Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Lux @ Jul 14 2008, 07:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi everyone I'm new! I've been in a long-distance relationship for 7 years now. We met when I was 17 and he 15 back in 2001. So now we're finally applying for the K1. I'm from Auckland and he's from Kansas. Good to know there are other Kiwis doing the same thing Welcome! I am in Auckland as well!	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-14 14:18:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	I was just thinking about you Kim...you must be getting close!	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-10 15:59:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Jul 3 2008, 12:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> cdneh.. it's coming hon. Stay strong! It does appear many of you will be on 'the left coast'... too bad... I would have loved to host a party for our kiwi/us couples. Maybe some day. keep checking in folks! Kia kaha I won't be on the 'left coast'...have a party and we will come ...from Virginia	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-02 19:40:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	We are hanging in there...just Still waiting on the actual noa1 so far...sheesh...	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-01 18:23:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Jun 23 2008, 03:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> cdneh, hows the waiting game going for you guys? We're almost 10 weeks into this now and getting a bit anxious with the wait. There have been just two K1 VJ April approvals as of yet. One was a military expedite and the other...with the same NOA1 date as us.... was just lucky! <-- just a tad envious! March is almost done with so we should see April approvals pouring in soon. We've seen each other just 3 weeks out of the last 9 months. After sharing everything for so long, it's just tragic having all this time apart. And it's getting harder for both of us as the days pass. Every time I check my email or login to VJ my heart skips a beat. I am a strong and patient woman but this process is certainly taking it's toll. I suppose that means we're getting closer and that is what keeps us going ....but oh how we long for that approval! Well we're waiting...patiently...more or less We haven't seen each other in person in ages, since October 14th when I flew out. It seems so loooooong... We aren't anxious about waiting, but bits of the process...sigh...we can't help but think if we had not had the hold up we did, we'd be two months further on than we are now, and he's still stressing about that. But on the upside, when I tell him something now, he DOES it.	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-06-25 02:27:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	He got it today We Fedex in the morning	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-06-10 03:41:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Jun 8 2008, 09:36 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> no kidding! 4 weeks was the norm in January/February so there's always a chance. That's too bad about the certificate. At least you know you can get another one. Where I live in Massachusetts I just contacted the registrar of deeds where my divorce was granted and asked for a certified copy of my decree absolute. It costs me about $20 I think. I hope he can get that soon and that you can be on with it. good luck! That's what he's done, contacted the people out in California where the divorce was granted...it cost him the same amount as yours, and this was weeks ago. He's been trying to reach them all this week, and getting voice mail. I'd like five minutes alone with Murphy!	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-06-07 17:28:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Jun 8 2008, 03:25 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Oh i'm so sorry. I don't know why I thought you had already filed and were right behind us! That darn divorce decree was the bain of our existence for so long too! I do hope it gets to him soon and that he can file asap! Maybe the process will be back to the 1 month approval times by then. Keep the faith! I thought the police certificates were handled by the Auckland Embassy??? They told us we didn't need to do anything with regards to that and that they'd handle it all when the time comes. We were meant to be right behind you, and file about the same time. I had an end of April date of filing in my time-line, which I have taken out until we can file. He's been divorced for years...it's the paperwork he can't locate. As far as the police certificate, that is from Canada, and I was of the understanding they would do the NZ one, but I had to get any others. One month approval time? I could do with a little of that ...	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-06-07 16:20:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Jun 4 2008, 09:01 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The rest of you are very quiet... how are things??? I've been a bit quiet...we've struck a hitch, and an unnecessary one at that. I spent considerable time locating the bits of paper required, it can be quite a challenge to get some of those when you aren't in your country of origin to start with, it took 4 months for the long form birth certificate alone. All up I was five months assembling the bits and bobs, and I was quite thrilled to get the entire package bundled up and sent off to the States, so he could add his bits of paper and file. That was at the end of March. He's still waiting on a copy of his divorce paperwork. He thought he had it, but it was not among his papers in the end. Pretty sure then he left it with his daughter in her safe, but she can't remember the combination. This was about mid-April. His daughter called on her Mum, the ex-wife, and she agreed to send a copy, which she hasn't. Now we are waiting 5 weeks for it to be sent from the courthouse in California. There was some confusion as to which courthouse....and on and on. It's meant to be in the post as of Friday last, but not arrived as of today. At our present rate of speed we will be lucky to file in June. I'm annoyed, and not a little disappointed. Seems to me there was adequate time while I was busy assembling paper for him to have eyeballed what he needed, and been ready. Now we are delayed at least a couple of months and possibly longer. He's very contrite...but all the same we are not even in the queue. In this morning's post, I received my fingerprint criminal report from the RCMP, report is dated May 14th. I wasn't expecting that back for at least 2 months, and if those are only good for 6 months...well as it stands at present we may not even be close to interview by then. If I have to repeat that process, getting fingerprints done again here, sending those off to the RCMP, anaother 120 day wait, sending those back.... *sigh*	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-06-06 16:26:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Still waiting Kim...I think this process would try the patience of a saint...and heaven knows that wouldn't be me	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-05-21 01:46:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	August 10th! That's not far away at all, congrats, it's finally happening for you. Good luck for the trip and don't forget to post after you've arrived. On my last visit over I took a suitcase filled with clothes I knew I wouldn't be needing, I'm thinking that I'm going to have too much for two suitcases still though. Erk. Kim - do you have any info on the extra baggage charges? I'd read somewhere they charged per suitcase, do you know if that's true? I'll second that about the consulate, I think we're very lucky in NZ compared to a lot of other countries. I wasn't even asked to show any of the evidence that I brought in and the interview was pretty painless as I stood at the counter. They really are there to help us through the process. My update - house still under conditional contract, 5 more working days till it's uncondiitional (dependant on a builders report).	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-18 16:05:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	I had the visa sent out to me via courier package, however it was very fast. I sent my sons birth certificate via courier on the 8th of July. The visa was stamped as approved on the 9th of July and I received it back via the courier on the 11th of July (it was sent to my parents so I could be sure someone would be home to receive it and apparently they woke them up at 8am!). So, looks like it took only a day for the actual processing of it all.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-14 19:33:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Justine, great to hear you made it safe and sound and thanks for posting a pic. Welcome to Lux, it's exciting to see our little community here growing. Kim I'm feeling like approval for you and Russ must be just around the corner now! My latest news is I have my visa safe in and hand and I have a signed offer in on my house, it's conditional on a couple of things which hopefully will not be an issue. I'll know in 10 days time if this will go ahead or not. So far looking good, yippee.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-14 17:55:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Kim - as others have said, very sad about your brother, thanks for sharing the poster though, hopefully someday it'll have a positive effect for you. I had my interview today, I'll post a review very soon about that. It was all pretty simple. They did ask for my sons birth certificate though, which I didn not have with me, I hadn't received any information before that mentioned bringing it. I actually had it out last night and debated taking it with me but since I have not applied for a visa for him yet decided against it. I have to mail that in to the consulate and once they've verified that they'll issue my visa and send my passport and package back to me. Not too bad, nearly 11 months in process.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-06 23:05:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Michelle - I hope things pick up for you soon, waiting is awful, I know. Julie and Alan - welcome to our little thread and nice to hear of another Kiwi/US couple. I'll be not too far from San Jose when I make the move. I'd be really keen to hear how Setanta sports works out for you. I'm a rugby and rugby league fan and not getting to see any games would be very very sad.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-04 17:35:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Still playing the waiting game myself! Interview on Monday so I'm looking forward to getting that out of the way and knowing that I'm all approved. Then I just have to get the rest of my life (House, sons school) sorted! I've never known time to seem to move so slowly its frustrating, yet at the same time so fast I'm worried how I'm going to get everything done. I really hope that July will bring good news for you Kim and Russ, and you as well cdneh. I found the USCIS wait the worst because there's just no information coming from them. I have to admit though I've also been looking around through job sites and starting to think about getting my CV into some kind of order. Seems like a few of us are going to be inhabiting Northern California.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-02 05:43:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hey guys, great to read everyones news and see progress. Kim and Russ - I hope you'll get some good news soon! For me my house hasn't sold, though I do have someone interested, it's just a matter of getting a decent offer from them. My current stress involves my son and making arrangements with his school for him to stay on when I go. I'm hoping to have that all sorted by August. I've got my medical on Wednesday, made an appointment with Dr Marcus Stone in Remuera, was given the cost of $110 for that appt. My interview is on the 7th at 9.30am, my pink form does have to bring in a recent payslip as well as a copy of my husbands most recent tax return, even though his tax returns were submitted with the I-864.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-06-23 02:08:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Seems to me that going in person would be the easiest way to do things, at least that way you'll get a quick answer if anything is missing! I'm guessing that you should need the same kind of forms as the rest of us even with DCF. Do you have full birth certificates for both of you? Also my form for my interview stated I needed to bring in a recent payslip from my sponsor, even though they had the I-864 info on file, as well as his most recent tax return, so you may want to have something similar from Brooks folks.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-06-12 22:24:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hi Grant, welcome to VJ. Great to see another kiwi on board.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-06-11 05:14:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!		kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-06-10 03:50:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Mark - congrats on making it over to the US and best wishes for your wedding. I hope you both have a fabulous day. Justine - wow, it's getting close to the time for you to leave. It must be exciting! I've got my interview scheduled for July 8th so the last hurdle is in sight. I need to get my medical done before then so I'm just waiting for the consulate to send the info so I can go and get that done. Time seems to be flying, I'm still counting on leaving here in September which gives me 3 months to get everything in order. Unfortunately no news on my house, I've got a few more weeks before I start panicking about that so fingers crossed I get some good news soon! Hope the rest of you are doing well.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-06-05 04:29:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	thanks again guys and welcome yankiwi, finding this website for me was a godsend, you'll find lots of help here	Michelle Kauffman	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-17 02:07:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Ok i know this is a really dumb question but going over my forms again i'm worried that i can't fit everything into the little boxes, addresses for one. I've tried looking for some sort of preference that says to wrap the text in the box, like in excel but i can't find anything. Any ideas? Michelle	Michelle Kauffman	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-16 16:59:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Thanks for that Kim, I know I'm freaking out a bit and missing the stuff that's in the guide, it's weird, I read it and read it and still manage to miss whole parts of it	Michelle Kauffman	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-15 12:15:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	ooh another question, I need to get copies of my divorce decree and birth certificate notarised (?) can i use a justice of the peace to do this? i was looking at notary publics on the net but they charge like a bull and money is a bit tight. cheers michelle	Michelle Kauffman	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-14 16:44:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	ooh hey ruby, i see you there so happy for you, it's so good to hear that you've made it and are happy can't comment on your photo cos it won't display on the work computer, but i'm sure you look very happy	Michelle Kauffman	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-14 15:42:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Welcome Amaciar and Lux I know how relieved I was to find this site, it's such a daunting prospect and even with all the practical and emotional support I'm still finding it a very stressful process, I'd hate to think how I'd have managed if we had to do it alone. Anyways...now that my divorce is final I've thought of something else to worry about. Rob needs a lung transplant and is on disability, we do have a financial sponsor but I'm worried they'll deny our petition because Rob is so sick and probably won't be working for some time to come. I do intend to work as soon as I'm allowed but I'm still worried. Does anyone have any ideas? or opinions?	Michelle Kauffman	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-14 15:35:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hey Guys and Gals Just an update, we're waiting on my divorce papers, which will be final 14 July, i have never, not ever, not even when i was 8 months pregnant, known a month to pass so slowly. Been sort of avoiding the forums cos i know we still have a long wait and we're both finding this really really hard, I thought after meeting Rob in person it would be easier because there would be no doubts at all but it just seems to be harder cos we want to be together. Anyways, as soon as I get my divorce papers i'll be sending them off to Rob so he can send in the petition. It's good to see some people seem to be making progress Looking forward to updating with good news soon	Michelle Kauffman	Female	New Zealand	2008-07-04 16:50:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Counting down now to being able to file for the dissolution of my marriage, i understand it takes a month after filing to come into effect and as soon as i have the divorce papers in my hand i will send copies to Rob so he can send off our K-1 visa petition. I'm very excited that we'll soon be able to start the journey.	Michelle Kauffman	Female	New Zealand	2008-06-02 21:52:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	I'M HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! am INSANELY HAPPY (even though i look tired in the photo - we had just hiked about 3 miles, some of up a very steep hill)	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2008-07-14 13:50:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	wow, that's sad about your brother kim i'm back in my hometown with my family now (monday) and fly out to sf on thursday. i feel like the next few days will be the slowest of my entire life. my parents don't have broadband so i can't call jordan on skype. i miss seeing him. but just a few more days!!!	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2008-07-06 19:04:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	9 days till i arrive in the US!! the woman at the consulate: young american with long straight blonde hair? that's who i had. really lovely.	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2008-07-01 19:19:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	20 days to go!! had my consulate interview for the visa the other day... OH MY GOD what a ridiculous waste of my time. really. i had to take a day off work, fly to auckland, arrange to stay with a friend, get said friend to chaffeur me around... and all for a TWO AND A HALF MINUTE interview. i kid you not. the preceding friday i suddenly realised, after leafing through a stack of papers, that i actually needed to provide 'evidence of ties to nz' for the interview. i panicked, but the examples listed seemed okay: bank statements, student loan contract, or a letter from my parents. it was too late to get the latter, but i thought i had the two former things. so just hours before i fly out to auckland, i begin looking for my student loan contract. then i realise i don't have it - my sis was down for a visit the other week and i gave her everything i'm storing to take back home to my parents place, including all paperwork such as loan contracts! i went into a huge panic. luckily i had a recent letter from IRD giving me my loan balance, and that was sufficient. the pre-departure orientation i had to attend in auckland was better than i expected: quite informative. still have a ton of stuff to organise, but i'm almost there!!	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2008-06-19 08:51:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hi everyone I'm new! I've been in a long-distance relationship for 7 years now. We met when I was 17 and he 15 back in 2001. So now we're finally applying for the K1. I'm from Auckland and he's from Kansas. Good to know there are other Kiwis doing the same thing	Kelvan	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-07-14 02:58:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	I know I am butting in here at the Kiwi thread but congrats on a quick interview!! Mine was the same, about 3 mins and no questions asked about our marriage!! Seems as though our countries don't raise red flags. QUOTE (rubyred @ Jun 19 2008, 08:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> 20 days to go!! had my consulate interview for the visa the other day... OH MY GOD what a ridiculous waste of my time. really. i had to take a day off work, fly to auckland, arrange to stay with a friend, get said friend to chaffeur me around... and all for a TWO AND A HALF MINUTE interview. i kid you not. the preceding friday i suddenly realised, after leafing through a stack of papers, that i actually needed to provide 'evidence of ties to nz' for the interview. i panicked, but the examples listed seemed okay: bank statements, student loan contract, or a letter from my parents. it was too late to get the latter, but i thought i had the two former things. so just hours before i fly out to auckland, i begin looking for my student loan contract. then i realise i don't have it - my sis was down for a visit the other week and i gave her everything i'm storing to take back home to my parents place, including all paperwork such as loan contracts! i went into a huge panic. luckily i had a recent letter from IRD giving me my loan balance, and that was sufficient. the pre-departure orientation i had to attend in auckland was better than i expected: quite informative. still have a ton of stuff to organise, but i'm almost there!!	hollywood79	Female	Australia	2008-06-19 17:37:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	I have been saying since this began that Nic and I are lucky. I have my resideny here so at least we can work and be together while immigration takes its time. It has been hard coming back to NZed after i thought i was finally going to be home and around my family. It is amazing the amount of money you spend trying to keep a marriage together when you are from different sides of the globe! I have seen so many beautiful places and am counting the small blessings. Well thats when i am not crying cause i am frustrated and want to start having kids and a house. ha ha ha. My husband has a lot on his plate Your time will come and you will hopefully come out stronger as a couple because of it. Thats my minute of positivety for the day. I will now spend the rest of it telling people not to fall in love with a foreigner. He he he should have listened to my mom 4 years ago.	amaciar	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-07-12 19:01:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	DCF route? Sorry I don't know what that stands for. I am really new to this. In truth we have done the whole process the wrong way. When we sent in our packet way back in November I was in the states. We were going to wait it out but when we realized the process was going to take almost a year I couldn't take it and moved back to be with my hubby. Would have been done by now if we had realized we could have filed in Auckalnd. Problem with this process is you aren't an expert til it is done! Edited by amaciar, 11 July 2008 - 09:39 PM.	amaciar	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-07-11 21:35:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hello Everyone Good to see there are some NZ/US couples out there. I just found this site and was pleased to see this thread. My hubby and I are both in New Zealand at the moment. I have been here for three years and I feel like we just finished getting me residency and now we are moving on to Nics US residency because the US is where we want to be for. Must say that the New Zealand process was much much much easier! It took 7 months and only involved one payment and one packet. Ohhh well if it was easy everyone woudl do it. It hs been great reading everyones stories and feeling like we are not alone in our frustration and excitement.	amaciar	Not Telling	New Zealand	2008-07-10 19:45:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (yankiwi @ Jul 18 2008, 01:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (gshennen @ Jul 17 2008, 09:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Our interview for me is August 19th as well. 8.30am for me. Cheers Grant Hi Grant! 9 am for us! We're sure to run into each other since I hear sometimes the process can take a few hours (or at least their notice said so). Since I'm here in NZ we'll both be at the interview. How exciting! I'm biting my nails already... You did DCF, right? I'm assuming you went in person to file, how was the Consulate? Does getting through security take very long? Cheers! Tiara Hi Tiara Cool - we will run into each other definately. You can listen to all my interview answers at the Consulate (the interviews don't appear to be the most private thing in the world). My wife (the USC) may not be there, as we have a young baby (Clay), and it may be easier if we do not bring him (less stress and all that). Although we are umm'ing and ahh'ing whether she comes. The lady in the Consulate said there was no need for her to be there if it was easier for her to stay home and look after Clay. Yes - we went the DCF route. We are pretty experienced with the Consulate now, as we have been there a few times to register our two kids as US Citizens, get them passports etc. We filed in person for my immigration Visa (just showed up with the paperwork, and the Consulate staff were brilliant). Security is easy and quick. They just make sure you are there for legitimate reasons, xray your bags etc, take your keys and cellphones off you, and let you in. There is sometimes a queue, but you won't wait longer than a few minutes even then. 9 am is probably the busiest time, so you may want to get there 15 minutes early. Cheers Grant	gshennen	Male	New Zealand	2008-07-17 17:28:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (yankiwi @ Jul 17 2008, 04:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> We just got notification of our interview date, August 19th! Hi There Our interview for me is August 19th as well. 8.30am for me. Cheers Grant	gshennen	Male	New Zealand	2008-07-17 03:24:00