Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Maybe you are! Something sure changed my luck	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-13 01:27:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Jan 13 2009, 09:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I can see you smiling from here and it's made my day!!! I'm so happy for you! Hey, they scheduled Russell's interview when they had the electronic version only.... just a thought. Yes...lol...I remembered that...and I have sent them an email to thank them for letting me know ...and ask if there is anything I can do	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-12 15:44:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 13 2009, 08:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> More good news...Auckland has the electronic file And DHL is shipping here....woohooo...	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-12 15:31:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	More good news...Auckland has the electronic file	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-12 14:45:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Counting backwards...that is an idea. Except for I'd presently be younger than my children	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-12 02:31:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Michelle.S @ Jan 12 2009, 11:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 12 2009, 10:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I think I must be past middle age. As my youngest son said.... you aren't middle aged... people rarely get to be 110 Mother... I think I might be the Granny here oh pish posh, you're a granny when you have white hair that looks a bit like candy floss and a wrinkly face and do lots of baking, now i don't know about the baking but the rest of it def isn't you I'll tell him that...	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-11 18:49:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	I think I must be past middle age. As my youngest son said.... you aren't middle aged... people rarely get to be 110 Mother... I think I might be the Granny here	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-11 16:47:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kelzm @ Jan 18 2009, 02:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi all, it's been a little while since I checked in and it seems everyone's been very busy! Hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year. Congratulations to everyone that's moving through the process (especially cdneh, after what they put you through!). Justine - good to hear from you and hear that things are going so well for you. If you want anyone to add information on the CR1/IR1 process to your blog I'd be happy to help out. Also - I know what you mean about the bread, my son is over for the summer holidays and he complained to me just yesterday about everything being so sweet! As for me time is ticking away. I've now been here for 4 months, had my first (white) Christmas and New Years with my husband, turned 36 and spent the longest amount of time off work since I left high school. Yes, I'm still unemployed, previously I was trying to find work in the field in which I'm qualified (I'm a librarian), now I'm broadening my search and hoping that something will turn up to get some extra $$ coming in and get me out of the house a little more. The weathers starting to heat up again here in California and I think winter is just about done. This week I'm heading in to Santa Cruz where I hear there is a World Market that may sell vegemite. We'll see if it'll go ok with that sweet bread! Great to see that our thread got stickied It seems a long time ago when I was excited just to find Justine and Kim and Russ on here looking for other kiwis, now we have a whole community and our own sticky just like the aussies! It's great to hear that all is going well! stockpile on the vegemite!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-18 03:49:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kelvan @ Jan 18 2009, 03:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi kelzm!!! Glad you are enjoying it over there in SF, we are thinking of living there too, maybe we could meet up one day Guys, another question (sorry if I sound like such a newbie) >_< I'm sending off my packet 3 forms tomorrow. What happens after that? Do they call me back in a couple of days to schedule an interview if the forms are a-ok? Then I get started on collecting all the other stuff for the interview, and have my medical, right? in packet 3 did you have a form to sign to say that you have everything ready for an interview? once you send back packet 3 (with that form included) they will then send out a letter to you (you can't miss the letter it is bright PINK) with the date of your interview on it. My interview was 3 and a half weeks after i received packet 4 (interview letter). so yes, by the time your interview is due you will need to have been for a medical and have the 1-134 form filled out by SO and the necessary documents needed etc...	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-18 03:43:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 16 2009, 09:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Sort of very top secret spy stuff....good grief...I will have to try not to giggle. Oooo Las Vegas ..now that's exciting! We were originally planning on doing the city hall thing... but it's starting to look a little more like a 'wedding' wedding. The plan is evolving ..as they do yes, early last year we were going to do the city hall thing but as you say the plan starts evolving let us know more details of your wedding as it progresses amaciar: ahh yes, Martin Luther King day. Wow! so the folks at embassy here are quite lucky. Not only do they get NZ public holidays but also American ones too!! That adds up to a nice chunk of public holidays -21! Brrrh! Too cold for me! Kim&chris: Not long to go before the wedding. Have you decided where you will get married? Kelvan: I listed schools from primary to college on my form. With employment section, it may pay to write 'unemployed' during the times you were not working. I don't think it would hurt to do that.	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-16 20:35:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 16 2009, 07:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Isn't that interesting? I sure hope she says that to me! *nervous twitch* I wonder what is up with that tiny little window and the microphone ...after all the secuirty measures? We may all be stressed, and a bit nuts, but I don't anyone bites Thanks for taking a lot of the mystery of the 'unknown' out of it for me. I'm sure I'll still be a bag of hammers on the day.... Actually, not sure if it is my warped sense of humour but seeing the window there and the microphone all seemed a bit comical to me. It was like you see in the movies when someone visits another at a high security prison LOL!!! (without the telephones to talk into though) when she told me to wait for interview etc. one of the men who was sitting down waiting (he had lost his greencard when coming back from overseas or something like that) offered me this 1040 (? is that what it is called) tax form and said. 'here! would you like some exciting reading while you are waiting and he laughed. I was the only one there for K-1. As for a date on heading to usa. My SO and I were discussing it last night. I have to get rid of all my household belongings. close bank accounts and all that kind of stuff. Hand notice in at work. And my son is staying with me at the moment and will have to look for a place to live. so i guess it all depends on how quickly he can find somewhere which hopefully shouldn't be too long. My SO and I want to get married in Vegas. We have been there 5 times and although we don't gamble, we like the atmosphere there and the shows. Our first 'holiday' together outside of his home town was at Vegas. so it's quite significant to us. So we don't have any definite date of my leaving but am hoping it will be no longer than 1st march. Two weeks and two days to go till your interview!!! yay!!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-16 19:54:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Michelle.S @ Jan 16 2009, 10:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Congratulations Kiwiana and thank you for such a detailed account of your morning as always i'm a little confused, it looks like she started off your interview saying you were approved, am i reading that right? i'm so nervous just reading your post i have no idea how i'm going to cope with my own interview. yes as i was relaxing last night, I went over the events of the day in my head.And i thought it was strange that when i first went to the window, the lady said i had been approved.. THEN she got me to sit and wait for an interview?!? At the interview though, the second lady did look through my paperwork again and asked me for older evidence of our relationship and gave me back my original copies of birth certificate etc. And she wanted to see the most recent photos of us together. so i guess even though i had been approved they wanted to know that they had all the right documentation needed??? I have to say though, that out of the three folders that i took. They wanted to see very little of what i had with me. I had taken marrriage certificate (from previous marriage) which showed my maiden name on it. I offered it to them but they weren't interested. They didn't ask for cv or tax transcript, or SO birth certificate. But it does pay to have everything with you as i guess you just don't know what they will ask to see. I had to laugh to myself: When i first arrived at the window and the lady asked for my passport and birth cert etc. I went to pick up one of the folders and just hand it to her.. THEN i realised the glass between me and her went all the way down and there is little slot/tray on the bottom of the window that you can slide papers under. but just big enough for like one paper at a time!! lol! The folks at the embassy are just soo nice and put your mind at ease. You will be fine at the interview . It's not like an interrogation at all. It's all done in a casual manner. And the most time taken for me was waiting for the interview but apart from that. I was maybe 5 mins at the window in the beginning and maybe 5 mins at the interview at the most.	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-16 18:23:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 16 2009, 02:30 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks for all that! I am sure I will be as nervous as on the day, but reading your post makes me feel a little less terrified about it all. Did she give you back your original divorce certificate? I've been wondering about that, as I will need the original to get a license there. ETA: I shouldn't try and make sense after a night shift..heh...I forgot to say Congratulations!!! yes before the interview was over. i asked the lady if i could have the original certificates back and she told me that she was doing just that while looking through the papers.(sorting the originals out, to give back to me)	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-16 04:43:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jan 15 2009, 11:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I packed my xray in my check in luggage.....I hadn't read anywhere that they required it at POE and to be honest I had way to much other ####### to cart with me as hand luggage. They never requested it at all. Got the marriage licence the other day so now we're rearing to go Thats so good to hear. Didn't fancy having that huge thing flapping in my hand while trying to struggle with all the other luggage AND the envelope from the embassy woo hooo! you have the marriage licence!!! have you decided on a date yet??	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-16 02:15:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (ivannnaloveskiwi @ Jan 15 2009, 11:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hi everyone, does anyone know when you get your visa does it have to be a round trip ticket or a one way..like on the vwp it has to be round trip...we were just wondering.. It can be a one way ticket!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-16 02:08:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	It's been a long day! I only got about 3 hours sleep last night and got up at 4am. I was out of the door by 6.10 and the traffic flow was relatively good, which surprised me. Got to city after 7am. went to customs street east to find the embassy which was easy. The flag is sticking out of the side of building and flying, so you can't miss it. I looked up and down for a blue P sign (parking) but i was either too nervous or just plain blind but couldn't fnd any. so i drove up to the civic centre parking to find that half of the building is closed for repairs but managed to grab a spot there. As I was early i sat down in mcdonalds and grabbed a hot chocolate. Then i decided to slowly walk down Queen street. I turned into the queens arcade and looked around and then sat down and looked through the three folders i had on me for the interview (one was for the originals certificates, one was copy of 1-129f package and one had all the new stuff in it) Walked out of queens arcade turned right and the embassy is just a little way down. I walked into the entrance of the citibank building around 8.40 and to the right side are the elevators. Got in and I pressed for 3rd floor. Once there,the door opened and i was met with a security guard standing by an xray machine. He took the pink slip from me (i noticed he held it at some distance to read it - guess the pink WAS a little bright for him ) He told me i wasn't allowed to take handbags into the embassy. He then put my handbag through an xray machine. Then said he would lock it away and gave me a card with a number on it (for me to collect my bag afterwards) he said to go to window three. I then walked through a door and turned left. There were two guys/customers sitting, waiting by the US CITIZEN and IMMIGRANT VISA windows. i walked up to window 3 (immigrant visa) and pressed a button. Very shortly, a woman with blonde hair (tied in a pony tail)with american accent came to the window. She was just soo friendly and polite. First thing she said was that i had been approved. She opened a folder and said 'here, we don't need these" and handed me the evidence i had given to them in the original 1-129f package along with the photos. she explained about how the visa works.. only to be used one time and have to get married within 90 days etc i gave her my passport with the receipt of visa fee attached to it.She then told me that she would give me copies of the vaccination records as i will need them for AOS. she did two copies for me and stamped them with the embassy stamp. I asked her about the 1-693form and the need to get a civil surgeon over in usa to transcribe the vaccination record and to get tb skin test and she shook her head and said no. "All you need to do is send this vaccination record along with your adjustment of status form" So i'm not too sure now what the procedure is. She noted that i was very well organised and seemed to know everything i needed to know about all the forms etc (i thought to myself.. yes only thanks to VJ and members! ) she asked me for my birth certificate, divorce cert,1-134 form ( we didn't get the tax transcript in time but it didn't matter as she didnt ask for it) and she asked for the letter from SO employer. I showed her my SO pay stubs and she said no, this is sufficient for the moment. I also gave her evidence of my funds. And the courier envelope.She didn't ask for my cv though. After she photocopied the vaccination records and went through the paperwork to make sure she had everything, i then had my fingerprints scanned. She then handed me a form and i had to write my SO name on the bottom of it but i was NOT to sign the form. She told me that i would have an interview which would be in 30 to 40 mins and would i like to get a coffee while waiting. But i thought of going back through security check etc and thought it would be best to sit and wait. An hour later , a young American girl with blonde hair called me to another window. She asked me several q's. How long have we known each other. Why haven't we married in the ten years that we have known each other? When will we get married. Who does he live with? Will i work? will we stay at his parents place or get our own place eventually? She noted that places to rent in california are expensive. She then looked at his 1-134 form. I showed her his most recent pay stubs and said he had earned more money this last year, as well as getting a wage rise. (still below poverty line though) She then glanced over my funds. Didn't say anything but seemed happy/satisfied. she asked me if i had any evidence of our earlier meetings. so i took stuff out of the 1-129f package and showed her hotel receipts dating back to 2000, 2002, 2004 etc. She then asked for recent photos and that was about all the evidence she asked for. (By the way...... the way she asked the questions wasn't an interrogation or anything. Just casual talk as she looked through the paperwork. She was very friendly and it was just like having a casual conversation with someone.) I had to raise my right hand and swear an oath and then i signed one of the forms. From what i can recall that seemed pretty much all that was asked as far as questions go on her behalf. She said that monday was a public holiday (where is it a public holiday??) and that i should get my passport and envelope by wednesday or thursday and she gave me back my original copies of certificates. It is quite strange too how the interview is conducted at the window. There is glass separating the both of you and you have microphones on each side of the glass as to be heard. Of course, this means that everyone else in the room can also hear your conversations LOL!! When i left i gave the security guard the card with my number on it and he gave me my handbag. I walked to queens arcade and sat down trying to take everything in. (by the way, there are toilets on the top floor of the arcade, go up the stairs from the ground floor (by the water fountain display), follow the stairs to the top and the toilets are the first turn on your right) I text family and friends and told them the news. My daughter met me in the city and we had a hot chocolate/coffee. By the time i reached civic centre carpark, it was 12.10. It cost $24 to park there!! but was worth it! The staff at the embassy are just wonderful and friendly and put your mind at ease. I must have looked a bundle of nerves when i first went to the window .The older american lady with the blonde hair (tied up) just made me feel so welcomed and relaxed. cdneh you are next!!! woo hooo!!!! Edited by kiwiana, 16 January 2009 - 02:05 AM.	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-16 02:00:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 15 2009, 06:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Aha! I knew you'd know ! I'll not feel quite so silly at the wicket now Good luck for tomorrow, and may the traffic from Big Day Out of it not get in your way! I'm excited on your behalf Thank You!! I keep telling myself that i must go to bed but i am too excited and nervous at same time!! but i will have to get up after 5am tomorrow so better try and make an effort to get some sleep now!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-15 05:20:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 15 2009, 05:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I know...my flatmate was a bit stunned...'you have to take that with you ??" I understood you take it on the plane...they may not want it at POE, but most people I've read here seem to follow that plan. I have a question...I've read the instruction to pay the visa fee at the postshop...but what do you tell them you are paying for? Our little local postshop may have no idea either... I was a bit apprehensive when i went to our small post shop too. I took the pink letter with me and just said that i needed to pay a visa fee to the consulate general of usa. The guy opened up a notebook and there was handwritten stuff in it. He turned to a page that had listed the consulate general. he said to me.. the fee is $135?? I said no, its $235.80 and showed him the pink letter. He said oh ok.. he asked to look at my passport and then he typed some stuff into his computer and up came a print out receipt. TWO copies. One that says "attach to application" and the other one is the customers copy. It says American Consulate General and non IM US visa on it with the amount and passport number and surname of passport holder. so make sure you get two copies so you can keep one for your reference.	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-15 05:04:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 15 2009, 03:30 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (ivannnaloveskiwi @ Jan 15 2009, 07:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> oh...we've been laughing about the big xray...what the heck does he do with it? and the doctor never looked at it..soo? lol whats it for? it's really big..dont think we can find a frame big enough! hahaha anyone know? They are big All the Dr is interested in is the report, which they would have taken out of the big envelope at the Dr's office. I got a copy of it in the post as well. He takes it with him, on the plane, in case they want it at POE. when i picked mine up from xray place, my eyes rounded like saucers when the lady came out and handed them to me!! i was like what the heck?? LOL!! i then did a hike back to docs surgery, burning rubber from the soles of my jandals as i tried to speed along, with the large xray envelope flapping in my hand with each stride I do hope we all don't have to lug that thing on the plane with us when we head to the US!! Or i will have to buy an extra seat just to house the thing on!! so don't we have to show the xrays when we go to a civil surgeon over there to have a transcript done from our vaccination records? During such stressful times over this whole process, it's good that one can get a laugh out of it. The size of the xrays certainly got me giggling	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-15 03:41:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 14 2009, 02:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Kiwiana...are you all set? Got those butterflies under control? Tomorrow is the big day By some strange coincidence, (due to the economic strive happening lately which means not much happening at work), the boss told us all to take today off work. so instead of keeping myself busy at work to take my mind off the interview tomorrow, i now have all day to think about it! LOL!! so i have been checking, double checking, 10 times over all the documents and stuff i have to take with me. During this whole process (from beginning to end) i reckon we will all know enough about 1-129f, g325A, ds-156,Ds-230, 1-134, 1-485,1-765, etc... (the list goes on.....)that we could all probably get a job at the uscis service centres. As complete experts on the subject!! must say it is an absolutely beautiful day outside today!! Generally miss the 'sunny' days during the week due to work. Can even hear 'crickets' chirping ( i can't pronounce the other name that we call them -sircaters lol!) will be interesting to see if your vodaphone will work in VA. I will definitely have to try and get one when in cali.I have a telecom one and don't think it would be worth taking it with me. To think that like twenty years ago, computer/internet, mobile phone (as we know it today) weren't available (for most people) and now we take them all for granted and can't live without them!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-14 18:36:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 13 2009, 02:54 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (kiwiana @ Jan 13 2009, 08:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 13 2009, 03:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> And three days until yours! You have to let me know what that is like...makes me come over all nervous at the thought of it! yes and i just learned tonight that on Friday there is the 'big day out' music festival on at mt smart. usually over 30,000 people go to it. I realise its not in the city but just not sure how busy the traffic is going to be from all sides of the city that day. I plan to leave VERY early just to be on the safe side Oh the Big Day Out of It. (That's what we call it at work...Ambulance) The Motorway North and South around MtWell off ramp might be backed up, what time is your interview? They don't get too nuts until the middle of the day, and we set up at about 0600 to avoid it all. Edited: The gates open at 11:00 interviews at 9. The motorway is usually CROWDED early because of city commuters. I live a good hours drive away from the city, so plan to leave here after 6am. I know i won't be able to sleep properly on thursday night due to nerves anyway	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-13 03:08:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 13 2009, 03:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> And three days until yours! You have to let me know what that is like...makes me come over all nervous at the thought of it! yes and i just learned tonight that on Friday there is the 'big day out' music festival on at mt smart. usually over 30,000 people go to it. I realise its not in the city but just not sure how busy the traffic is going to be from all sides of the city that day. I plan to leave VERY early just to be on the safe side	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-13 02:49:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 12 2009, 04:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 13 2009, 08:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> More good news...Auckland has the electronic file And DHL is shipping here....woohooo... wooo hooo!! I see on your timeline your interview is Feb 2nd!! Just under 3 weeks to go!!! yay!!! soo very happy for you!! kimandruss: Would you know if verizon has prepaid phones at all? I'd really love to get a mobile phone asap when i arrive there but would prefer prepaid, so you can pay as you use kinda thing	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-13 01:45:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	middle age? what's that? In my head i'm still 24!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-12 00:49:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	question how do we get the medicals BEFORE pck three arrives. We are sending off the pck three forms we received in the email BUT soooooooo confused rips out hair Cd...things going good for you I see WOO HOO!	Cham	Female	Australia	2009-01-13 02:44:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	All I needed to get married here was my passport, the only confusion my local county office had was how to fill in their computerised form as it required them to put in a state and being from New Zealand, I had none. In the end I think they put New Zealand for the state and the country. I'd suggest giving your local county a call and just asking them what they require from you to get married, it should be simple enough.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-19 12:59:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hi all, it's been a little while since I checked in and it seems everyone's been very busy! Hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year. Congratulations to everyone that's moving through the process (especially cdneh, after what they put you through!). Justine - good to hear from you and hear that things are going so well for you. If you want anyone to add information on the CR1/IR1 process to your blog I'd be happy to help out. Also - I know what you mean about the bread, my son is over for the summer holidays and he complained to me just yesterday about everything being so sweet! As for me time is ticking away. I've now been here for 4 months, had my first (white) Christmas and New Years with my husband, turned 36 and spent the longest amount of time off work since I left high school. Yes, I'm still unemployed, previously I was trying to find work in the field in which I'm qualified (I'm a librarian), now I'm broadening my search and hoping that something will turn up to get some extra $$ coming in and get me out of the house a little more. The weathers starting to heat up again here in California and I think winter is just about done. This week I'm heading in to Santa Cruz where I hear there is a World Market that may sell vegemite. We'll see if it'll go ok with that sweet bread! Great to see that our thread got stickied It seems a long time ago when I was excited just to find Justine and Kim and Russ on here looking for other kiwis, now we have a whole community and our own sticky just like the aussies!	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-18 02:06:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (rubyred @ Jan 19 2009, 06:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hey did anyone getting married in the US (from nz) have to get this thing: certificate of no impediment I never bothered with this and don't recollect ever being asked for one. From what I can remember, all we were asked for was a copy of the divorce cert if we'd ever been married. Oh and thanks for the SFKiwi link......... It's where we hope to move to this year sometime and I bookmarked the page some time ago but couldn't find it	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-19 08:40:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Jan 16 2009, 07:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> woo hooo! you have the marriage licence!!! have you decided on a date yet?? Probably 4th of Feb, just gotta get my you know what into gear and get it sorted. I want to make it special, but part of me just wants it done, no fuss etc....... P.S. For any of you heading into the cold, bring real Kiwi sheepskin Ugh Boots....lol......best investment I made before I left home	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-16 14:37:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (ivannnaloveskiwi @ Jan 16 2009, 04:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hi everyone, does anyone know when you get your visa does it have to be a round trip ticket or a one way..like on the vwp it has to be round trip...we were just wondering.. ivannnaloveskiwi ....... The K-1 allows you to buy a one way ticket. I flew on one, the travel agent just asked to view the K-1 in my passport. I flew Air Tahiti. It arrives in L.A. earlier in the day than Qantas which gives a bigger window if it should be needed before any connecting flight. Didn't need it as it turned out, but i didn't want a repeat of the drama caused by missing the connection last time. I also found Air Tahiti to be a cheaper fare for both return and one way, and the service was still good. I bought the one way fare because i prefered to keep more money in my pocket to last me over the time that I can't work. ......lol	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-16 11:08:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Well done Kiwiana....believe me, I know the relief you're feeling right now....lol...... but hold on to your hat as everything will just fly by really fast now and before you know it you'll be on your way It's funny, I spent alot of time in downtown Auckland city over the years, working/shopping, and never knew the U.S. Embassy was there, never even noticed the flag until I was approaching the building for my interview. I actually took a pic of the outside of the building with my phone, including the flag, and sent it to SO before I went in. He said he found it quite moving..... And yes I found my way afterward to the toilets on the top floor of the Queens Arcade.....a path well troden by many a nervous interviewee I should imagine....lol	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-16 10:45:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Jan 15 2009, 08:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 15 2009, 03:30 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (ivannnaloveskiwi @ Jan 15 2009, 07:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> oh...we've been laughing about the big xray...what the heck does he do with it? and the doctor never looked at it..soo? lol whats it for? it's really big..dont think we can find a frame big enough! hahaha anyone know? They are big All the Dr is interested in is the report, which they would have taken out of the big envelope at the Dr's office. I got a copy of it in the post as well. He takes it with him, on the plane, in case they want it at POE. when i picked mine up from xray place, my eyes rounded like saucers when the lady came out and handed them to me!! i was like what the heck?? LOL!! i then did a hike back to docs surgery, burning rubber from the soles of my jandals as i tried to speed along, with the large xray envelope flapping in my hand with each stride I do hope we all don't have to lug that thing on the plane with us when we head to the US!! Or i will have to buy an extra seat just to house the thing on!! so don't we have to show the xrays when we go to a civil surgeon over there to have a transcript done from our vaccination records? During such stressful times over this whole process, it's good that one can get a laugh out of it. The size of the xrays certainly got me giggling I packed my xray in my check in luggage.....I hadn't read anywhere that they required it at POE and to be honest I had way to much other ####### to cart with me as hand luggage. They never requested it at all. Got the marriage licence the other day so now we're rearing to go	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-15 23:30:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	God I don't feel middle aged either and my son made me a granny at 37 !!! I decided at 40 I was going to start counting backwards......I figured by the time senility set in I'd be back to my teens and no-one would know the difference In my head I'm still 20 something and ready to party ......except for the backache and the sore knees	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-11 18:52:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Jan 16 2009, 08:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> She said that monday was a public holiday (where is it a public holiday??) isn't the presidential anauguration on the 20th??	Michelle Kauffman	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-16 09:24:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Congratulations Kiwiana and thank you for such a detailed account of your morning as always i'm a little confused, it looks like she started off your interview saying you were approved, am i reading that right? i'm so nervous just reading your post i have no idea how i'm going to cope with my own interview.	Michelle Kauffman	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-16 09:12:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Good luck for today Kiwiana tho i'm sure that you're going to be fine I understand the butterflies, hehe i get them just thinking about my interview	Michelle Kauffman	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-15 13:30:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jan 12 2009, 10:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I think I must be past middle age. As my youngest son said.... you aren't middle aged... people rarely get to be 110 Mother... I think I might be the Granny here oh pish posh, you're a granny when you have white hair that looks a bit like candy floss and a wrinkly face and do lots of baking, now i don't know about the baking but the rest of it def isn't you	Michelle Kauffman	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-11 17:55:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jan 12 2009, 06:10 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Tell you what else has been interesting on here, I know alot of you are just starting out, in you early 20's etc, and to be honest I thought at 46 I must be the granny of the thread, but from the odd thing I've read it sounds like there may be the odd other middle aged person or two on here, so that makes me feel a bit better....lol Cheers Kim hehe yep, i'm 43 tho i must admit i don't feel middle aged, strange but i still don't think of myself that way yet	Michelle Kauffman	Female	New Zealand	2009-01-11 15:41:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	yeah i thought it was weird as i hadn't seen anyone on this thread make mention of it. all the VJers in the san francisco area should get together sometime - there's a little bar/restaurant in alameda called 'the new zealander', which could make a great place for a meet-up.	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2009-01-19 23:57:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	i also found this for kiwis in the san fran/bay area: sfkiwis	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2009-01-19 01:29:00