evidence as possible since you sent off your initial package. They will want to see new evidence of how you've been in a relationship and maintaining it while being apart. Best of luck!	Ashton & Ben	Female	Australia	2011-07-25 07:04:00
Australia and New Zealand	Interview	My fiance took a lot of proof of ongoing relationship as well (skype conversations, pictures together, letters, a letter from our room mate, apartment lease in both of our names, joint bank account info, and probably some things that I'm forgetting). And like the others, the interviewers didn't look at any of it. I would take as much as possible just in case they need to look at it for some reason but they probably won't unless they have some reason to question the validity of the relationship.	Ashton & Ben	Female	Australia	2011-08-23 12:25:00
Australia and New Zealand	How long after interview is visa in hand?	My fiance got his visa in hand on Friday after his Tuesday interview. We lived in Brisbane but I don't know how much difference that would really make considering the platinum express envelop. I hope it gets there in time!	Ashton & Ben	Female	Australia	2011-08-28 10:43:00
Australia and New Zealand	How did your family take the news your moving??	It's a tough situation when your family makes it difficult for you with this decision. It's hard for them to know they won't get to see you as often or talk as often as they would if your family was living in Australia. Hopefully after you and husband have been married for a while they will see that you are happy with each other and providing a great environment for the kids, they will come to accept that it is your life and this is the decision that you've made. Unfortunately though, that doesn't make it any easier right now. The best advice that I could give you guys is to not let their negative feelings and sadness push a wedge between the two of you as you deal with it. And try not to let them doubt your decision to move. I know that's difficult sometimes but if you really believe that you two are meant to be together and you will have a better life in the U.S., hang onto that and just keep moving forward. I wish you all the best in this difficult but exciting time! I didn't really have the same experience as my fiance isn't really close to his parents but they were unhappy with other things. They didn't want him to leave right after he got the visa; they wanted him to stay in Australia another six months after he got it rather than coming right to the U.S. so we could be together again. In the end, we just had to let them know that we appreciated their opinion and understood why they felt that way but for us it was important to be together again and start building our life here rather than just hanging in limbo for another six months. I don't know if they've accepted our decision or not as it's only been about a month since he got here but in time I am sure that they will. Cherish the moments you still have with your family. It will be much better to leave on good terms and with everyone wanting what's best for your family than with people feeling hurt. Maybe set aside a time before you go where you can all sit down and honestly deal with their negative comments/feelings and answer them with why you still think it's better for your family to live in the States. It might make it easier if everything is out there and dealt with before you go even if they still feel negative about it.	Ashton & Ben	Female	Australia	2011-08-28 10:54:00
Australia and New Zealand	Co-Sponsor	You should be able to use anyone for a co-sponsor so long as they are an U.S. citizen and meet the poverty guidelines. I wouldn't jump too quickly into the visa thing though until you've met in person. Once you go over and meet his parents (if that's possible) they could be a lot more supportive of the relationship. A lot of things could happen before you get to the interview stage (which is where you would need a co-sponsor) since that is likely at least four months from the time you file. And since you can't file for the K-1 until you've met in person, that tacks on a few more weeks/months depending on what you are planning there. I would highly recommend trying to meet each other's families. A lot of parents struggle with the idea of online relationships because they feel their child is being scammed or that it isn't real. Seeing you two together could be all that they need to change their opinion and be behind you a hundred percent. So if at all possible, meet with them and see how things move forward from that. But it shouldn't be an issue using a close friend as long as they are willing to sign the paperwork and meet all the requirements. Best of luck to you!	Ashton & Ben	Female	Australia	2011-09-09 23:39:00
Australia and New Zealand	Aussies - which airlines do you use?	haha, good luck with that!	Ashton & Ben	Female	Australia	2011-09-12 08:18:00
Australia and New Zealand	Aussies - which airlines do you use?	We have always flown with Qantas from Brisbane to LAX and American Airlines (their partner) through the states. We usually book directly through the Qantas website. I doubt they are cheapest but they have excellent customer service on the flight and great in-flight entertainment. I worked in the Brisbane International airport when I was living in Australia and I've heard that V Australia's LA flight is good as well though and when we first started looking it was several hundred dollars cheaper. We still ended up going with Qantas however because my fiance is a frequent flier and you earn a lot of miles on the Aus to US flights lol Good luck finding a reasonable flight!	Ashton & Ben	Female	Australia	2011-08-28 10:42:00