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 (rubyred @ Apr 8 2009, 09:56 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> thanks kim! i'm also confused about when i get the medical - it doesn't state in the guide that i need to have before sending in the AOS package. any ideas? I know they want a copy of your vaccination record for AOS, (the one all K-1's get when they have their medical back in NZ). You're on a student visa aren't you? Did you have any kind of medical etc for that? I know if you had the medical at home and just need the vaccination sheet signed off here, even though they may tell you you do, you don't have to redo the full medical, (see Kiwiana's post above about that). However if you didn't have to have any medical for your visa, in order to get the vaccination sheet, you'll have to find a civil surgeon here to do it and they'll probably make you have the full medical to get it. Hope that makes sense. It did in my head anyway....lol	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-04-08 10:12:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (rubyred @ Apr 8 2009, 12:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> for AOS, do both you AND the USC need to fill out g-325a? oh, btw - we got married yesterday! really lovely and special and intimate Oh congrats well done. Our ceremony was extremely intimate, just Chris, me and the JP....lol. But it was our moment so I know how you feel. No the G-325a just needs to be filled out by you. Just make sure you provide evidence of employment and income to go with your I-864 Affidavit of Support. They don't specifically ask for it, but I got pinged with an RFE for not sending it. We're now starting to make plans for the move out west. I'm about to start the search for work and somewhere to live. We'll be looking from north of San Franciso down to the south of it. It's not going to be easy online but I'll give it a go. Fingers crossed	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-04-08 09:06:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Apr 7 2009, 05:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hi all! quick question: when i file for AOS as well as for a work permit and 1-131. Do i have to include a copy of my divorce decree too? or is it not neccesary for these? I managed to get an appointment with a civil surgeon for tomorrow. so will see if i can just get the vaccination record transcribed or if he will insist i have a full medical again (which i will refuse to do) I told the receptionist when i made the appointment that i just want the form transcribed and she said something about a full medical and i said to her NO i dont need one and read out the piece on page 4 of the uscis instructions about k1s not needing one. she quoted $40 for the transcribe only..... so we will see what happens tomorrow.... I also found some milo in the 'food for less' supermarket here. I was like OMG!! it was a 400g tin but i see that it was made in columbia and not nz. It is distributed by nestle. i tried some yesterday and it doesnt taste like milo but more like ovaltine imo I sent in my previous marriage and divorce papers. Don't think they requested it but I thought I would send it anyway. Nestle Carnation Malted Milk Chocolate. It's powder form in a plastic jar at the supermarket. Tastes quite similar to milo	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-04-07 20:44:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Apr 4 2009, 11:43 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I have read on vj about hassles some people have at the SSA office and yesterday was my turn to have FUN there. Had to wait about an hour and a half until my number was called. when i got to the front desk/window, i said to the woman are you familiar with the k1 visa. she hesitantly said yes. i then handed her my form, marriage certificate and passport. (I dont have a ssn and wanted to get one in my new married name) she looked over my things and looked perplexed. I then pulled out the POMS information that i downloaded online from their website. I showed her it and she said, "i know i am looking at it now on my computer screen". she then started to shake her head and mumble, "i'm sorry, there is nothing here"..... and then her words trailed off.. I said to her i CAN get a SSN but am not allowed to work till i get my work permit. she ummed and arrrhed then called her supervisor over. he looked over my passport and said. "We CANT give you the ssn in your married name as your i-94 doesnt expire till May". I looked at him like WTH???? I said to him something like "k1 visa is used when you come here to get married.. i am NOW married". He shook his head.. "no we cant issue you one in your married name until you have a green card". I have to admit i was at boiling point at this stage but they wouldnt budge on the issue. She had me look over my details on a form she had printed out to make sure it was right. i then signed it. She then handed me a letter and said they have to check with DHS to make sure everything is right first before issuing a number. On the letter it said it could take up to 6 weeks before i get a number. I have to admit i was pretty desponded when i left that place. just totally deflated. So now that the ssn is going to be in my old name and not new married name, will that affect me opening a bank account in my married name at all? If the ssn number comes in the next week or two, Is it ok to put the ssn down on the next lot of immigration forms that i have to fill in (1765,1485 etc) or will it confuse the matter with it being in my old name? Or would it be ok to leave that part of the forms blank especially if it takes 6 weeks to get the ssn as i would like to get the forms filled out pretty soonish. I dread the next stage where i have to starting phoning around looking for a civil surgeon to sign my vaccination sheet off and get a tb skin test done..and not have them demand that i get a full medical done again. I'm finding this part of the process a nightmare already and i have only gone to the ssn office so far Hi Ana We get here and the fun begins....lol Sounds like the SS office you dealt with weren't up with the play. I think we've been spoilt with the efficiency of the Auck US Consulate. The easiest thing I can see to do is to wait till it arrives and then go straight in and have it changed to your married name. I'd even consider going to another SSN office perhaps. You've probably got heaps of time left till your I-94 expires to wait it out for the SS card to arrive but if you can't wait then you can start your AOS paperwork and either put N/A for the SSN or if the card arrives within a week or so, use the number on it even though it's in your old name. The number won't change when you file to change it to your married name. When I filed for AOS I did not have the vaccination sheet transcribed or signed off, and I did not get a TB test done. I read on here that others just supplied the copy of the vaccination sheet the doc who did our original medical gave us so I decided to do the same. And I figured if they want me to have a TB test done, then they'll tell me. I have recieved an RFE, much to my disgust, but it was to do with employment evidence for the Affidavit of Support, not the medical stuff, and I'm guessing that they would have rifled through all my paperwork before they sent it so I'm hoping that it's the only one. It's up to you if you want to get the medical stuff done, but after reading all the stuff on here about it, I didn't think it was necessary unless requested.	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-04-04 17:27:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Apr 3 2009, 09:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Dave_n_Genna @ Apr 4 2009, 08:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thx Ruby! One more question... how does the Social Security # fit in with this whole process? Is it required for the AoS? We are getting married on the 25th... have we already screwed up by not getting the SS# yet? Genna didnt pick up one of those Work Authorization forms at PoE, becuz we dont really have any desire for her to work just yet. They say it's best to get the SSN first, and then do a name change later. That's what I did, and I had the card in 1 week. We are off tomorrow to Arkansas for the wedding, which is April 8th. OMG Cdneh........no ones even mentioned Arkansas before except me....lol......where abouts are you heading? Dave_n_Genna...........the best thing you can do is call the county clerks office for the county you're getting married in. Each state and sometimes county can vary slightly. When we went in the woman asked for them from both of us, but it made no mention anywhere I'd read online. But not all counties are the same so if you're worried about it it really does pay to check.	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-04-04 10:29:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Mar 26 2009, 01:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> amaciar: thats good to hear that nic has found a job not sure where you would find pies here... and speaking of food......... i looked in my local supermarket early this morning for baked beans and found a couple of brands and they had bacon and brown sugar flavour???(or something like that) i bought a can by a brand B&M? but haven't tried them yet. All the brand names are very foreign to me. Can anyone recommend a brand that i could try? kim&chris: wow that is a bit pricey for some weetabix eh? The organic ones i got (made in canada) are very similar to the ones in nz. can't remember exactly how much they were but pretty sure for a box of 12 wasn't over $4. More expensive than the popular cereals here but it was nice to have something that isn't all sugary At the biometrics appointment,do they just take your fingerprints and that is all? did you mail the evidence they needed for the RFE? It's a gorgeous day outside today here. It's like it is summer already! Hows everyone doing? Pricey is not the word!!!....lol I did see the organic weetabix (canadian I think) in Krogers one time, I think they're based on the English ones, I heard them mentioned on Coro once...lol Next time I'm in that store, now you've said they're similar to ours, I'm gonna grab a box. The only beans I've found here so far that vaguely resemble ours is a brand called Showboat. They're called Pork & Beans in tomato sauce, but the pork in them is needle in a haystack material.... .......I miss me Watties Baked Beans and Sausages Being in the mid west/south BBQ is very big here and you can't eat BBQ without Beans. They're nothing like our baked beans but some of them are extremely delish none the less. Something to also be aware of is not only the sugar content but the sodium content in food. While checking out the beans when i first got here I noticed the sodium content in some of them was huge, a few even over 1000mg per serving. Not sure if they're the same at home, I only used to check the fat content there. Oh and the nutritional info on the labels at home was always per 100gms of food, but here it's per serve and all the serve sizes vary.....for any of you who are counting sugars, fats, salts etc, just so you know. The gent from the Aussie shop in North Little Rock told me that a short while ago the NZ Womens 7's Rugby Team had just visited and the Kiwi's that hosted them had gotten some pies and sausage rolls from a place in Atlanta and that they were pretty good. I'm going to try and make some of the things I can't find. It's time for that Kiwi enginuity to start shining through I'm about to post back my RFE info today......god I hope this satisfy's them, I just want to be done with it.	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-03-27 07:30:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Mar 24 2009, 01:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hi everyone! finally got internet connected this morning. Trying to catch up on reading this thread.. so much has happened since i last checked in. congratulations to all who have been approved or joined their loved ones!! Like michelle, my plane to LA was delayed for over 2 hours at auckland airport. Luckily i didnt have any connecting flights. At POE at LAX the lady was so nice.. she opened the mystery envelope and went through it all. didnt ask me any questions at all. she went back and forth for a minute looking for a particular document. After she stapled the 1-94 in my passport etc. she said welcome to united states of america!! My SO and I went to vegas on 15th march. we went to the county clerks office the next day to get the marriage licence.. when we opened the doors to walk in the whole place was packed with other couples waiting to get one too. i knew vegas was popular place but didnt realise it was THAT popular. it took us an hour in line before we got to the front desk. We got married on st patricks day in this cute chapel! The 'green' theme was quite predominent in vegas. people wearing green hats and shirts etc. A lady that got married after us wore a silk dress that had a white bodice and the rest was green! We had a wonderful time in vegas!! It's just over two weeks since i have been here and I havent applied for ssn yet. I sent away for the marriage certificate yesterday so hope that will arrive next week so i can take that along to the ssa office. hope there wont be any problems getting the ssn with my new married name as i have read that some people on vj have trouble getting it into their married name when their passport has a different name. Still trying to catch my breath a bit as the last two weeks have been full on. Some of you mentioned the bread and how it is different here.. i have just started to notice small differences too. The cereal here seems soo sugary!! i found some weetabix in the supermarket which came from canada so will try that. And i miss vogel but am looking forward to try new foods too. i am sure i will find replacements for the foods i miss. its just a matter of looking around i guess. But apart from those small things, i am just over the moon to finally be here with my SO. still pinch myself every morning to make sure its not all a dream. I know the next stage AOS will probably be stressful with all the forms etc but will come to that bridge in a few weeks time hope everyone is doing well! Hi Anna Glad to hear you made it in one piece. Sounds like your POE experience was a good one, so glad for you about that. You are going to have soooo many fun/crazy wedding memories....lol I found some Wheet-bix at the Aussie shop but couldn't bring myself to pay $11.95 us for them I too found the Wheetabix at Krogers so i might try them instead. Anyway, nice to hear from you	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-03-24 22:54:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Oh and I've had an RFE for my AOS application..... after everything so far having wizzed through without a hitch I have to admit I was pretty gutted. I thought I was pretty thourough but with the I-864. I wrote down the SO's income but didn't provide proof to back it up. I read back through the instructions thinking I'd forgotten to do something, but it said you don't have to supply any xtra info (proof) unless requested to do so by an official. I would recommend to supply it anyway to prevent the dreaded RFE. I know it's not the end of the world, but it's unerved me We did go to the biometrics apt yesterday though. Drove just over 2hrs to Memphis and walked straight into the apt which lasted about 10 mins if that. When I was done Chris said, "is that it??....we drove all that way for that????"....... I was glad he came with me though because we went through the same xray screening and taking off everything metal for the walk through like we had to in Auckland at the consulate. He couldn't believe it....I said "welcome to my world"....lol The girl was very nice, and very chatty as she was doing my fingerprints. But beware......I thought her questions were quite leading.......like... so have you been back home for a visit yet?....I said, "no, I can't do that till I get the AP"....then after general chit chat she asked, so have you managed to find a job yet?....I said, "ah no....I can't work until I get the EAD!" I'm sure they are all trained to be alert and to ask the right questions without us realising, so just be aware of it. She then told me that my card would probably be in the mail in about a fortnight. I akded which card and she said the I-485 green card and the I-765 EAD!! She obviously didn't know about my RFE.......and even without that I doubt it would all be done and dusted in a fortnight. So that was my biometrics experience. I was kind of hoping they would transfer it on to CA but with having the RFE who knows....we shall just have to cross our fingers....lol	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-03-21 14:44:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	God I've spent months trying to source food that is similar to what we're used to at home. The bread I settled on is Natures Own. They do a few dif sorts, the extra fibre one is like chewing on heavy grade cardboard, but the whole wheat is very nice. Whatever you do, stay away from the wonder bread....lol Alot of the food tastes different to home because they use corn syrup here to sweeten things whereas we use a differnt type of sweetener at home. It makes the food taste and smell quite different, (including the bread). Belive it or not I can even smell it everytime I walk into our local wal-mart store. It's not really fair to generalise about things here because with the country being so big, things differ greatly depending where you are. For instance the selection of things you can get on the west coast can be quite different to the selection of things you can get here in small town mid/south west. There are no small vege shops here so everything has to be brought from the big supermarkets, I think I've seen one bakery but haven't ventured into it yet. Lamb supply is minimal and usually Australian ...lol I had to look really hard but finally I found some real cheese, not that orange processed stuff I really miss my sushi and am resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to make my own. But do you think I can find a sushi mat here. Some of the things I just can't find I've sourced online and this will be another of them. It's not all doom and gloom though, you get used to new tastes and even find things that we don't have that are pretty yum	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-03-21 13:55:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	woohoo!! Kate I'm so happy for you, you look so happy. Congratulations to you and Chase. I hope you had a wonderful day, sure looks like you had fun I love your dress, you both look glorious. Edited by Michelle.S, 15 April 2009 - 08:57 PM.	Michelle Kauffman	Female	New Zealand	2009-04-15 20:57:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	we were so freakin stressed right up to the last minute - assembling the package was so confusing, making sure we had duplicates of various things to go with different forms. to make matters worse, we were doing this all the night before we had to flight out to chicago at the very last minute to be with jordan's family - his baby niece had a malignant tumour and a kidney removed. so we were worried about this whole AOS thing, and had no idea what our niece's prognosis was. thankfully, she's in the clear, as they caught it earlier enough. she's a very lucky baby!	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2009-04-28 09:38:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	got my medical done, will finally send package tomorrow!	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2009-04-20 16:35:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	i don't have a k-1 visa - i'm adjusting straight from my work visa so i need an I-130 (petition) and that's the $355 fee. i think i'd been reading this thread too much, so i had the single $1010 fee stuck in brain! silly me :/ i emailed my mum and asked her to contact our family dr and have my vacc records faxed here asap, my exam is on friday morning at 8am, but we have an hour drive to get there... the USCIS civil surgeon locator is a PIECE OF ######! my hubby spent all morning calling one after another, and 90% of those on the list were a)no longer doing immigration exams or b)or accepted asian/australian/canadian/not-newzealanders #######??? plus, i specifically wanted a female dr, since docs in general make me feel extremely anxious. gahhhhhhhhhhhh! hopefully it will all go okay.	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2009-04-14 01:28:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	well, it's been a rough weekend here... for all my research and daily reading of VJ i have made two huge errors: we were ready to organise our package to send off this weekend, and while doing the last few bits i realised i still wasn't sure about a couple of things... i totally missed the $355 filing fee - somehow i thought the law change last year had erased that fee and that all the forms were covered under the $1010, but that is not the case. THEN i found out that the medical has to be completed BEFORE the AOS package is sent off. somehow i'd been under the impression all along that the medical had to be done any time before the actual interview. so you can imagine how stressful this has been! now we have to get the medical organised next week (have to get the AOS sent off immediately so that there'll be more of a chance of my EAD arriving before my visa expires), and i don't have vaccine transcripts, no idea how to get them here, so i'm expecting the medical to run to about $500, which obviously is $500 than we have, especially considering the extra $355 we weren't prepared for. so yeah: good times all round :/	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2009-04-12 19:54:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	i know i have to get a full medical, i'm just not sure when i have to get it - do i need to get it now, before i send in the AOS, or do i need to wait to be notified? jordan tried calling the CIS office in san francisco (the link to a list of civil surgeons in your local area is broken on VJ) and got an answering machine. i doubt they'll return his call. the checklist doesn't really say much, except to get specific info from your local office. i know i have to get a full medical, i'm just not sure when i have to get it - do i need to get it now, before i send in the AOS, or do i need to wait to be notified? jordan tried calling the CIS office in san francisco (the link to a list of civil surgeons in your local area is broken on VJ) and got an answering machine. i doubt they'll return his call. the checklist doesn't really say much, except to get specific info from your local office.	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2009-04-08 17:43:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	i know i have to get a full medical, i'm just not sure when i have to get it - do i need to get it now, before i send in the AOS, or do i need to wait to be notified? jordan tried calling the CIS office in san francisco (the link to a list of civil surgeons in your local area is broken on VJ) and got an answering machine. i doubt they'll return his call. the checklist doesn't really say much, except to get specific info from your local office.	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2009-04-08 17:35:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	thanks kim! i'm also confused about when i get the medical - it doesn't state in the guide that i need to have before sending in the AOS package. any ideas?	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2009-04-08 09:56:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	for AOS, do both you AND the USC need to fill out g-325a? oh, btw - we got married yesterday! really lovely and special and intimate Edited by rubyred, 08 April 2009 - 12:18 AM.	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2009-04-08 00:17:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	don't stress - really, the hard part is over. now comes the tedious part. you MUST be married within 90 days of arriving in the US, BUT there isn't the same kind of restriction for applying for AOS. take your time, make sure you follow the guidelines on VJ, get all your stuff together, recheck it and then recheck it twice more at least. the AOS forms really aren't that bad - they're mostly repetitive. lol listen to me - i haven't even applied yet and i sound like such a know-it-all! but seriously, i have spent so much time reading and rereading this forum, i do feel like a semi-expert.	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2009-04-01 21:28:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	cdneh congrats!!! It's great to see pics of your wedding, you look beautiful! Sorry everyone I haven't been updating lately. I've been pretty busy with wedding plans. We are getting married September 18th in Kansas. So I won't be going over til around late July/August. I hear there is another process you have to go through once there, which is what a lot of you are probably doing right now I see. Just when I thought I was done!	Kelvan	Not Telling	New Zealand	2009-04-22 05:51:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	We drove out yesterday to get Genna's SS#. We were just going to wait till after the wedding, but decided to get it done. It was about an hour drive to get to the place, and then about an hour and a half wait for them to call our number. The actual process was really quick. Anyway, another thing done. Now we are just putting immigration on hold while we work on the wedding (April 25th). Speaking of NZ foodz and drinks... Has anyone found "V" or a similar tasting drink here in the States? Hope everyone is getting on good!	Dave_n_Genna	Not Telling	New Zealand	2009-04-09 13:30:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Well, we have our marriage license, so there was no need for a SSN for that. I filled out the form last night for the SSN and we plan on running up to the office (which is really quite far away) on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. We get married on the 25th, but if the SSN doesnt arrive by then, I guess I have no worries, since some others here have not applied for them till after the wedding. Kiwiana - ugh... we have like an hour drive to the SSN office, and then if we have to wait another 1.5 hours only to be turned away, I am going to be boiling over.	Dave_n_Genna	Not Telling	New Zealand	2009-04-04 14:30:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Apr 3 2009, 09:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Dave_n_Genna @ Apr 4 2009, 08:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thx Ruby! One more question... how does the Social Security # fit in with this whole process? Is it required for the AoS? We are getting married on the 25th... have we already screwed up by not getting the SS# yet? Genna didnt pick up one of those Work Authorization forms at PoE, becuz we dont really have any desire for her to work just yet. They say it's best to get the SSN first, and then do a name change later. That's what I did, and I had the card in 1 week. We are off tomorrow to Arkansas for the wedding, which is April 8th. I guess my actual question is... do we NEED to get the SS# for the wedding and the AoS? or is it just something that is nice to have for work,etc purposes?	Dave_n_Genna	Not Telling	New Zealand	2009-04-04 01:52:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Thx Ruby! One more question... how does the Social Security # fit in with this whole process? Is it required for the AoS? We are getting married on the 25th... have we already screwed up by not getting the SS# yet? Genna didnt pick up one of those Work Authorization forms at PoE, becuz we dont really have any desire for her to work just yet.	Dave_n_Genna	Not Telling	New Zealand	2009-04-03 14:45:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Just dropping by to fill in more of our timeline and check in on folks. Genna and I are doing great now that she is here with me, and working hard on the wedding. The SS# is sort of a pain in the butt, as we have to drive rather far to apply for it. Does anyone know what Service Center LA airport PoE sends the Visa info to? Genna forgot to ask, and I dont know where to send the AoS when we get around to it. AoS is sorta confusing to me overall... Is there a risk of somehow not doing it in time, or failing it and having them send Genna back after our wedding?	Dave_n_Genna	Not Telling	New Zealand	2009-04-01 16:00:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Lisaandtim @ Apr 30 2009, 01:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (kiwiana @ Apr 27 2009, 10:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Apr 28 2009, 12:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Sent the parcel in on 23rd Feb and I got the little card thing back about a week later to say the parcel had been delivered and signed for . The first NOA1 letter arrived on 7th March 12 days after I sent AOS off. And so the waiting continues....... 12 days is pretty good! It's a bit like deja vu. In the waiting room again There was so much to remember to put into the package. I hope I never left anything out Hello everyone ! Sorry haven't been on much. I have been busy with wedding, AOS paperwork, and finals for my pharmacy class, which I passed! We have the biometrics appointment tomorrow. They're making us drive way out of our way but lol guess I should be used to that by now. I was wondering if we have to bring the K1 stuff too as it says bring all paperwork in regards to this document or something along that lines. Does anyone know? Glad to see the progress some of you are having. Hope it continues. Sorry my last one was brief, I wanted to share our social security/DMV experience but ended up spilling soda on the desk. So here it is. I , the USC, ended up being the one to change my name. So it wasn't as hard as some of you had to go through. We go to the social security office so I can get a new card and they say oh you have to go to this other location. So we go there, and it's in the back of a scary looking building. Luckily, that meant no line; all of the lines were for the front part. So we applied for cards, and things seemed to go well. But the lady said since I am receiving benefits from social security, i have to let them know i am married so i may want to save myself a trip and just go next door now and tell them. So we did only to find out they couldn't because my husband didn't have a SSN but to come back or call in 2 weeks when we get the cards. That seemed okay but in 2 weeks, he got his card but mine never showed. I called on the phone and asked and they said it should be there but to be patient. Also while on the phone, I had to let them know about being married and then they tell me my benefits are going to stop since I got married. I was like WHAT?! I can't work because disabled at the moment and they are telling me my money is going to stop? This was definately a roadblock. So I went in to the office to talk about it to someone only to go through the same process again, as if no one reported I was married before, which made me wonder who the guy was on the phone that took my info down. But the lady said I might still qualify for other benefits but I would have to go to the other office because someone there started some form and they don't like to interfere with other office's stuff. So the next day we go back and get it figured out. They said I'll be getting a little less a month under a different benefits program. Also, I had to apply for a new card since mine never showed. The guy's excuse was it was the post office's fault. Hmm idk about that but ok. So I have my card now but now they are saying I owe them $1700 because of overpayment so idk what is going on! But we tried to go to DMV to get my husband an ID card. They said they could only issue it until the visa expires but it has to go through a legal office which takes 60 days so by the time he would get it, it'd be expired . Has anyone run into this? So that is my experience with the wonderful SSA and DMV lol.	Lisaandtim	Not Telling	New Zealand	2009-04-30 17:18:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Apr 27 2009, 10:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Apr 28 2009, 12:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Sent the parcel in on 23rd Feb and I got the little card thing back about a week later to say the parcel had been delivered and signed for . The first NOA1 letter arrived on 7th March 12 days after I sent AOS off. And so the waiting continues....... 12 days is pretty good! It's a bit like deja vu. In the waiting room again There was so much to remember to put into the package. I hope I never left anything out Hello everyone ! Sorry haven't been on much. I have been busy with wedding, AOS paperwork, and finals for my pharmacy class, which I passed! We have the biometrics appointment tomorrow. They're making us drive way out of our way but lol guess I should be used to that by now. I was wondering if we have to bring the K1 stuff too as it says bring all paperwork in regards to this document or something along that lines. Does anyone know? Glad to see the progress some of you are having. Hope it continues.	Lisaandtim	Not Telling	New Zealand	2009-04-30 16:48:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Mar 27 2009, 04:30 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (kiwiana @ Mar 26 2009, 01:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> amaciar: thats good to hear that nic has found a job not sure where you would find pies here... and speaking of food......... i looked in my local supermarket early this morning for baked beans and found a couple of brands and they had bacon and brown sugar flavour???(or something like that) i bought a can by a brand B&M? but haven't tried them yet. All the brand names are very foreign to me. Can anyone recommend a brand that i could try? kim&chris: wow that is a bit pricey for some weetabix eh? The organic ones i got (made in canada) are very similar to the ones in nz. can't remember exactly how much they were but pretty sure for a box of 12 wasn't over $4. More expensive than the popular cereals here but it was nice to have something that isn't all sugary At the biometrics appointment,do they just take your fingerprints and that is all? did you mail the evidence they needed for the RFE? It's a gorgeous day outside today here. It's like it is summer already! Hows everyone doing? Pricey is not the word!!!....lol I did see the organic weetabix (canadian I think) in Krogers one time, I think they're based on the English ones, I heard them mentioned on Coro once...lol Next time I'm in that store, now you've said they're similar to ours, I'm gonna grab a box. The only beans I've found here so far that vaguely resemble ours is a brand called Showboat. They're called Pork & Beans in tomato sauce, but the pork in them is needle in a haystack material.... .......I miss me Watties Baked Beans and Sausages Being in the mid west/south BBQ is very big here and you can't eat BBQ without Beans. They're nothing like our baked beans but some of them are extremely delish none the less. Something to also be aware of is not only the sugar content but the sodium content in food. While checking out the beans when i first got here I noticed the sodium content in some of them was huge, a few even over 1000mg per serving. Not sure if they're the same at home, I only used to check the fat content there. Oh and the nutritional info on the labels at home was always per 100gms of food, but here it's per serve and all the serve sizes vary.....for any of you who are counting sugars, fats, salts etc, just so you know. The gent from the Aussie shop in North Little Rock told me that a short while ago the NZ Womens 7's Rugby Team had just visited and the Kiwi's that hosted them had gotten some pies and sausage rolls from a place in Atlanta and that they were pretty good. I'm going to try and make some of the things I can't find. It's time for that Kiwi enginuity to start shining through I'm about to post back my RFE info today......god I hope this satisfy's them, I just want to be done with it. Hello again Am still having trouble with the 864 and can't find any help I'm looking for on the net and dread calling the misinformation line so here I am again with a question or two. If I understand it right, I am the sponsor, and if i have someone else to help sponsor my SO, they are the joint sponsor right? And I am the main sponsor? See, I hardly make anything and was wondering if I have to include it at all in my form or not, as my sponsor makes enough to cover him. My sponsor also lives with us. Any help on that would be great. Also anyone know if there is a deadline on when to get these in?	Lisaandtim	Not Telling	New Zealand	2009-03-28 22:46:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hi Everyone. It's great to see that everyone is moving forward and that so many of us are now here in the US. Nic and I have been here since August and he has finally found work in his field. Some days I think the job search was as stressful as immigration! But luckily he is a town planner and municipality always need employees even if it is hard times. So we are extremely excited because we love the city we are living in and our seasonal jobs were coming to an end and we were afraid we were going to have to move. As for the bread I never noticed it was sweet growing up but after living in NZ for three years I can really taste it now. Yuck. I try to get fresh bread when possible because it doesn't taste sweet. I think our next investment may be a bread maker. Luckily here on the east cost every grocery store seems to have a bakery though. Nic has been missing pies though so if anyone has any tips on that it would be great. Healthwise he probabably better off without them but it would still be great to find a decent substitute to suprise him.	amaciar	Not Telling	New Zealand	2009-03-26 10:36:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Mar 2 2009, 12:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi Dave, nice to see you. Wow ...how far you all have come! Unfortunately we do have one of our NZ/US couples who was denied at the Embassy very recently. You can read their posts from this week. Hopefully all they will need to do is file a waiver and wait a bit longer to resolve the issues and get the visa! I'm sure that as long as Genna has everything they've requested that she'll be fine. Most will tell you that it's a breeze. cdneh, we're not really doing AOS the way we should (...we sure do like playin with fire, eh? ) but I do know what is required and would be happy to help clear up any questions when the time comes. I can tell you that for those of you getting your medicals for K-1's, be sure you get a TB test (new requirement that not many seem to know about) and a copy of your DS3025 (vaccination worksheet) from the panel physician. If you've already had your medical you can have a TB Test done relatively cheap through the health dept once in the States. Send the results of that test, along with the DS3025, to a civil surgeon to transcribe onto the I-693. They will need to sign this doc and send it back to you. You'll need this for AOS. There is a list of CS on the uscis website but all of the civil surgeons I called had no clue what I was talking about and weren't willing to sign off on the forms if they didn't perform another full physical (costing hundreds of dollars). A K-1 medical is good for one year so as long as you are filing for AOS before 1 year you do not need another medical so do not let them talk you into that! Either these people are just extremely uneducated to the process or they're just snakes looking for some $$$...either way, it's a hassle! There's a doc that lots of people here have used that will cost you about $30. You just call, fax your docs over and they'll send it to you in days. This seems to be the best bet (unless you can find a civil surgeon in your area that knows what they're doing and will do it cheap). Now some people (mostly K-1's) seem to get through ok without certain things and some do not. Because Russell's medical was so close to the new guidelines being put in place we decided to send the AOS package without the TB test and without a civil surgeon transcribing and signing off on the new form I-693. We expect we may receive an RFE and need to have these things done but i'm pretty sure it will only slow up the GC a very short time. (I'm pretty sure they just need updating but, the instructions for the I-485 on the USCIS website still states that a K-1 visa holder need only submit their DS3025 with the application.) Hi Kim, I don't know if this will make you feel better since my timeline and Russ' are so similar for the K-1, but I just got my GC approved and did not have the TB test. I also did not send form I-693 (didn't even know about it). Since the embassy did not send me the vaccination form with packet 3, I printed it out myself and took it to my medical exam. The doctor filled it out and I sent it back to the embassy with the other forms. At my interview, they put a seal on it, and gave me two copies (one to keep, one to send with AOS). That's what I sent with the AOS application and I never got asked for an RFE. So, you and Russ might be just fine and not get an RFE. Anyway, good luck!	LandS	Not Telling	New Zealand	2009-03-29 18:46:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hey folks... sorry i've been mia lately! We sent our AOS on 4/12 (noa1 for all 3 on 4/20). Russell had his biometrics on 5/14 in Boston. We were transferred to California last week, I think. We did not have the vaccination record transcribed and he did not have the TB test. We also sent it 3 months after the expiration of his I-94! We're rebels! hahaha	KimandRuss	Female	New Zealand	2009-05-25 11:18:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	English Boy that beats all doesn't it?	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-06-18 17:32:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jun 17 2009, 02:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (cdneh @ Jun 15 2009, 08:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jun 16 2009, 02:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (cdneh @ Jun 15 2009, 07:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Okay...ready to start this AOS nightmare. Been going through the files today...no wonder I have a headache. More paperwork, which I confess to steadfastly ignoring while busy with the home improvments. Didn't even want to THINK about it. Still don't...but there we are. One page at a time Cdneh....one page at a time.....lol That's what I was thinking this afternoon...it's the way you eat an elepahant..one bite at a time Lol...too true I received my AP in the mail today....pretty stoked about that...just gotta wait for EAD now, should be here in a week or thereabouts Congratulations I'm a ways off that...but this packet hits the post come Monday	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-06-16 21:56:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jun 16 2009, 02:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (cdneh @ Jun 15 2009, 07:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Okay...ready to start this AOS nightmare. Been going through the files today...no wonder I have a headache. More paperwork, which I confess to steadfastly ignoring while busy with the home improvments. Didn't even want to THINK about it. Still don't...but there we are. One page at a time Cdneh....one page at a time.....lol That's what I was thinking this afternoon...it's the way you eat an elepahant..one bite at a time	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-06-15 20:19:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Okay...ready to start this AOS nightmare. Been going through the files today...no wonder I have a headache. More paperwork, which I confess to steadfastly ignoring while busy with the home improvments. Didn't even want to THINK about it. Still don't...but there we are.	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-06-15 19:32:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kelvan @ Jun 7 2009, 08:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hey guys~! Sorry it's been so long since I last updated. I'm still in NZ, planning on leaving around August 6th. Wedding will be September 18th! I'm frantically trying to organize the wedding/invitations/bridesmaid/wedding dress! Have NO CLUE how I will get my wedding dress through the 3 flights to Kansas! I'm ordering a new printout of my birth certificate cos at my interview the lady said it was void if it had holes punched in it (thanks mum for filing it and punching holes lol). What exactly do I do with my x-rays? Do I take them with me on the plane? Getting closer for you ..congratulations!! I packed my x-ray in my checked bag. No one asked for it. It's in the closet here now	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-06-07 09:40:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Michelle.S @ Jun 2 2009, 09:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (cdneh @ Jun 2 2009, 07:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Popping in to say hello...finally done with the home improvements hey stranger good to hear you're done with all that Me too..and I didn't have to murder anyone in the end...	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-06-01 19:55:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Popping in to say hello...finally done with the home improvements	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-06-01 14:12:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Today my SO took me for my first driving practice here. First time i have driven a manual/stick shift in like over a decade! Took me a while to get the hang of it. And it feels 'odd' sitting on the left side of the car to drive. I wasn't brave enough to start off on the road so i drove round this huge parking lot! It made me feel like a teen of long ago learning to drive all over again. When we got home, i was very surprised to find a letter from USCIS for me. It was my AP!! I haven't been able to view the AP case status online at all, so was not expecting to find the AP document in my mailbox (two copies) I must say, USCIS have been working pretty quickly lately, churning out the approvals, which is very good to see! let's hope they can keep it up with the AOS!! Kim&Chris: Maybe they changed it to the 17th as that is the date that they physically mailed it out??! let's hope so!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-06-19 19:25:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jun 16 2009, 10:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I received my AP in the mail today....pretty stoked about that...just gotta wait for EAD now, should be here in a week or thereabouts Yay! Congratulations!! I checked online today and my EAD had been approved with card production ordered!! I am soo happy! I have been thinking that they may have lost my file especially as most folks who filed the same time as me have been receiving theirs. I still can't see my AP case online though. It still says the receipt number doesn't exist. Hopefully once the EAD arrives i will be able to go and sit the written driving test and then the practical! I haven't been able to drive for 3 months now and it's driving me crazy! Yesterday, i went to the bank and put my account into my married name. I handed the lady at the bank my passport for ID (aswell as ssn, marriage cert etc etc) she said, "ahh a New Zealand passport. Are you from New Zealand?" I said 'yes' She then said. "what language do they speak over there?" I looked at her with that 'you've got to be kidding me' look on my face but she was quite serious! I informed her that generally English is the spoken language. My SO and I had a good laugh about it afterwards	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-06-18 16:35:00