Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Off topic is fine New Zealand operates a points system for people looking to immigrate. I think that it's an easier process than immigrating to the USA. You can find out more info here http://www.immigration.govt.nz/ As far as any problems getting residency, I don't believe so, if you fit within the points criteria. We have a large Chinese community here in Auckland, at least.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-04-20 02:34:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Congrats Emma!	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-04-19 19:15:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Ouch, sorry to hear about the hard drive drama Kim. I'll keep my fingers crossed that you don't meet any hitches with the package you sent in. I'm on the home stretch with NVC now, waiting for one more coversheet to be generated then I can send in my last lot of forms. Yay. Then it'll be off to consulate for my medical and interview. It's great to see the end in sight.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-04-17 18:04:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hey Russ and Kim, big congrats to you both. Seems to me like you've made it through the hard part, hopefully the rest will be smooth (and rapid!) sailing from now on. Gnomegrrl - question for you about your kids and your ex. Do you have legal custody of your children? If not, did you have to get a notarised letter from your ex to get permission to move the children? I havent' applied for my son yet but that's going to be happening soon, I'm thinking that I'll need to go to the family court and get a custody order so I can prove to the US govt that I have permission to move my son.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-04-15 21:00:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	That's awesome news rubyred!! Times going to fly by for you now. Kim - todays the day isn't it?!! Gnomegrrl good luck with selling your house. I've just put mine on the market amidst all the doom and gloom in the media about selling. I've got some people coming to look at it on the weekend so fingers crossed they'll like it and want to buy it. As for me. Waiting for NVC. Honestly, it baffles me that it takes a whole month for them to send each form! Oh well. The good news is that in two and a half weeks I get to go visit my husband and have a vacation. Yippee.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-04-14 06:59:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (GnomeGrrl @ Apr 6 2008, 04:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> And sure enough ... our medicals still haven't gone to the Consulate. That's terrible. Very sorry to hear that. I don't understand what's taking them so long, surely it shouldn't take much to get your results across to the Consulate.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-04-06 22:45:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Wow. Looks like things are really happening for all the Kiwi's and families! Justine - great news about your interview, July isn't far away at all. Congrats. Not long now for you either Kim, hopefully yours and cdneh's applications will fly through processing. And Gnomegrrl, thanks so much for the information. It's great to read other peoples experiences when you're going to be heading down that same track. As for me, still waiting for NVC, hopefully I'm nearly at the halfway point there, praying for an August interview. But the good news is that at the end of the month I get to fly out to the US for three weeks. I'm crossing all my fingers and toes that they let me through the POE!	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-04-04 22:34:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hi GnomeGrrrl sorry to hear that your medical was so expensive! Wondering if you and emma can let us know which doctors you went to etc. That way I can make sure to go to the cheaper one! Sounds like you're nearly all done though, that must be a relief.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-04-02 20:06:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Thanks for the info Emma! The cost for the medical is a lot cheaper than I expected. Yay. I was thinking it would be closer to $500.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-03-27 15:34:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Things are still moving along for me. I think I'm about halfway through my NVC process, second bill has been sent out today, once we pay that we get to send in the final set of forms (plus all the bits and pieces like birth certificate) and then it's off the the embassy. Yippee. I'm hoping for completion at NVC by the end of May.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-03-26 04:08:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Congrats Mark! You're nearly there.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-03-20 15:41:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Kim - I think appointment post only affects the IR1/CR1 so you and Russ shouldn't meet up with any unexpected issues! I now have to send through my original birth cert, police cert, passport photos, marriage license etc direct to NVC. They then check it's all there and complete before forwarding it all through to the consulate. It feels a bit painful to me as it would have been easier to just take it all to the consulate. And if I miss anything out then I have to wait for NVC to mail us then post everything to my husband. Got to try and get it right to avoid delays! I'm counting down days too, 5 and a half weeks till I get to visit the US (though I'm dreading the POE and hope there's no issues!).	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-03-19 14:44:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	I'm here! Been busy planting gardens and such over the weekend so that I can put my house up for sale this week. Sadly the market here is on the downturn so it's not a great time to sell but oh well, them's the breaks! 4 weeks, that's hardly any time at all. You must be getting excited now Kim. Have you got your application all ready? I'm just trying to get my documentation together now to send over to my husband. I thought I had a bit more time but since NZ is now appointment post I have only a couple of weeks. Going to have to try and take my own US sized passport photos as the places I asked locally don't do the 2 X 2. Eeks.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-03-18 21:40:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Ohhh. Emma let us know how the medical etc goes. I'm interested in how difficult it is to get an appointment and all the other details of getting it organised. For me there's no extra news, still just waiting for NVC to send some forms so we can get some things sent back to them. Kelly	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-03-12 05:39:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Congrats Emma! Look forward to hearing how the consulate goes for you. Ruby - that photo of you and Jordan looks great. Russ did a great job of it. Must have been a nice surprise for Jordan!	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-03-08 02:04:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Congrats Mark! That's fantastic news. Kim I think June is on the cards, will keep my fingers crossed that it happens for you both. Not long now at all!	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-03-06 18:24:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hi Guys, tho i've posted in the forum before i thought i'd take the time to introduce myself and my loved one here in the kiwi/us thread, ha woudn't you know it i originally posted it in the wrong place and had to move it. my name is michelle and my man's name is rob, we met on the internet, playing wow of all things i'm currently with him at the moment visiting, our first visit since we fell in love and it has been wonderful, i've been here (Harmony, NC) since second of april and unfortunatley i have to go back 22nd may. rob is on disability and lives with his parents and his nephew, rob is being being evaluated for a lung transplant and his doctor says it needs to be done sooner rather than later. unfortunately money is an issue and things are a bit of a mess here but i love him and i just want to get back as quickly as possible so i can be with him. unfortunately we don't have a time line for the lung transplant or for me getting here as i need to sell my house and get a divorce so rob can start the whole visa process. i thought i'd try and do all his side of the paperwork while i'm here in case my divorce comes through while he's in hospital, that way all he'd need to do is sign them and get someone to post them off, any thoughts on that? another question is what is the A # they refer to in the i-129f and g-325a? i've probably shared too much but all this seems very overwhelming and wouldn't you know it, i have 5 days left with rob and i get a cold sore it's seems like the time has just whizzed by and the closer the 22nd gets the more anxious i get, i know i need to get back to nz and sort things out but i so want to just stay here, i guess we just have to be patient and get thru hopefully it won't be too long before i'm posting that our process has started and we can eventually be together michelle	Michelle Kauffman	Female	New Zealand	2008-05-17 18:37:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	hi everyone! good to hear things are moving along for all here. had my interview a little while back, for the work USA program - all went well. they needed an exact date of arrival in the US before they could proceed with the visa paperwork, so over about two days i figured out when i could go... so now the ticket is booked! paid for! i'm arriving in the states on july 10! feels so great to have a concrete date to work towards; it's been hard not knowing when i'd be going over. so the paperwork is just beginning but i'm not anticipating any problems. the hardest part will be getting rid of all my stuff. mum and dad came through with air points to pay for all my domestic flights, so the trip back to new plymouth, the interview at the consulate and the connecting flight to auckland before i fly out, are all taken care of (saving me quite a bit of money). finances are looking good, barring any disaster happening. sadly, i'm arriving at the worst time of the year - it's jordan's busiest time at work, and just a few weeks after i get there he has to leave for week for work so he won't be able to take much time off work, probably only a couple of days, but i'm at the point where i don't care - i'll just be happy that i'll at least be waiting for him when he gets home each day (OMG IN HIS HOUSE, HIS ACTUAL HOUSE, NOT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF A COMPUTER SCREEN!).	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2008-04-14 05:11:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	hi everyone! kim, thanks for the email - everything is okay, not much to report. IEP called last week to make an appointment for my interview (with the agency, for the program, not the actual visa), so that's happening on april 4. it's with one of the marketing people, and they said it takes about 30mins, so i don't imagine it's anything too strenuous. also received notice that i'm officially a graduate, yesterday. quite a feeling of relief. i was 2 points shy of the 360 point requirement to graduate, and was secretly a little scared that i wouldn't be able to get a waiver, for whatever reason. but it was all very easy - all done through about 4 emails! so i send off my reference/evidence of grad status/copies of ID next week, interview is the week after, then i start the visa application. have been examining my finances, and i figure that if nothing goes horribly wrong, then i should be in the states by end of june. need to go back home to taranaki to spend some time with family, so i'll probably finish work and leave welly mid june. i think last night was the first time in a long time that i've really felt like this is happening sooner rather than later. the countdown feels a lot more certain now, give or take a couple of weeks.	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2008-03-21 19:02:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	yeah i kinda think we look a lot alike too! i thought the webcam shots might be too fuzzy but if they'll do then we'll give it a try i've already warned jordan that i'll have my camera out about 15mins after we've met, getting some stranger to take our first photo.	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2008-03-06 22:09:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	jordan doesn't have a digital camera anymore - he got robbed a few months ago (after months of defending his move to oakland to people who were constantly bagging it out as the worst/most dangerous city to live in, it was pretty heartbreaking for him to end up a victim). but i love this photo, and i sent it to jordan (who had no idea about what we were up to) and he loved it too - he thinks we make a 'handsome couple' and i have to agree that we look damn good together!	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2008-03-06 21:47:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	hello! i'm not kiwi but my husband and i just had our honeymoon in new zealand and absolutely fell in love with your country. we can't wait to go back!! i hope everyone has a smooth journey getting their visas!	KTG	Not Telling	Singapore	2008-03-28 01:09:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hi again everyone, Just thought I would let you know that my passport, along with my visa arrived in the mail yesterday. Is great to have it finally. Yes Joanne (my SO) is over here with me - we head back to the US on 28 May and are getting married on 28 June. Is really relieving to have the visa all sorted. So, here is a review of Auckland: The people at the Auckland consulate are excellent - they are really helpful, answer any questions you have and just really try to make it as easy as they can for you (apart from the Security Guard). I turned up at the consulate about 30 minutes before the scheduled interview. Jo was going to come in with me, but the security guard said she couldn't - he asked who was applying for the visa, and I said I was and that Jo is my fiancee, but he said she couldn't come in (The Consular Officer told me that she could have and that she would have another word to the security guard about it). After entering the consulate I went directly to a window where a lady went through my documents and visa application part by part to make sure everything was there and that it was all OK. She told me that my Police Record hadn't arrived yet, but that they were expecting it to turn up any day. She asked me if I had been arrested at any stage and said that if I hadn't it should all be OK. She then took finger prints of both hands. She also checked through the affidavit of support - I was getting Joanne's dad to co-sponsor as Jo is heading back to Grad School. But after looking at Jo's she asked if I had any saving and if I bought the bank statements with me - I had and showed that I had savings of around NZD13,000, and she said it would be find with just Jo's affidavit and my savings - we didn't need a co-sponsor. She said she wanted to make it as easy as possible for us to down it on our own. After everything was checked she said to go and sit my another window and that the Consular Officer will call me soon. After waiting about 8 minutes I was called to the window. The Consular Officer was very friendly and took my finger prints again. Then she asked where I met my fiancee - I said at university in the US when I was over there at grad school - she asked what school, and when I replied said that was the same school her father went to and that her brother just graduated from. That was it for the questioning. She then quickly flicked through all my documents, said it was all Ok, asked me to raise my hand and swear under oath that everything in my application and associated docs is true. I then signed the form and she said I could go. My Visa and Passport then arrived in the mail four days later (the Police Report must have arrived soon after my interview). My advice would, be prepared for your interview with everything that you need, present it well so it is easy for them at the Consulate and you shoudl be fine. They are not there to make it hard for you - they want to help you as much as they can. Good luck to you all with the rest of your journeys. I will keep in touch as we progress through the next stages. Cheers, Mark	markjo	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-05-03 17:33:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Apr 29 2008, 12:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi guys, Just thought i'd let you know that Mark has his interview tomorrow in Auckland! Good luck MarkJo! Hi all, Sorry for the lack of contact - have been at home for the last two weeks and been enjoying getting outside and spending a minimum amount of time inside. So had my interview in Auckland this morning - went good as gold. Really helpful staff and not a problem. They are just waiting on getting my Police Cert back, but as soon as that arrives they are going to get the visa in my passport and post it down to me at home. I will update the Consultae info page too and will write you a full report of the interview in a couple fo days (in an internet cafe at the mo and just about run out fo time). Hope you are all well and good luck with your journeys. Regards, Mark	markjo	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-04-28 17:54:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hi all, Just got off the phone with NVC and they forwarded our petition to the Auckland Consulate - is great that things are moving along good now and it feels like we are getting closer to the end of the tunnel. Hope you are all well. Regards, Mark	markjo	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-03-20 08:12:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Mar 7 2008, 03:44 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Good morning/evening friends! I was going to wait for Mark to come in and share but in case he doesn't... they were finally approved yesterday! CONGRATULATIONS!!! Funny how excited I get for another NZ couple! Cracks me up! How wonderful for them! I hope they keep us posted. Kel, how sweet that your son wants a ceremony for you. Well the countdown for us is 5 weeks and 5 days! Hopefully the approval will take less than a month and the Auckland interview even less! So here by early June? Think that's too much to ask for? Hi there, Cheers for the congratulations. Have been off VJ for a few days after being on it too much in the lead up to the approval. Now just waiting for the petition to get through VSC and to NZ. In Scotland at the moment - due back in NZ early April so the timing will be about perfect. Hope you are all well. Cheers, Mark	markjo	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-03-08 15:14:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Apr 29 2008, 12:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Looking forward to your reply here as well...I'll be going through Auckland..one day One question you may be able to answer...is the Police check done by them, or can you get one yourself? First of all, congratulations Mark! The staff in Auckland are lovely, aren't they? They do the police check. When you first get your packet from them, they include a form for you to fill out which gets returned to the Consulate by post.	GnomeGrrl	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-04-28 19:52:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kelzm @ Apr 24 2008, 08:54 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My house isn't moving it all, in the last month I've had only one person come through and take a look, hope you're having better luck gnomegrrl. The good news is that this time next week I'll be in California, yippee. I'm now starting to put together anything I can think of to convince people at the POE that I'll leave again so they'll let me in! I'm sorry to hear that. Mine isn't actually even on the market yet. I'm still doing all the painting and wallpapering and fun stuff, and doing it on my own despite being ill. My boys are living la vida loca behaving like they'll never get to talk to their friends again and that they'll never, ever be coming back to New Zealand, going out all night and sleeping all day. In other words, they're as much use as tits on a bull. Though Jeremy annoyed me greatly yesterday, so I told him I had another 5 1/2 months til my visa expired!	GnomeGrrl	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-04-23 18:20:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	That's awesome! Congratulations Emma!!	GnomeGrrl	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-04-19 20:00:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kelzm @ Apr 16 2008, 02:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hey Russ and Kim, big congrats to you both. Seems to me like you've made it through the hard part, hopefully the rest will be smooth (and rapid!) sailing from now on. Gnomegrrl - question for you about your kids and your ex. Do you have legal custody of your children? If not, did you have to get a notarised letter from your ex to get permission to move the children? I havent' applied for my son yet but that's going to be happening soon, I'm thinking that I'll need to go to the family court and get a custody order so I can prove to the US govt that I have permission to move my son. First of all, grats Russ and Kim!!! Fingers crossed for a speedy reunion!!!! Kel, I'm afraid I can't help you there. One of mine just turned 18 and the other is about to turn 17, so they're too old for custody orders or for their father to be able to stop them leaving the country. Having legal custody will definitely help, but your ex can throw a spanner in to the works any time he likes until the kids are 16 unfortunately	GnomeGrrl	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-04-15 21:16:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Apr 15 2008, 12:07 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thank you Gnome girl! You needed your new husbands paystub? Or your ex husband for proof of child support? We're K1...so my info still goes to Auckland for Russell to take with him. I'll be sending along lots of copies of checks. Justine! You have a date!!! That's wonderful news. How great of your parents to help you out with their points too. I know how expensive it is to fly domestic in NZ! Sorry Jordan will be so busy when you get there but I really dont think it's going to matter too much! btw..did you get my last email? Kel...I see ya lurking! Did you get your house sold yet? Well, if you can believe this, I have three calls into the registrar of deeds last week to confirm that I can go pick up my divorce decree from the courthouse tomorrow and still no call back! I am legally divorced as of today and a couple months ago he told me to call back to confirm I could get my certified copy as early as 'the next day'. If I don't get a call back today i'm not going to be happy. I've been patient enough! I printed out almost everything I need all day yesterday. 10 years worth of 'everything'! Had just a few things left....when I got an error, tried to reboot... and got a bios error on startup! It's just my luck! Good thing I fix computers! So, today promises to be crazy. Tomorrow all I want is to watch my bank account drop! Jeremy will love being called 'new'. LOL. It was his paystub I had to take. I didn't have to provide any proof of what I earned at all whatsoever. My ex owns his own business and fiddles the books so he pays the minimum amount of child support possible. It's also not done through the court here. Our IRD (IRS) take care of it and work out what they have to pay by their taxable income from the previous year. My ex (I never married him, fortunately) hasn't even seen or spoken to the kids in 4 years despite the fact he lives in the same town, so I'm sure if it wasn't through the IRD, I'd have huge problems getting him to pay. I hope you get everything sorted today and definitely hope you get your paperwork away tomorrow!!! Kel, I'm hoping I'll be lucky in that respect. Invercargill seems to be bucking the national trend. Only one house in our street hasn't sold quickly and it's way overpriced. I'm still busy painting, but it should be ready for market next week, fingers crossed. Good luck with yours!!! Edited by GnomeGrrl, 15 April 2008 - 05:26 PM.	GnomeGrrl	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-04-15 17:24:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Apr 11 2008, 10:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Gnomegirl... CONGRATULATIONS!!!! How exciting for you! Hope your house sells quick! cdneh... are your papers here in the US yet? Mark, are you home in NZ yet?? How are you other folks doing? K, so I have a couple questions for you guys... 1.) what does the NZ consulate ask for in regards to the affidavit of support? I'm self employed (build, design, maintain websites, fix computers, tech support...etc). I'm always busy but I work for a lot of different people and my income varies greatly from week to week...and ummm I only claim what I have to...and therein lies my issue. I do have a couple company's I work for daily who pay me with company checks (no paystubs..but I can get copies of my cashed checks from that employers bank if I need to). This is only about 10-20,000 a year but it's money I have to claim, therefore it's on my tax returns the last three years. I know that is not enough for a family of 4 but I also receive child support that was ordered by the court last December. That, in itself, is about $10,000 more than what is needed for a family of 4 so I know i'm set as long as I include that. But i'm wondering if they have specific policies regarding the affidavit of support and what is needed. I'm thinking i'll make copies of my checks each week or maybe wait till they're cashed and get them from the employers bank(?), include at least one employer letter proving about 15,000 of my annual income, my court papers ordering child support...bank statements showing the money is going into the account bi-weekly... tax returns from 2 or 3 years? Anything else? 2.) i'd like to know if your visa's are available for pick up two days after you are approved as has been the case with most (here anyway) that have gone through Auckland? Still waiting on a call back from the registrar of deeds to confirm that I can pick up my divorce decree on Tuesday as he previously stated. I will not be happy if we are made to wait any longer due to even mnore bureaucracy!!! Thanks Kim! I hope so too! As for your questions, you'll have to file the Affidavit in the US, so the standard rules apply. The only thing I was asked for in regards to that was to take one of hubby's recent pay slip to the Consulate interview. I'm not sure on the pick up thing. We weren't given the option, but perhaps that was because of the fact that our medicals weren't back and we lived so far away from Auckland.	GnomeGrrl	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-04-13 19:30:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Tried to edit to add that our medicals finally got through to the Consulate on Tuesday.	GnomeGrrl	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-04-10 17:02:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	We were approved!!! Now, to sell the house ... /sigh	GnomeGrrl	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-04-10 16:49:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	And sure enough ... our medicals still haven't gone to the Consulate.	GnomeGrrl	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-04-06 16:51:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kelzm @ Apr 3 2008, 02:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi GnomeGrrrl sorry to hear that your medical was so expensive! Wondering if you and emma can let us know which doctors you went to etc. That way I can make sure to go to the cheaper one! Sounds like you're nearly all done though, that must be a relief. We went to CityMed in Auckland. The medical itself was $180, $31 for bloods and $80 for the X-ray. We had our interview the day after the medical, so we expected a delay - just not as long as it has been! The doctor was excessively thorough. As well as the usual heart lungs, blood pressure etc, we had our eyes checked and she pretty much looked at every crevice. I had a breast exam and all three of us had to drop our pants so she could look at our bits. With me, she even looked for scars so she could satisfy herself that I'd had the operations I'd said I had, as if I'd lie about that! We had to have quite a chunk of jabs despite the fact that I'd provided evidence that we were current with all but tetanus. I honestly think the doctor has you by the proverbial short and curlys. If they say you need to have the vaccinations, you can't exactly argue the point. You also can't really argue with the fact that the doctor gets the nurse to give them to you and you're charged an extra $20 (each) for the nurses injection fee. The ultimate hold up was that my youngest (my sons are 16 and 17) had had mental health problems in the past, so they insisted on getting a letter from Invercargill, which was fine. Except for the fact that it took CityMed 2 weeks to send the request (which was actually for his entire medical file) and over a week to look at it once they had it. We talked to her last on Thursday and she said she was signing off on it that day. I'll be calling on Monday to make sure she has, but I'm not really liking the odds after the experience so far. The good news is that my interview was a dream and I have nothing but good things to say about that experience - well, except for finding the fact that the actual interview was conducted in the main area at one of the little windows more than a little bizarre. LOL. That part lasted a grand total of 10 minutes and most of that was the signing of papers and getting fingerprints that hadn't come out clearly at the first window. I was asked 2 questions (how long had hubby lived in NZ and did I intend to work in the US) and that was that. I offered and started pulling out the evidence I'd brought along and he didn't want to know. Apparently if you can put up with someone for 9 years, it's proof enough that you're not in it for the green card. FYI: We filed last March and because I've put up with him so long, it's straight to IR-1.	GnomeGrrl	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-04-04 17:31:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (emma&sammy @ Mar 27 2008, 06:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> So...had my medical interview today, went pretty smoothly, the doc was really nice, he just checked my heart and lungs reflexes made sure I didn't have any strange lumps in my tummy measured my weight and height and that was it. I had to give a urine sample & the only vaccination I had to have was Tetanus ( because i hadn't had one in the past 10 years), he didn't even mention the others.... then I went for my chest x-ray, which was fine and blood tests. He gave me my x-ray back, & said he would send the results & paperwork to the embassy on Monday. Also sent off packet 3 toady, so hopefully i'll get an interview date soon & finally get back to America!! Doc was $110 Tetanus $20 Bloods $31 x-ray $80 Wow! Lucky you! I shelled out around about $430 each for my two sons and I and we had a much more thorough exam. 4 weeks later, it still hasn't been sent to the Consulate. Between the flights from Invercargill to Auckland, the hotel and the medical, it was one expensive trip! /sigh	GnomeGrrl	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-04-02 05:18:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hi Guys! Well I finally had my interview on Thursday - it was easy as, I was there for about an hour and a half, mostly waiting. The first lady gathered all my papers together for the interview, & told me a few things about what would happen next. And the Lady who interviewed me was really nice, only asked a few questions like where we met when we met what our wedding plans were & about all the visits i'd had all in all went pretty smoothly, I had a bunch of evidence of our relationship, but she didn't really look into it too much, she could see I was well prepared anyway. So i'm picking up my passport on Monday, & flying out on Tues evening ! Finally! Best of luck to you all!	emma&sammy	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-04-18 23:56:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (GnomeGrrl @ Apr 5 2008, 11:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (kelzm @ Apr 3 2008, 02:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi GnomeGrrrl sorry to hear that your medical was so expensive! Wondering if you and emma can let us know which doctors you went to etc. That way I can make sure to go to the cheaper one! Sounds like you're nearly all done though, that must be a relief. We went to CityMed in Auckland. The medical itself was $180, $31 for bloods and $80 for the X-ray. We had our interview the day after the medical, so we expected a delay - just not as long as it has been! The doctor was excessively thorough. As well as the usual heart lungs, blood pressure etc, we had our eyes checked and she pretty much looked at every crevice. I had a breast exam and all three of us had to drop our pants so she could look at our bits. With me, she even looked for scars so she could satisfy herself that I'd had the operations I'd said I had, as if I'd lie about that! We had to have quite a chunk of jabs despite the fact that I'd provided evidence that we were current with all but tetanus. I honestly think the doctor has you by the proverbial short and curlys. If they say you need to have the vaccinations, you can't exactly argue the point. You also can't really argue with the fact that the doctor gets the nurse to give them to you and you're charged an extra $20 (each) for the nurses injection fee. The ultimate hold up was that my youngest (my sons are 16 and 17) had had mental health problems in the past, so they insisted on getting a letter from Invercargill, which was fine. Except for the fact that it took CityMed 2 weeks to send the request (which was actually for his entire medical file) and over a week to look at it once they had it. We talked to her last on Thursday and she said she was signing off on it that day. I'll be calling on Monday to make sure she has, but I'm not really liking the odds after the experience so far. The good news is that my interview was a dream and I have nothing but good things to say about that experience - well, except for finding the fact that the actual interview was conducted in the main area at one of the little windows more than a little bizarre. LOL. That part lasted a grand total of 10 minutes and most of that was the signing of papers and getting fingerprints that hadn't come out clearly at the first window. I was asked 2 questions (how long had hubby lived in NZ and did I intend to work in the US) and that was that. I offered and started pulling out the evidence I'd brought along and he didn't want to know. Apparently if you can put up with someone for 9 years, it's proof enough that you're not in it for the green card. FYI: We filed last March and because I've put up with him so long, it's straight to IR-1. WOW sounds like you had it rough with the medical, Actually I was thinking of going to CityMed, but ended up going to Dr Marcus Stone in Remuera instead, he was really nice & so was the nurse. He didn't check my eyes, breasts or to see that I definately was a girl.... but i'm glad that you had a good experience at the interview, mine is on the 17th so i'm getting a little nervous!	emma&sammy	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-04-06 01:49:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	So...had my medical interview today, went pretty smoothly, the doc was really nice, he just checked my heart and lungs reflexes made sure I didn't have any strange lumps in my tummy measured my weight and height and that was it. I had to give a urine sample & the only vaccination I had to have was Tetanus ( because i hadn't had one in the past 10 years), he didn't even mention the others.... then I went for my chest x-ray, which was fine and blood tests. He gave me my x-ray back, & said he would send the results & paperwork to the embassy on Monday. Also sent off packet 3 toady, so hopefully i'll get an interview date soon & finally get back to America!! Doc was $110 Tetanus $20 Bloods $31 x-ray $80	emma&sammy	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-03-27 00:55:00