Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	I've just read the review Russell has written...thanks so much for posting that! Those of us that are waiting still will find that very helpful. I for one feel a bit calmer about that part of the process.	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-20 15:51:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	There it is, in all it's manilla envelope glory! And only a few days to go!!!	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-20 15:43:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Sep 17 2008, 03:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Interveiw in 7 hours!!! I'm more anxious and excited than nervous. So is Russell. Send us your good vibes! three hours now by my clock...and I am sending you my best vibes !!	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-16 14:02:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Sep 15 2008, 07:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (cdneh @ Sep 15 2008, 02:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Sep 15 2008, 12:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> cdneh.. I know where those clothes came from! I seem to have the same sickness... and don't even get me started on shoes! 10 days, 13 hours!!! Oooo..that's the Shoe Fairy! (second cousin to the shoemakers elves) 10 days!!! OMG!!! lol..and alas I know her well	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-15 03:21:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Sep 15 2008, 12:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> cdneh.. I know where those clothes came from! I seem to have the same sickness... and don't even get me started on shoes! 10 days, 13 hours!!! Oooo..that's the Shoe Fairy! (second cousin to the shoemakers elves) 10 days!!! OMG!!!	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-15 02:19:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hope everyone is ticking along fine I've had a look in the wardrobe...I have a certain amount of thinning down to do it seems. I'll have to be less packrat and more ruthless...I don't know where it all came from	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-14 02:32:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	What excellent news Kim Such a fast turn around! I am hoping we all have such a time frame...when the time comes! Only two weeks left to go !!!	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-09 16:46:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Sep 8 2008, 08:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks for the link cdneh. It's kind of like being piggy in the middle with it all. One one hand we aren't tourists seeking temporary insurance and on the other hand we aren't permanent residents of america either (yet), so to speak. It is definitely confusing. It is...there is just sooo much to sort out	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-08 03:27:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Sep 8 2008, 07:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Belated welcome to Bobsagetti Thanks for the info on car insurance. I think one of the major things i am concerned about (one out of the MANY i have ) is to do with health insurance over there. Is it compulsory to have health insurance?. Or can you go along to the docs or dentist like in NZ and just pay a fee at the end of the consultation? If it is compulsory, is it hard for new immigrants to get cover? Can you get it whilst you are waiting for work permit? or do you have to have a job first? Sorry this sounds like a lot of questions but hopefully someone will be able to fill in these gaps as i think one of the biggest worries is if a person suddenly fell ill and to not know what the heck happens or if you can seek medical help etc? Bobsagetti: How long have you been waiting for EAD? What is the general waiting time before it is issued? cdneh and Michelle: I looked on igors list, 250 I've looked into the insurance thing, I don't want to be without it either. I don't know what the story is with walk ins up there, but I don't think it will be quite the same somehow. Here's what I've found so far... http://www.americanv...rinsurance.com/	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-08 03:00:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Michelle.S @ Sep 7 2008, 11:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> oh and kate i was going to ask for the recipe to that potion but then i had this vision of us standing around stirring a cauldron so perhaps you could just chuck some of those potions my way? Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble.... yes..you might be right...heh..that is a bit of a mental picture... I really need to stay away from Igor, bless him...I wanted to see movement though, and I am. Pity it's still going in the wrong direction...we may pass each other yet! Edited by cdneh, 08 September 2008 - 03:00 AM.	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-08 02:56:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	It's so nice to see someone moving right along now...we've been moving ..but in the wrong direction. Our timeline has gone from September to the end of October...and as well from the early 150's on Igor's list to nearly 170...this is where I need to fire up the patience potion ....right? I'll let you know how that goes...	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-07 02:38:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Oh that is the best news!!! Thrilled for you both!	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-06 02:09:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Michelle.S @ Sep 3 2008, 12:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> holding pattern.....holding pattern....holding pattern (crikey hope i don't run out of fuel waiting)	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-02 23:29:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (dlopez86 @ Aug 28 2008, 11:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hello everyone, just thought I would post in here since me and my new wife are living in New Zealand and plan to move to Colorado in the coming months. We are sending the I-130 off Monday and hopefully we will be moving around Thanksgiving or Christmas. Welcome!	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-08-29 02:22:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Thanks Kim...I think I get it.	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2008-08-26 19:10:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Wow! that's so cool to actually see what the package, letter and visa looks like! Congratulations Kim and Russell!! Just days away now!!! woo hoooo! I think my hand will be superglued to that envelope, come the day it is me sitting on the plane with it. Many thanks for the review Russell. It's really great to be able to read everyones experience at the Embassy. Makes those of us who are still waiting a little bit more at ease about that part of the process. And to know exactly where to go once inside the embassy. Did they mention anything about the 1-134 or want to look at Kims original birth certificate at all? Once again congratulations! It's been a long wait for you guys but you will be together very very soon!!!!!!!!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-20 17:08:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Congratulations to ShawnandLu and Kim and Russ!!! Great news!! Hope everyone else is doing well. A lot has certainly been happening this past month in the kiwi region! It's wonderful to see that some are already in USA, with others almost heading over there. I looked on the igor list the other day. I had gone from #250 down to #233 then back up to #239! No wonder my head has been in a spin all week with all this bouncing around jk!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-17 19:05:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (yankiwi @ Sep 15 2008, 02:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> We were in town way early, so parked in the open air parking lot right across from the train station, you can see the building the Consulate is in from there. It cost $3 per 1/2 hour, with a maximum of $15 for 12 hours. We paid $15 since we opted to pay the whole day fee so we wouldn't have to worry about the meter going over, it was so worth it IMO! thanks for the information! I will write it all down	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-15 02:57:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Sep 15 2008, 02:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Sep 15 2008, 12:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> cdneh.. I know where those clothes came from! I seem to have the same sickness... and don't even get me started on shoes! 10 days, 13 hours!!! Oooo..that's the Shoe Fairy! (second cousin to the shoemakers elves) 10 days!!! OMG!!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-15 02:50:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	yankiwi: I'm with you on the clothes shopping in the US. Definitely much more variety there and cheaper too. Another thing that i miss about the US (apart from my SO of course ) is CD shopping. Just great prices and variety!! Grant and Kelzm: Thanks so much for the parking information in the city. I have started to jot these answers down on A4 writing pad, that i have divided into catergories: medical, interview, aos etc. so that as i find out about stuff, i write it down and will then have it at the ready. There is so much to take in (both locally for the interview and in general with the K-1) and sometimes no matter how many times I read over the faqs or guides here at vj, there is still a lot of things that goes right over my head. One such instance is the vaccination record. Thanks Kim, for putting me in the picture with that. For some reason, i had the idea that the record was put in the secret envelope to give to the person at POE, when infact, I, the beneficiary hold onto it myself? Best wishes to Russell with the interview. Look forward to his review! not long until you are together!! Grant: The boxes seem a pretty decent size. It's good that you have a complete project plan for the move. Not long to go now! Kelzm: Have a safe journey home!!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-15 02:44:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hi everyone! Hope the weekend has been a good one. (A few q's on my mind).....To those who have been to the interview at Auckland consulate (and to Russ who will go this week). Where is the best place to park ones car in the city? Also, Do you have to give/send them an original birth certificate of your fiance (petitioner) or just your own birth certificate? Also, I have read some threads where some people have been asked to redo the medical once in USA for AOS, due to medical/vaccination records being lost. Has anyone here asked for copies of medical records when they went for their medical here? Just wondered if it was neccesary or not. sorry for all the questions but just trying to fill my head with as much as possible about it all, seeing as i have so much time waiting for the process to proceed	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-14 03:31:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	bobsagetti: its kinda ironic that the california service centre is the slowest out of the two centres when processing the 1-129f forms but are faster at processing the EAD (when you send in the AOS) then the local office I hope it comes through for you soon. kelzm: wow not long to go now. How does one put all their stuff into 3 suitcases?. I mean, you can't fit a lot into them really. Did you find it hard to narrow everything down and what to take and what to leave? It's definitely understandable and normal to be worried about your son. As you say, he will be fine though. kim: great news! only another two weeks!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-10 03:14:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Thanks for the link cdneh. It's kind of like being piggy in the middle with it all. One one hand we aren't tourists seeking temporary insurance and on the other hand we aren't permanent residents of america either (yet), so to speak. It is definitely confusing.	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-08 03:21:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	oooook... i clicked on add reply before i had finished (blame it on old age ) Kelvan: Have a lovely time in Kansas with your man Grant: Good to hear you are making progress. Not long to go now! Hope you had success on Trade Me and with the job hunting. Kim: It is almost Tuesday here!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-08 02:40:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (bobsagetti @ Sep 4 2008, 02:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi everyone, For those of you wanting to get your Cal driver's license you probably won't be able to get it just based on your I-94 (entry card). Or if you can get one it will expire on the day your visa does (i.e. within 90 days) so it's probably a waste of money. You can use your NZ license for a year no problems. As soon as you have your EAD you'll be able to get a proper license. Another tricky thing you might encounter is insurance for the car. Lots of places won't insure someone with an overseas license or will charge you ridiculous amounts of money for the privilege. We hunted around and found State Farm were a good option - we're paying about US$650 for six month's worth (sounds awful I know but not bad by Cal standards). If you can show a clean driving history for up to seven years you'll be able to save money so it's definitely worth getting a letter from your NZ insurance company or the NZ Transport Registry Centre before you leave. If you're planning on filing your AOS quickly you can do all the paperwork while you're waiting for the marriage certificate to come through. We were a bit slack (read: recovering from all the wedding preparations) and didn't really get going until the certificate arrived, which slowed us down by a couple of weeks. And yes, waiting for the EAD does get tiresome! At least the wait has been during a southern California summer (I feel for all of you who will arrive in winter). Good luck with your applications. Belated welcome to Bobsagetti Thanks for the info on car insurance. I think one of the major things i am concerned about (one out of the MANY i have ) is to do with health insurance over there. Is it compulsory to have health insurance?. Or can you go along to the docs or dentist like in NZ and just pay a fee at the end of the consultation? If it is compulsory, is it hard for new immigrants to get cover? Can you get it whilst you are waiting for work permit? or do you have to have a job first? Sorry this sounds like a lot of questions but hopefully someone will be able to fill in these gaps as i think one of the biggest worries is if a person suddenly fell ill and to not know what the heck happens or if you can seek medical help etc? Bobsagetti: How long have you been waiting for EAD? What is the general waiting time before it is issued? cdneh and Michelle: I looked on igors list, 250	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-08 02:30:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Sep 5 2008, 09:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> We're on our way to NZ folks!!! The lady on the phone from the NVC was so cute..."wooohooo'ing" for us twice! Finally! Feels like NOA2 all over again. The petition should arrive on Tuesday as they already have everything else they need we will request an interview date asap. Almost home! YAY!! Congratulations Kim!!! This is just the BEST news!! I am soo happy for you and Russ!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-05 22:02:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Sep 3 2008, 03:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I have a crystal ball, remember? There is a way to track packages from the NVC to the Embassy's using DHL Do you do private readings with your crystal ball? (a long queue of vjers form outside Kims residence ) That's cool that there is a way to track packages from NVC but sucks that none were yours But i am sure it will be there very soon. Hopefully in a week or two	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-03 16:54:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	I'm sorry to hear of the delay Kim! I'm sure it won't be long till it's processed and you'll get a date. Like Michelle, I am sending lots of positive thoughts over there too! yankiwi: I'm not really too fussed at this stage what kind of job I do once i am allowed to work/permit over there. I understand, from what i have read, that the EAD (think thats what it is called) can take 3 months or more to process, so by that time i will be itching to work as i don't like sitting around idle hope everyone has a lovely weekend!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-08-29 17:53:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	dlopez86: Welcome! hope the process is a speeedy one!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-08-29 04:08:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Grant, Kim and Kelzm: Thanks for the information. I will be in California as far as driving licence goes. Its good to know you can use your NZ licence for a year. I have never actually driven on the 'wrong' side of the road before,(as my partner does all the driving when i am there with him) so it will certainly feel weird when i do drive over there at first. That sounds like a good idea to get a traffic offence history from here for when one gets insurance over there. Many thanks for the dmv website. i have bookmarked it. It's good to know that the laptop worked ok over there. Like you guys said, it will probably pay to buy a US power adaptor/cord when i am there. I would assume places like circuit city or best buy may sell them.	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-08-28 04:27:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Shawnand Lu: thanks for letting us know about the medical etc. when do you go for the interview? Kelvan: Have a great time in Kansas! wow three flights. don't realise just how big USA is! makes NZ look very itty bitty!! Grant: Congratulations on booking your flights! wow! not long to go now. As far as driving goes over there. Are kiwis allowed to drive over there on their nz licence or do we have to get an international driving licence from the AA here? If not, would we have to do a complete driving test over there straight away? Also, and i realise this probably sounds silly but if one takes their laptop from NZ, would it be ok to use it in USA? i read that the power adaptors for laptops here can adjust to the different electricity voltage over there (they work from 110-240 vlts or something like that) but would need a plug adaptor to put over the plug end for the different pins/plugs over there. is this right ?	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2008-08-27 03:11:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Congrats to Kim and Russ and Shawn and Lu too! Lots of things happening. Amaciar - How long did it take for Nic to get his SSN? Did he wait for it to be sent by mail or did he go into the office? I'm trying to get a good idea of the timeframes so that I know if I need to go in to apply. Lots waiting on getting that SSN!	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-17 10:12:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	I'm home. Lots of good vibes being sent out to Russ, I'm confident that he's going to breeze through the interview.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-16 13:49:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Heya Here's some links for parking. I parked in the Customs St carpark, I was there for just over an hour and it cost about $5. It took about 2 minutes to walk from there to the Embassy. http://www.aucklandc...rking/guide.asp There's also the Wilson parking yards which you can find info on here: http://www.wilsonpar...ns/auckland-cbd Good luck for your interviews everyone, I'm flying Home today I'll talk to you all later on, from there!	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-14 15:36:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Kim - space bags sound like a good idea, I might give those a go! What I'm finding is that I'm having to put aside lots of things like clothes so that I can take other things like photo's, little sentimental knick knacks and old cards and letters. I suppose ... you can always buy new clothes, right?	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-10 15:59:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Great news Kim I'm on my last week of work now, flying out Monday evening to San Francisco. I'm spending this week sorting and re-sorting all my belongings and trying to get myself down to three suitcases only! The nerves are starting to kick in when I think about the big trip, I'm very excited but the prospect of leaving family is a bit daunting. I'm worried about my son who will be staying in NZ to finish High School, I'm sure that he'll be fine but I know the next few months are going to be a bit traumatic for us both.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-09 16:46:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Congrats, here's hoping they can get you in for an interview this week so Russ can be on his way asap.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-05 22:03:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Welcome bobsagetti, it's always helpful to hear from those who have been through the whole process. The California drivers license situation is one of my big concerns right now, and insurance. My husband spent his time last weekend visiting car dealers so I now have a lovely new car ready and waiting for when I can legally drive it! Kel - great to hear you got through the POE entry with no problems and that you're enjoying your time with Evan. I'm in countdown mode, one more week of work to go, flying out on the 15th. Starting to get a little nervous about now!	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-04 17:15:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	The NVC thread has the info on tracking packages. From what I've seen they're usually pretty speedy with getting them sent out once they're completed. Unfortunately for Kim she's stuck in some kind of horrid slowdown, hopefully yours will be in the next outgoing shipment.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-09-03 22:38:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Welcome to the thread! And good luck with getting your application through quickly.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2008-08-28 15:26:00