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 (cdneh @ Jul 7 2009, 02:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Lisaandtim @ Jul 8 2009, 11:44 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Dave_n_Genna @ Jul 6 2009, 11:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (ivannnaloveskiwi @ Jun 29 2009, 03:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hi everyone, i've been gone for awhile.. just got back from New Zealand.. its was beautiful and loved every minute.. especally being with my true love!!..and i have good new.. everything has been approved and we will be together..he has some loose ends to tie up and will be in the states within the month.. its been a long hard journey.. and i dont think i could of gotten through without all of the help here.. thanks to all who helped with advise. THANK YOU ALL, HUGZ ALL ROUND!! Congratz! Okay so we have our interview tomorrow to finalize the green card. Anyone have any advice? We are so so nervous and freaking out. I honestly don't know what to do if he got deported, he is my life. The notice is enough to scare us. It goes on saying how if you don't bring this or that it will result in automatic denial. I'm just a mess right now. Oh for those of you working up to this point, I hope you have a copy of your birth certificate, you will need it. That was the slump we almost fell into. He only brought one certified copy with him from NZ. So I hope they don't intend to keep it. Also, sorry I have not been able to get on as much. It's been so hectic here trying to find us both jobs and then other bad family news with my mom getting sicker I hope you all are doing better than us and is surviving this heat. I definately want to move or at least get a pool lol this 100-degree weather is killing me lol. I was born here and I still can't stand it. Plus jobs in California are slim. We were thinking about Oregon but not sure job outlook or anything. But it'd definately be cooler, that's for sure. Good luck to you all! I wish I had some sage advice to give you...but all I can do is send positive thoughts your way and big *hugs* We're doing okay so far..just filed for AOS and behind most everyone else. Surviving the heat ...just I am worried about the part where you have to show proof of ongoing relationship. All we have to bring are photos. We didn't do a joint checking/credit card or anything like that yet since we have no jobs. And we live with and care for my mom so names aren't on the rent. I hope that will be enough	Lisaandtim	Not Telling	New Zealand	2009-07-07 18:07:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Dave_n_Genna @ Jul 6 2009, 11:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (ivannnaloveskiwi @ Jun 29 2009, 03:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hi everyone, i've been gone for awhile.. just got back from New Zealand.. its was beautiful and loved every minute.. especally being with my true love!!..and i have good new.. everything has been approved and we will be together..he has some loose ends to tie up and will be in the states within the month.. its been a long hard journey.. and i dont think i could of gotten through without all of the help here.. thanks to all who helped with advise. THANK YOU ALL, HUGZ ALL ROUND!! Congratz! Okay so we have our interview tomorrow to finalize the green card. Anyone have any advice? We are so so nervous and freaking out. I honestly don't know what to do if he got deported, he is my life. The notice is enough to scare us. It goes on saying how if you don't bring this or that it will result in automatic denial. I'm just a mess right now. Oh for those of you working up to this point, I hope you have a copy of your birth certificate, you will need it. That was the slump we almost fell into. He only brought one certified copy with him from NZ. So I hope they don't intend to keep it. Also, sorry I have not been able to get on as much. It's been so hectic here trying to find us both jobs and then other bad family news with my mom getting sicker I hope you all are doing better than us and is surviving this heat. I definately want to move or at least get a pool lol this 100-degree weather is killing me lol. I was born here and I still can't stand it. Plus jobs in California are slim. We were thinking about Oregon but not sure job outlook or anything. But it'd definately be cooler, that's for sure. Good luck to you all!	Lisaandtim	Not Telling	New Zealand	2009-07-07 17:44:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	HI EVERYONE! I JUST HAVE TO TELL YOU ALL HOW WONDERFULL( "B"- THE LADY BEHIND THE GLASS) AT THE US EMBASSY IN NEW ZEALAND IS..YOU KNOW THAT PACKAGE YOU GET THAT YOUR NOT SUPPOSE TO OPEN? WELL IT HAD A BIG TEAR IN IT..MY FIANCE WAS UPSET SO HER CALLED HER ABOUT IT AND SHE WANTED HIM TO BRING IT BACK SO SHE COULD REPACKAGE IT.ANYWAY.. YOU ALL KNOW THE TROUBLE WE HAD GETTIN APPROVED.. SHE TOLD HIM SHE WAS SO HAPPY THAT IT WAS ALL DONE AND HOW MUCH SHE REALLY LIKE US ( I NEVER MET HER , JUST TALKED ON THE PHONE.) BUT SHE TOLD ME MY FIANCE WAS A LOVELY MAN..LOL..THEN HE WAS GETTING READY TO GO AND SHE SAID " WAIT, I HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU" AND SHE GAVE HIM A PIN.. OF AN ANERICAN AND NEW ZEALAND FLAG TOGETHER..SHE TOLD HIM THEY DONT GIVE THEM OUT ANYMORE BUT WANTED HIM TO HAVE IT. I THOUGHT THAT WAS SO SWEET OF HER.. SHE REALLY DID HELP US OUT ALOT AND LISTEN TO ME CRY AND WHEN THE INTERVIEW WENT BAD..MADE ME FEEL BETTER TO KNOW THAT NOT EVERYONE IS AGAINST US..	ivannnaloveskiwi	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-16 00:33:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	hi everyone, i've been gone for awhile.. just got back from New Zealand.. its was beautiful and loved every minute.. especally being with my true love!!..and i have good new.. everything has been approved and we will be together..he has some loose ends to tie up and will be in the states within the month.. its been a long hard journey.. and i dont think i could of gotten through without all of the help here.. thanks to all who helped with advise. THANK YOU ALL, HUGZ ALL ROUND!!	ivannnaloveskiwi	Female	New Zealand	2009-06-29 15:51:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hi All I have not been on the site for ages, but thought I'd have a read and catch up with how everyone is going. Sounds like on the whole everyone is making great progress. It is hard to believe that we have now been in the US for 8 months. We are well and truly settled into life in Sacramento. I'm working as a Project Management consultant for a consulting firm. I am on a huge long term project for the Californian Government. I am enjoying it a lot. It seemed to take forever to find a job, but the hardship of it all is starting to all seem worthwhile now. Brook and the kids are doing well. Brook is enjoying being a stay-at-home mother, but is keeping an eye out for the perfect job. The boys are doing well, our oldest is going a million miles an hour, and our youngest has now spent more of his life in the US than in NZ. I am enjoying the Californian lifestyle a lot, and loving the weather. I am also enjoying Sacramento, I think that, overall, it is a very nice city. Overall, the administrative parts of getting established here all went well, my SS card, and Green card arrived quickly, I got my drivers licence as soon as I could. We got my name added to Brooks existing bank accounts and credit card. We put all the bills that we could under my name. That has meant that in the 8 months we have been here, I have already got a good credit score (to go along with Brook's). Anyway, great to see how everyone is going. Take care and I hope progress continues to made by you all, Grant	gshennen	Male	New Zealand	2009-06-22 23:16:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Well that wasn't too annoying. I as early by half an hour and was on the way home by the appointment time. I took all the NOA's, good thing as they wanted all three numbers, my SSN card as they wanted something with my new name on it, and my marriage certificate came in handy too. As my name was different than on the passport. She seemed to have a hard time with my right hand, took every finger 3 or 4 times. ( I am older..are they wearing off??? ) No trick questions though, although I was ready ...lol... I agree with everyone else...the wait is the worst. We were stuck ast NVC in AP for over 7 weeks after getting our NOA2, and that sure as heck didn't help at all!	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-29 15:09:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Zeddess, here is a link before I forget to the Auckland consulate. That email address can be quite useful, and they do answer very quickly. http://www.visajourn...ex.php?ctry=New Zealand&cty=Auckland	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-28 22:18:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jul 29 2009, 03:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (cdneh @ Jul 28 2009, 08:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hidden questions???? Ooooooo ..I am curious now! Lol........ I had a young blond girl doing mine and she chatted on about this and that, asked if I'd got a job yet and a bit later if I had been home to visit yet......I said....noooo I'm not allowed to work yet or travel home till I have my EAD/AP........but she asked them in a very matter of fact way, just slipped on into the conversation. She must know the ins and outs of AOS so I figured she was just testing me Aha! Thanks for that! I will keep an ear out for that sort of carry on	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-28 22:01:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jul 29 2009, 01:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (cdneh @ Jul 28 2009, 05:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Zeddess @ Jul 29 2009, 11:05 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Wow thanks cdneh and kiwiana, I'm so glad I found this site! No doubt that I'm going to have heaps of questions for you guys in the coming months, already I've learned so much just by reading everyone elses posts, so I think I have a pretty good grasp of what I have to do (hopefully!!). Our case is relatively basic (haven't really had much life experience yet!) so we're crossing our fingers to receive the NOA2 by like late November if all goes well. From what the statistics have been telling me, the processing times for Kiwis seem to be pretty decent so I'd be absolutely stoked if I get to go over before my 23rd birthday in March! Anyway just wanted to say hi and thanks for the help in advance, really appreciate it and will keep you posted! No worries I sure all of us will be happy to help I don't know where you are there, but quite a lot of us went through Auckland, and can certainly help if you are going through there. Kiwiana wrote a truly wonderful write up on the medical she had, and when I went along afterwards I found that a big help..right down to finding the place. VJ has been such a big help for us, first with the K1 and now doing our AOS. Biometrics tomorrow for me Good luck for tomorrow Cdneh....not that you'll need it, they just take your finger prints and your pic...just watch out for any hidden questions in the general chit chat is all Fill us in when you're done. Hidden questions???? Ooooooo ..I am curious now!	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-28 20:58:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Zeddess @ Jul 29 2009, 12:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (cdneh @ Jul 29 2009, 10:16 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> No worries I sure all of us will be happy to help I don't know where you are there, but quite a lot of us went through Auckland, and can certainly help if you are going through there. Kiwiana wrote a truly wonderful write up on the medical she had, and when I went along afterwards I found that a big help..right down to finding the place. VJ has been such a big help for us, first with the K1 and now doing our AOS. Biometrics tomorrow for me Ohh how exciting! That seems like a million years away for me right now, but I'm sure it'll go quick! We're wondering why we didn't do this earlier, we've been talking about it and gathering information on it for probably about a year now, so I'm really looking forward to getting it all over with! It's so tough flying back and forth Yup I'm in Auckland, so it's really handy to have the consulate being just down the road! I'll definitely have to check out the write up that Kiwiana did on the medical as that's probably the main part of the process which I'm really unsure about (the mysterious package 3). Good luck for tomorrow! Thanks! You'll have plenty of help then if you are in Auckland ! Here's Kiwiana's post ..just to save you hunting it down: http://www.visajourn...h...t&p=2448336 Edited by cdneh, 28 July 2009 - 06:45 PM.	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-28 18:45:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Zeddess @ Jul 29 2009, 11:05 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Wow thanks cdneh and kiwiana, I'm so glad I found this site! No doubt that I'm going to have heaps of questions for you guys in the coming months, already I've learned so much just by reading everyone elses posts, so I think I have a pretty good grasp of what I have to do (hopefully!!). Our case is relatively basic (haven't really had much life experience yet!) so we're crossing our fingers to receive the NOA2 by like late November if all goes well. From what the statistics have been telling me, the processing times for Kiwis seem to be pretty decent so I'd be absolutely stoked if I get to go over before my 23rd birthday in March! Anyway just wanted to say hi and thanks for the help in advance, really appreciate it and will keep you posted! No worries I sure all of us will be happy to help I don't know where you are there, but quite a lot of us went through Auckland, and can certainly help if you are going through there. Kiwiana wrote a truly wonderful write up on the medical she had, and when I went along afterwards I found that a big help..right down to finding the place. VJ has been such a big help for us, first with the K1 and now doing our AOS. Biometrics tomorrow for me	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-28 17:16:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Zeddess @ Jul 28 2009, 10:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hey all! I'm really new at this and it's all quite daunting, but seems like you've all had amazing journeys that have worked out wonderfully. We've only just filed our petition last week so I'm right at the beginning of mine! I'd just appreciate any advice you have about how long we should expect it to take as I know it varies so much, he's coming to NZ in December so I'm thinking it would be awesome if I get my interview while he's here, I'd be too freaked out to go on my own!! Is 5 months from now a bit unrealistic for getting an interview? Thanks again!! Welcome Zeddess! It's not an unrealistic time frame you would think, but it all depends on how long all of the steps before you get to the interview stage take. Sort of like how long is a piece of string Anything we can help with I am sure we would all be happy to. There's a good group in this thread, and VJ is the best resource around I think.	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-28 09:01:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Thanks...I can see all three numbers, and so far the only thing that has a touch is the AOS..the AP and the EAD haven't changed. I'm just amazed it even works for us this time	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-24 16:40:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (rubyred @ Jul 23 2009, 04:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> we have our interview next thursday!! sure we'll be fine, but still nervous!! Good luck with that! Let us know how you go? Glad to see we are still around..it was getting too quiet in here We're ticking over...my biometrics are coming up next week, so maybe after that I will see something more happen.	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-23 20:28:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	*insert sound ...pin dropping* Where is everybody?	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-22 12:18:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Jul 19 2009, 04:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (cdneh @ Jul 17 2009, 09:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Application Type: I485, APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS Current Status: Case Transfered to Another Office for Processing On July 17, 2009, we transferred this case I485 APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS to our CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER location for processing and sent you a notice explaining this action. Please follow the instructions provided on the notice. Wow! Congratulations!! That was fast! They must be making up for all the hassle and hold ups they caused you during K1 process! I can't quite understand the logic of the process of AOS. Some people get AOS without sending in I-693 or TB skin test and some get RFE for it. I sent in I-693 but not the tb skin test (had the xray done in nz) so I am kinda worried about will happen at the interview. If they say i do need a tb skin test, will they deny me at the interview because i didn't do one? And in all honesty i really don't want to have one done. As i read that some peoples results turn up positive if they got vaccinated against TB as a kid. After reading LisaandTims experience at the interview, I am not looking forward to the interview at all. Ivannaloveskiwi: You will both be together again very soon!! I bet August 9th can't come fast enough!! kim&chris: Those 4 way stop signs look mighty confusing. But everyone is courteous and we all get through unscathed I think the drivers here are much more well behaved than in nz. I think people in nz suffer from road rage alot more which can be quite scary. They could learn a thing or two from the drivers here lol! Another thing that i haven't figured out yet is converting mph to kms and the weather temperatures. All I sent was the vaccination record I got from the consulate...so I am hoping they don;t want the darn thing transcribed	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-18 13:55:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Ivanna ...what great news! I am happy the consulate treated you so well given what they put you through there, and wow! August the 9th looms!!! Driving here is less of a shock for me, I am Canadian, so driving on the right is how I learned. I rented a car every year I went home on holiday, and sort of kept it up that way. However..I like driving on the left better Still hot here, and no rain for ages. The lawns are getting all brown and bedraggled looking. Like me	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-18 08:09:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Application Type: I485, APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS Current Status: Case Transfered to Another Office for Processing On July 17, 2009, we transferred this case I485 APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS to our CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER location for processing and sent you a notice explaining this action. Please follow the instructions provided on the notice.	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-17 21:39:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Definitely it is the waiting.. waiting.. waiting of the K1 process that is the most frustrating part of it all... It does seem like forever at the time and if anything it teaches you the art of patience!! But in general, once the I-129f is approved, things do move a long quite quickly! (with the medical and interview at the embassy). I must say that the AOS process seems far much faster than the K-1. Or maybe it just appears faster as we have our loved ones with us during this part of it Good luck cdneh with the biometrics tomorrow, though as Kim said, its pretty straight forward. The biometrics itself didn't take very long. What i thought was funny was that after i walked up to the front desk to show my appointment letter to the security guy. he handed me a form to fill in and he gave me a pencil to use!! I felt like i was back at primary school!! But i was certainly grateful for it as i made a few mistakes on the form and was rubbing away with the eraser on the end of my pencil! The longest time was waiting for my number to be called. After the biometrics was finished they directed me to a table where there was like a survey form which asked to rate your experience and how you were treated etc. They had a box on the table to put your survey form in. ivannaloveskiwi: You're not the only one that is a worrier. I'm right up with you in that field! Kim how was it at the baseball game? I saw a little bit of it with my SO on tv and the score was like 2-1 (not sure which team had what score - I am still a novice at understanding the game )	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-29 01:25:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (ivannnaloveskiwi @ Jul 27 2009, 02:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hi everyone, how long did it take for you to process through customs when you arrived in los angeles...trying to scheadul conecting flight..ty In general, the times i have arrived in LA, i have probably waited anywhere from 10 minutes (to just get through the custom part) up to over an hour (for the baggage to arrive from the carousel which included going through customs) But the last two times i arrived in LA, it wasn't the customs that held me up, it was my flight from NZ. Last year I sat at Auckland airport for 12 hours as the plane was delayed. The only good thing is that when the plane did finally arrive at LA, they quickly sent us through customs, so there was no waiting. This year my plane was also delayed. I think by 2 hours if memory serves me correct. Of course, this is not a common occurrence, thank goodness! But to be on the safe side it may pay for you to have a bit of space inbetween connecting flights, so that you can get your bearings at LA airport and find out where to go for the next flight etc. Everything will be fine!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-28 11:41:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Zeddess @ Jul 28 2009, 05:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hey all! I'm really new at this and it's all quite daunting, but seems like you've all had amazing journeys that have worked out wonderfully. We've only just filed our petition last week so I'm right at the beginning of mine! I'd just appreciate any advice you have about how long we should expect it to take as I know it varies so much, he's coming to NZ in December so I'm thinking it would be awesome if I get my interview while he's here, I'd be too freaked out to go on my own!! Is 5 months from now a bit unrealistic for getting an interview? Thanks again!! Welcome!! It certainly does seem a little daunting at first but the folks here at VJ are so kind and helpful and I am so glad i found this site It's not unrealistic for the process to take 5 months but there seems to be no set time frame or order that USCIS takes to process the cases. A few people have got approved after only 2 months, some after 3, 4, 5 months, 6 months and a some take longer. Feel free to ask us anything! We are all here for each other and once again Welcome!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-28 11:27:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	When i bought my plane ticket in nz, i asked about ESTA and was told that you don't need to do it if you have a visa. As Kim said, it is applicable to the Visa waiver programme. It is extremely hard to put everything into two suitcases (the older one is the more 'stuff' you collect ) The two suitcases i took were bursting at the seams but must have met the weight limits as i didn't get charged anything. When i picked them up from the carousel at LA. There were these stickers over them (for the baggage handlers) saying they were over a certain weight and to bend your knees and watch your back.. lol!! I crammed my medium sized backpack with as much as i could as my carry on luggage, and took my laptop in its carry bag too. And I had the secretive 'yellow/brown' envelope with me I was a bit worried about taking a laptop and a backpack as carry on, but when i boarded the plane and saw the number of items other people were taking on board, i realised i had no reason to have worried. I guess some airlines are more flexible than others. The biggest item i had was those darn 'xrays' that we all had to get done for the medical. They are now just lying in the wardrobe collecting dust Kelvan: when do you leave nz? and what date is the wedding?	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-26 11:47:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	congrats cdneh and cindy on your upcoming bio appointments . I noticed that the day after I had my bio appointment, i got a touch on my EAD file online. But I was never able to track my AP online. The approval letter just arrived in the mail. Even now when i type in the reference number to AP, it still says the number doesn't exist! Edited by kiwiana, 24 July 2009 - 03:27 PM.	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-24 15:22:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (rubyred @ Jul 23 2009, 12:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> we have our interview next thursday!! sure we'll be fine, but still nervous!! Good luck with the interview .. let us know how it all goes!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-22 23:15:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	I'm still here too cdneh! It's been pretty hot here the last few days! Thanks Kelzm for the info on the job agencies. I was just curious about them but don't think i will enlist with them just yet. The volunteer idea is a very good one. I may consider that soon if nothing turns up in a few months time. Like Kim&Chris, I have been looking for jobs but haven't applied for any more yet. Good luck with the job interview tomorrow Kim! That's good that your file was *touched* hopefully it will say 'approved' very soon! Apart from the drive by shooting it sounds like a very peaceful place to live, with the sound of locust and birds! very relaxing in the evening. It sounds lovely	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-22 23:06:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kelzm @ Jul 18 2009, 12:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Congrats Ivanna, glad to hear you're finally through that part of the process! Ana - thanks for sharing the stories, made me smile. I live in a town of only 50,000 so the DMV wasn't too awful, there was still a queue of people though, but only about 20 of us in all. My driving test was simple. I do agree people seem to drive fast here. When I'm on the freeway most people seem to be driving at around 80, which is faster than I ever drove in NZ, even when I was speeding! But here if you aren't doing 70 (which is over the speed limit) you seem to be just holding everyone up. I've found the opposite thing about commuting though. I live in a 'commuter' town and most people don't think anything of driving an hour for work. Unfortunately I'm coming up on being here a year and I've yet to find a job. I've had quite a few temp jobs, and now have some really good US references but I'm competing for every single job with 100's of people. It saddens me when I get interviewed for a job that pays $10 an hour, no benefits, and they tell me they got 400 applications for it. Ah well, all you can do is smile and think that it can't get any worse. In fact, I'm pretty certain we're hitting rock bottom now and things are about to improve. I did have good news in that I finally got an interview for a job in my actual field. Apparently 150 eligible people applied, which is huge in an industry that used to have trouble finding qualified candidates. But I've made it through the first lot of interviews and am scheduled for a second. So fingers crossed I've promised myself if I land a job I'm going to make a trip home sometime next year. wow that is a lot of applicants for one job!! But it is great news that you made it through the first lot of interviews! hope you get the job!! when you had the part time jobs. was it through a temping agency? if so, how does that work exactly? does the temping agency pay your wages directly to you or does your employer give you your wage? Does the agency take a cut of your wage? or do they charge your employer a fee?	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-19 00:08:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jul 18 2009, 10:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I sent in the copy of the vaccination sheet we were giving from the Auckland medical and I didn't have a TB test done. The only RFE I got was for hubby's evidence of employment information. I'm assuming they flick through all files upon receipt and send out the RFE's then if there's any. I wouldn't worry about the TB test Ana, the interviews are the final thing before giving out GC and I'm pretty sure they don't schedule the apts for them until they're satisfied all your paperwork is in order. There would be no point otherwise I can still remember mph ... just.....lol.... 30mph=50k, 50mph=80k, 65mph=100k or thereabouts, but I decided not to bother trying to convert it, they've got so many speed limit signs all over the place and they change all the time and they're in miles and the car speedo is in miles so there's really no need to convert I don't think. As for the temperature, I still talk in celsius....lol drives them nuts but i have a widget thing on my desktop that shows the temps here for the next 5 days and you can quickly click on it to change it from celsius to fahrenheit and back again so I'm slowly picking it up and they slowly picking up celsius at the same time.......tis only fair.....lol It's funny because we were still in imperial when I was a small child, and some things like height measurement I still think of in inches and feet so it's really no biggie. They talk of weight in pounds though and when I mentioned stones and pounds they looked at me like I was talking a foreign language, they'd never heard of stones........lol Thanks for the reassurance with the interview! My SO keeps telling me that everything is going to be fine but still can't help but be nervous.... Speaking of temperatures etc..... I too know feet and inches in height but nothing about miles (maybe when a kid the feet and inches sunk into my brain when we were in imperial for a short while but not the miles part) The worst one i get stuck on is the weight of a person here in pounds. when people talk about it. i am like what the heck is that? When i applied for the state ID card last week, i had to write my weight down on the application form.. I looked at my SO for help and he said..'hmm I don't know how much you weigh... 140 pounds'?? i looked at him rather offended by this large sounding amount in weight as i used to be around 56 kilos when i lived in nz and 140 sounds way too big a number!! I said to him.. 'i know i have put on weight but that sounds way too much!! LOL! so i wrote 130 pounds! The saga of looking for used cars continues.. today i inquired about one for sale. the pics in the ad looked pretty good.The guy on the phone said that the car was in great shape..nothing wrong with it at all! so we decided to go and look at it. when we got there we found that half of the door handle on the drivers side was hanging off (the other half of the door handle was missing) and you couldn't open the door from the inside. A huge speaker in the door was dangling out, held on by a thread. so you had a gaping big hole in the side of the door panel. The air conditioning didn't work and it was a scorcher of a day today too! so an A/C is vital here!! I didn't stick around to see what else was wrong with it. Thanks for the tip too Kim about jobs on craigslist. I had a look today and theres certainly more in my area on there then any other online job sites	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-18 23:56:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jul 17 2009, 09:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Application Type: I485, APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS Current Status: Case Transfered to Another Office for Processing On July 17, 2009, we transferred this case I485 APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS to our CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER location for processing and sent you a notice explaining this action. Please follow the instructions provided on the notice. Wow! Congratulations!! That was fast! They must be making up for all the hassle and hold ups they caused you during K1 process! I can't quite understand the logic of the process of AOS. Some people get AOS without sending in I-693 or TB skin test and some get RFE for it. I sent in I-693 but not the tb skin test (had the xray done in nz) so I am kinda worried about will happen at the interview. If they say i do need a tb skin test, will they deny me at the interview because i didn't do one? And in all honesty i really don't want to have one done. As i read that some peoples results turn up positive if they got vaccinated against TB as a kid. After reading LisaandTims experience at the interview, I am not looking forward to the interview at all. Ivannaloveskiwi: You will both be together again very soon!! I bet August 9th can't come fast enough!! kim&chris: Those 4 way stop signs look mighty confusing. But everyone is courteous and we all get through unscathed I think the drivers here are much more well behaved than in nz. I think people in nz suffer from road rage alot more which can be quite scary. They could learn a thing or two from the drivers here lol! Another thing that i haven't figured out yet is converting mph to kms and the weather temperatures.	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-18 11:55:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jul 17 2009, 06:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> OMG Ana .........what an experience at the DMV!!!!!! I can't believe it. You see all this awful stuff on tv and in the movies but the thought of being involved in any of it yourself is totally terrifying. Shows how badly you need the state ID!!! I can't believe you have to wait that long to get it, they gave me mine on the spot, but that's the difference between big and small town I guess. Where are you in California? My hairdresser (where else would you get all your information from.....lol) was telling me that I shouldn't have too much trouble finding something as no-one here really wants to work (in this town), I'm sure she was generalising and there's plenty who do, but still, she said they have a devil of a job getting people who actually turn up. And it took 3 days for a plumber to come out on an urgent cal, apparantly they all bunk off to go hunting.....lol, can you believe it. Have you tried looking on Craigslist for a job? They have plenty for Little Rock, being alot bigger than here, but they do have a few for Searcy still. I check there from time to time. They may have some for your area. It's funny Little Rock is only 35-40 mins away, no different than going from Waiuku to Manukau but here they all think it's a long way away.....lol Anyways, I'm off to make low carb cheesecake It wasn't until i saw all the people at the DMV that i realised just HOW many people there are in this area! ( I live in the orange county area) Crowds/lines like that you just wouldn't see in NZ. It's weird because normally if someone had started shouting like that in a department in nz i probably wouldn't have given it a second thought but because you hear of people going crazy over here with guns etc, the first thing that entered my head was.. 'omg!! hope the guy isn't going to mow us all down in anger' And obviously i wasn't the only one thinking that as the whole place went dead quiet when it happened! When i told my father-in-law afterwards about the lines and the long wait, he told me that apparently the DMV is closed on Fridays here due to saving money as the state is in so much debt so maybe that is the reason why it was so crowded on the Monday. I sure as heck hope thats the reason, as i don't think my nerves could stand waiting there again for an hour and a half when i eventually go and sit my drivers test!! Also, I don't know if its just me/an illusion or what but i find that drivers seem to drive must faster here than in NZ. Not sure if it is because most of the roads are in straight lines thus not the need to drive more slower to manouveure round tight corners etc or if its because they don't have to worry about wet slippery roads as it doesn't rain alot but that is defintiely one thing that i do notice. what a great idea about craigslist and jobs!!! The silly thing is...is that i have been looking on craigslist for used cars without even thinking that they would have a job listing too!! duh!! I will definitely take a look!! thanks!! It sounds really lovely where you live. And sounds like it shouldn't be a problem getting a job, which is great!! There are a lot of people here in this area and i believe the unemployment in california is around 9-11% ??? or something like that. My inlaws try to make me feel better when i get a bit down about not having a job. They say.. " don't worry, employers will jump at the chance of hiring you as you have such a lovely accent!!!" LOL!!! enjoy that low carb cheesecake!! mmmmm!! cheesecake!! delicious!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-17 20:04:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (ivannnaloveskiwi @ Jul 16 2009, 12:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> HI EVERYONE! I JUST HAVE TO TELL YOU ALL HOW WONDERFULL( "B"- THE LADY BEHIND THE GLASS) AT THE US EMBASSY IN NEW ZEALAND IS..YOU KNOW THAT PACKAGE YOU GET THAT YOUR NOT SUPPOSE TO OPEN? WELL IT HAD A BIG TEAR IN IT..MY FIANCE WAS UPSET SO HER CALLED HER ABOUT IT AND SHE WANTED HIM TO BRING IT BACK SO SHE COULD REPACKAGE IT.ANYWAY.. YOU ALL KNOW THE TROUBLE WE HAD GETTIN APPROVED.. SHE TOLD HIM SHE WAS SO HAPPY THAT IT WAS ALL DONE AND HOW MUCH SHE REALLY LIKE US ( I NEVER MET HER , JUST TALKED ON THE PHONE.) BUT SHE TOLD ME MY FIANCE WAS A LOVELY MAN..LOL..THEN HE WAS GETTING READY TO GO AND SHE SAID " WAIT, I HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU" AND SHE GAVE HIM A PIN.. OF AN ANERICAN AND NEW ZEALAND FLAG TOGETHER..SHE TOLD HIM THEY DONT GIVE THEM OUT ANYMORE BUT WANTED HIM TO HAVE IT. I THOUGHT THAT WAS SO SWEET OF HER.. SHE REALLY DID HELP US OUT ALOT AND LISTEN TO ME CRY AND WHEN THE INTERVIEW WENT BAD..MADE ME FEEL BETTER TO KNOW THAT NOT EVERYONE IS AGAINST US.. Yes the people at the embassy in Auckland are pretty good (or at least the ones i saw at my interview). Soo glad that everything has worked out ok for you guys . When will your SO be joining you? Edited by kiwiana, 17 July 2009 - 04:14 PM.	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-17 16:13:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Kim&chris Woo Hoo! Congratulations on getting transferred! I am soo jealous of you!! Now all you have to do is wait for the letter to arrive in the mail.. you have certainly been waiting long enough for it On the appointment letter i received for the interview it said i have to show ID,( like drivers licence or state ID card) before they will let me in the building for the interview. I have neither. I looked online at the DMV site to make an appointment to get a state ID card but it said that the office i was going to only did walk ins. so on Monday my SO took me to the DMV.. OMG!! Their HUGE carpark was full and all the surrounding streets was filled with parked cars. We found a spot to park and as we walked towards the place, i saw people lined up outside, waiting to get inside. We joined the end of the queue and stood out in the hot sun. Eventually, it was our turn to go inside. A guy at the counter gave me a piece of paper with a number on it. I was #208. I filled out a form and waited.....( hanging from the ceiling was monitors and an automated voice was calling out the numbers that were ready to go to the counters with the numbers up on the screen. They were up to #133!?!?) While I waited, there was chatter from the MANY people in there waiting aswell. Then there was this really loud voice shouting... All of a sudden the whole place went quiet. You could hear a pin drop!!.. The guy shouting bellowed.." I WANT MY MONEY BACK" I couldn't see him as it was crowded in there but he continued shouting..."I WANT MY MONEY BACK! I DON'T CARE I WANT IT BACK NOW!!!" I was like.. OMG! hope he isn't gonna pull a gun or something and go berserk.. A few minutes later it was all quiet again, so maybe security took him outside or something.. I sighed relief and finally took my eyes off the exit door that i was sitting next to (incase of an emergency lol!!) After an hour and a half, i finally got to hand in my application. It cost like $24 or $26. I then had a photo done.. (isn't it the way that the moment they take the picture, you blink! and then you wonder if your eyes were closed when they took it) and that was that. They said it can take up to 60 days for the ID to arrive in mail. I hope it arrives sooner as i will need it for the interview in a months time. I haven't heard anything at all about the jobs I applied for. It feels like I am in a losing battle in that aspect. If i can't even get a job at Mcdonalds, then there really isn't much chance of getting anything at all at the moment. At least that is how i feel right now. I really hope you have some good news about the other job application soon I have been looking and phoning about used cars for sale. So far nothing. The good ones sell like hot cakes and the bad ones.. well! they remain bad.. the other day we looked at one car.. The photo in the advert for the car looked pretty reasonable ( i mean we aren't expecting a perfectly gleaming car with no blemishes) and we asked about the condition of the car etc when i phoned, but when we got to look at the car, It turned out that one front headlight (the WHOLE thing) was hanging precariously with just some cellotape and with no front bumper. so gave that a miss. You're not alone with putting weight on. I have too in the four months i have been here. A few weeks ago i bought a Jillian Michaels work out dvd and have been doing that almost every day. I never realised just how unfit i was/am until now. Even if i don't lose weight, it is keeping me occupied for 40 minutess out of each day oops sorry for the long post. it's almost turning into a novel!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-17 16:07:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Jul 23 2009, 06:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Good luck with that! Let us know how you go? Glad to see we are still around..it was getting too quiet in here We're ticking over...my biometrics are coming up next week, so maybe after that I will see something more happen. cdneh, looks like we are a few days behind you. Cindy's bio is in about 10 days. We are hoping for a quick EAD, but we'll see.... Glad to see everyone moving along here.	Ed+Cindy	Male	New Zealand	2009-07-24 12:11:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Ohhh a new person! It's so great to hear from other kiwis that are making the move here to the big US of A. Welcome Zeddess, I hope your journey is carefree and speedy.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-29 00:04:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Congrats Kelly, I hope the wedding goes smoothly for you. Enjoy the day! I wouldn't worry too much about the carryon, the only thing I did come across was that they weigh your carry on at Auckland Airport to make sure it's 7kg or less. Mine was 11kg and I had to reorganise, carried my sweater, put more things in my handbag instead of the carry on, hid some things in my pocket etc. Once I got through there I just put it all back in the carry on anyway. Have a safe trip, August is just around the corner	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-26 18:57:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Hey Ana, I've signed up with several temp agencies and have never received a single contract with them. My understanding of how they work is that they charge the company a certain amount ie $15 an hour, then they turn around and pay you $10. So they take their cut there. Which doesn't sound that appealing but a lot of places only offer their temp jobs through these services. I have had all my temp jobs simply because I 'knew someone'. I kept getting told that's how things work around here, and it really seems to be true. I got a temp job for the county because the neighbour is in HR. That was only for 2 weeks, but now I'm on their temp list and they don't use temp agencies. My semi permanent temp job I actually got after I'd gone in to volunteer at the local library. They offered me some part time hours instead. I recommend doing some volunteer work if no paid work turns up as I've found people want US references.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-22 21:45:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Congrats Ivanna, glad to hear you're finally through that part of the process! Ana - thanks for sharing the stories, made me smile. I live in a town of only 50,000 so the DMV wasn't too awful, there was still a queue of people though, but only about 20 of us in all. My driving test was simple. I do agree people seem to drive fast here. When I'm on the freeway most people seem to be driving at around 80, which is faster than I ever drove in NZ, even when I was speeding! But here if you aren't doing 70 (which is over the speed limit) you seem to be just holding everyone up. I've found the opposite thing about commuting though. I live in a 'commuter' town and most people don't think anything of driving an hour for work. Unfortunately I'm coming up on being here a year and I've yet to find a job. I've had quite a few temp jobs, and now have some really good US references but I'm competing for every single job with 100's of people. It saddens me when I get interviewed for a job that pays $10 an hour, no benefits, and they tell me they got 400 applications for it. Ah well, all you can do is smile and think that it can't get any worse. In fact, I'm pretty certain we're hitting rock bottom now and things are about to improve. I did have good news in that I finally got an interview for a job in my actual field. Apparently 150 eligible people applied, which is huge in an industry that used to have trouble finding qualified candidates. But I've made it through the first lot of interviews and am scheduled for a second. So fingers crossed I've promised myself if I land a job I'm going to make a trip home sometime next year.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-18 12:33:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Zeddess @ Jul 28 2009, 11:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Cheers for the link, very helpful! Thanks for the link to Kiwiana's medical review too, really gives me a clear idea of what to expect so here's hoping I don't get too stressed out about all the things I'm supposed to do! What do you reckon has been the hardest part of the whole process? Ana is right, the hardest part was the wait for the I-129f and then once you've been approved it's all go, so the next hardest part is getting rid of all your stuff, deciding what to take in the limited space you have and leaving all your loved ones, (not in that order). AOS is definately easier paperwork and a shorter wait.	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-29 07:33:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kelvan @ Jul 29 2009, 04:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hey does anyone know of a website for NZers where they can register that they are living overseas and you can look up the US and the states and see which Kiwis are living there? Did I just imagine seeing this? Kelvan - The NZ Embassy in USA sight has a part for Kiwi's living in the U.S. where you can register I think. I'll put the link below. As for Kiwis in your area I'm not sure if there's anything on the Embassy site for it, but if you play around on google with the words Kiwi or NZ and your town or state, you may well find something. If you find a proper site for it let us all know http://www.nzembassy...7...p;l=86&s=nz	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-29 07:27:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Jul 29 2009, 01:25 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Kim how was it at the baseball game? I saw a little bit of it with my SO on tv and the score was like 2-1 (not sure which team had what score - I am still a novice at understanding the game ) Ana - they lost and the only thing that would console Chris afterwards was ice cream......lol..... but we got there early and got to watch the players warming up and batting practice, and Chris even spoke to a few of them so it was all good. I got lots of pics too. But it was nice to get away even if it was just overnight (we have a houseful at the moment), and I have two more states to add to my list of " States I Have Been To".......lol (Illinois is just over the bridge from St Louis), and I just love the whole stadium atmosphere, so as I said, it was all good.	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-29 07:18:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (ivannnaloveskiwi @ Jul 29 2009, 02:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi All, seems we didn't asked the right question about getting through custom..what the heck do you do with the brown mysterious envelope? do you give it someone at customs? why do you have to have it at hand? does customs in LA open it..Is it carry on so you dont lose it? lol.. we just dont know..shrugs.. thanks Pack the "Mysterious Brown Envelope" in your carry-on then whip it out when you get to the customs line. If you hold it so the officer wandering around can see it they may even direct you to a shorter line Then when it's your turn at the desk just hand it to the officer there, they'll do all the rest. They'll open it and have a quick flick through and maybe ask you some general questions like where did you meet etc, but it's more for their curiosity I think. They'll take your finger print yet again and if I remember I think they take your photo, and then you're done, leaving the MBO with them. You can ask them where it will be handed on to if you want but I don't think any of us got a definate answer about that. My first trip I had a 2hr connecting flight in LA and the Qantas flight was nearly an hour late getting to and leaving Auckland, so I hoofed it off the plane with the hoardes, and let me tell you, they were moving, and by the time I got to the customs line I was all hot and bothered and yuk , it was quite a hike. As I stood there in the long line waiting, my connection took off......but that's another story......lol The last time I arrived I'd made sure I had a 4hr wait between connections, I let the hoardes fill the first bus to the main terminal and I sat in the second bus with a few others while it waited for the crew. I arrived all calm and collected at customs and there was no long line. Zapped through in minutes and felt sooooo much better. Sometimes it's the little things you forget about but it's the little things that make the difference.	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-29 07:09:00