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 (Kim & Chris @ Jul 30 2009, 11:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Zeddess @ Jul 29 2009, 04:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks for the welcomes guys! QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jul 30 2009, 12:18 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> 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. Omg I can't wait to start my "list"! How many states do you have on yours so far? I've only been to Washington & Idaho so there's only 48 more to go! Haha Congrats Cdneh.....one more hurdle been passed......you got transfered too didn't you so it should be plain sailing from here on We did..we were sent to CSC...and boy do we ever hope so	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-29 17:49:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Zeddess @ Jul 30 2009, 10:32 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks for the welcomes guys! QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jul 30 2009, 12:18 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> 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. Omg I can't wait to start my "list"! How many states do you have on yours so far? I've only been to Washington & Idaho so there's only 48 more to go! Haha QUOTE (cdneh @ Jul 30 2009, 08:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> 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! Yeah, the long-distance thing has taught me a LOT of patience. I just wish it would hurry up and be the end of the year already because I'll definitely know by then if we've been approved and I'll also get to see him again, yay!!! Sorry for the ignorance but what exactly is AP though? I've heard it around but just not sure what it does and why? AP...arggg...lol...Administrative Processing, or Additional Processing...we were told both. It just means that they started sujecting K1's to extra checks at the National Visa Center. They hadn't done it in the past that often although Kim and Russ were stuck there for three weeks last year. The trouble was that as it was pretty much a new thing for K1's, there really wasn't much to read here about it. We started a thread which is 'stuck' to the top in the Visa Centre forum, and at least now if people get stuck there there is more on it. We had our NOA2 November 18th last year, and Auckland were getting to interviews pretty quick so we had hope for Christmas. As it was, after 7 weeks that didn't happen. I was lucky though in many ways, after I emailed the Auckland people a few times, which I suppose was good as they had heard of us, they did send out packet 3 based on me having the ACK number, So that way I was able to get the medical and the rest done while we were still in AP. WHen we finally got out we were ready to go! More good news is that even if you get stuck there, times have come way way down, to weeks not months. The lady that interviewed me in Auckland did say that she could see we were in AP for random checks for quite a while. Random...talk about the short straw	cdneh	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-29 17:00:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Kelvan After you mentioned the radio station. I looked up The Edge online and found that they broadcast over the internet. It was cool to hear kiwi accents speaking and was funny to hear them say the time ( it was morning there- five hours earlier than here in cali) cdneh: Congratulations on the EAD card production!! With the AP i was never able to track the case number online as it would say it didn't exist and I never received any emails. The AP approval letter etc was just waiting in our letter box one day. A total surprise!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-14 01:13:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Aug 11 2009, 08:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Zeddess @ Aug 10 2009, 11:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hey guys, just thought I'd say that we're officially waiting to be approved now, yay! I've just been reading and observing what's going on with everybody and trying to keep up lol, I'm really far behind so it's a bit hard to understand what happens later on in the process... Congrats to Kelly & Evan! you must be so happily exhausted!! lol. Sorry you lost your license Kim! but well done for getting your US one, hopefully your NZ one turns up soon, or if it doesn't at least you can get a replacement, although it's probably not quite the same as having the one you've been driving on for years... what an experience with the tornado though! glad it didn't come too close, although Portland sure would be safer tornado-wise.. when are you guys moving? Good luck with the parallel parking Ana! glad that you're enjoying driving don't worry I'm completely hopeless at parallel parking even here, I've driven a few times over there but parallel parking is definitely NOT my area of expertise lol, let us know how you get on! Did you end up getting the Geo? And thanks to Julie & Alan for your lovely note of support, I appreciate it heaps -Camille Thanks Camille......... We're hoping to move late this year or early next year. Well now you've got a bit of waiting to do, but my main advice to you is, use this time to get all your personal stuff sorted out. I don't know how old you are, but we older members had an aweful lot of stuff accumulated over the years (well I did anyway) and getting rid of it all was a major feat. When you're issued with the interview date things will move very quicly from there on and before you know it you'll be approved and booking your ticket and jetting off. So take this few months waiting time to get organised. There's nothing worse than rushing at the end and trying to get it all done. That happened to me and I'd definately do it differently if I had it to do all over....god forbid!!!!! .....lol TOTALLY agree with Kim!! Once the interview date is set, things generally move very quickly!! I remember waiting for the I-129f to be approved seemed like forever and i was always impatient about the whole process (looking for touches on my file like a zillion times a day!! lol) and thinking.. is this ever going to move along... then BOOM! once you get to interview stage its all GO! I never thought that i owned much stuff... until i had to sort through it...and deciding on what I had to leave behind (as you can't fit much into two suitcases). I am a HUGE music fan and owned thousands of cds. I managed to trade some into real groovy but i had to throw out HEAPS in the rubbish as i simply ran out of time. And things like family photos ,( sorting through what seemed liked thousand of pics from when i was a small child ( many moons ago ) up until now. And to get rid of all the furniture, whiteware, tv, whew! the list just went on. I thought i would be making progress, then turn around and see more stuff. It is like the items bred overnight!!(The older one is the more things one accumulate in life ) So definitely make the most of the time you have now and start sorting through your things and getting organised. And getting stuff together for the interview (yes, we did get the Geo car )	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-11 12:42:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Aug 10 2009, 08:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (cdneh @ Aug 10 2009, 08:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I don't know if this helps, but when I got to New Zealand I was told I could drive there on my Canadian DL for a year. People rent cars there when they visit from all over and they do the same thing. Thanks Cdneh, yeah I figured I could probably still drive at home on my US license. It's just me, I want me NZ one ....lol I just rang the DMV and they said they haven't got it so I'm going to aply for a new one. Crazy I know, but that's me what a shame they didn't have it! I suppose there isn't any slim chance it fell out of your bag and wedged down the side of the car seat of the car? I know you have probably hunted everywhere for it and that was the first place to look but i know when i lose anything, my mind won't rest until i look everywhere like 100 times over Thanks Kelzm for the tip about learning hand signals. The thought never entered my head, so i will definitely do that!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-10 12:53:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kelvan @ Aug 9 2009, 10:54 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm in Kansas now! Immigration at the airport went fine. The woman was a little scary though. I'm super tired and it's only my second day! So now I guess I need to apply for my SSN in two weeks. Woohoo I am here!!! Yay! Welcome to the U S of A!!!! Hope you manage to rest and catch up on sleep! Travelling and the whole K1 thing is quite exhausting! Kim thanks for the link for NZ licence. I'm hoping that like Kelzm,(being in California too), i won't have to hand it over but at least I will be prepared for the worst if they do Did you have to show the nz one at all to them Kelzm at any stage of applying for the licence (written test or practical?) Let us know how it goes at DMV tomorrow Kim. I'm *crossing my fingers* that they found it and it will be there for you!! I went out driving again yesterday after my SO came home from work. It feels sooo good!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-09 11:44:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Aug 8 2009, 01:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm picking they'll try and get it off you. You're probably better to tell them you didn't bring it with you. I went in to pick my new US license up yesterday, and she asked for my NZ license. I said am I going to get it back and she said no. I told her I need it coz I'm about to visit home (I'm not), and if I get caught driving without it I'll be in trouble and get fined. She said I'd be in trouble here if I get caught driving around with two licenses so I said I'll leave my NZ one at home. After confering with a collegue she said that's ok.............and you know what I promptly did.......I lost the damn thing!!!!!!! I've looked everywhere and I can't find it. Just desserts or what.....lol!! I'll ph the DMV on Monday and see if it's there otherwise I'm going to have to apply for a new one ($32 nzd). I won't really need it here but then I don't want to wait till I get back home to sort it either as it takes a few weeks to get a replacement. Aaah well, at least I'm legal here for now but talk about a pain in the behind That is what i was thinking too. If we go back to nz for vacation etc then how will we all be able to drive if we don't have our nz licence? that makes no sense to me! I mean the nz licence is meaningless here anyway really. I hope you manage to find your nz licence. Are you sure the lady at DMV didn't pick it up while you weren't looking? And a big CONGRATULATIONS!! on getting your USA one!! well done!!! I am feeling quite pleased with myself at the moment. Yesterday my SO took me out in the "new" car (its 16 years old but you know what i mean by 'new' !) and first i drove round a huge parking lot and practised three point turns and *parallel parking (*my worst nightmare are those!) and then i took it out on the road and drove!. It was so much better driving an automatic! My confidence started to come back and it felt like i had never stopped driving in the first place. so i felt VERY good about that!! I can't wait to go out again!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-08 15:30:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kelzm @ Aug 6 2009, 11:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Wow... that storm sounds scary. Glad you got through it! As for the license thing, when I went for mine last year I had to do a practical driving test. Apparently in California if you have an out of state license you don't have to do the test but for foreign licenses you do. When you pass your Californian driving test, do they take your nz licence or do they let you keep it?	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-08 11:38:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Aug 6 2009, 07:10 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I forgot to mention............................. Our hopes for a good nights sleep the night before last were shattered around 3.30ish am when the cat disturbed us, (luckily), and as we were laying there we heard the power go off, (the ceiling fan stopped and you don't realise how much whirring the turned off electrical stuff makes untill it shuts down all at once),........ followed closely by the tornado sirens!!!!! OMG!!! .... we've had a few storms since I've been here but the tornado season was unusually quiet this year and was meant to be over by this time, the power goes off in this street frequently and we've had it go off in the small hours before followed by big electrical storms....but never the sirens at the same time since I've been here so as you can imagine I was a little on the wired side to say the least. As there was also no internet we were flying blind, so I rang my cuzzy in NZ and got her to jump online and tell me what was going on here....as we suspected there were several tornado warnings which were expected to last about about an hour so we all gathered in one room to wait it out. The wind was blowing a gale but Chris still had his head out the front door to check for funnels when the sky was lit up and said "it seems to be in the distance". Just at that moment a massive flash and boom happened all at once right above us, it was quite comical to see the look on his face and watch him jump back inside the house. (I tend to run to a bit of humour in a crisis)....lol. About 4.30am as the storm had quietened down a bit we thought we'd try and get some sleep before the alarm at 5.15, then the damned neighbours dog started!!!.....lol I really don't blame him, I mean fancy leaving your dog out in an electrical storm and possible tornado strike. I miss the rain and electrical storms we have at home and look forward to moving to Portland so I can enjoy them again without the fear of tornadoes. The sirens and storm in the middle of the night has to be the worst for putting the wind up you.....no pun intended.....lol omg! that sounds soo scary!! so glad that you was alright there!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-06 18:43:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Aug 4 2009, 12:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> How'd it go with the car Ana?? I went for my written drivers test today and passed !!!! Got em all right too !! The officer in charge said I didn't have to take the driving test as I already have a licence (NZ one), and to take the permit to the DMV office to the Driver Control part and get a 30 day waiver, then to go over to the main desk where they issue them from and get my licence.......I mighta known there would be some kind of hiccup......I've had nothing but grief at the DMV office so far when I went to get my state ID. I got it but there was it was a bit of a palava in the process..........and now even after all the ID I gave them for the licence, they have to get clearance from DHS and it will take 3-4 days, and to call back in and see them then.......not phone mind you, but call up there. Luckily it's not too far away and not hugely busy, but it's not the point. I thought the EAD card was enough but apparantly not. She asked if I had permanent residency yet and I said that's the last bit I'm waiting on and there you go........delay And lo and behold yesterday I got another "touch" and still no change of status.......I'm starting to feel quite violated by all this touching ....wish they'd just pull their fingers out YAY!! Congratulations at passing the written test!! It must be soo good to get that out of the way!! So with the 30 day waiver does it mean that you won't have to do the driving part of the test? I thought the EAD was enough evidence/ID too. It is certainly frustrating dealing with these departments With all the touches you have had, it must be VERY close to approval. Hope they stop playing around and issue it this week for you We did buy the car yesterday(geo prizm) and i must say a little bit of weight has fallen from my shoulders as i had been feeling a bit stressed about it lately! We have to go to DMV tomorrow to change ownership papers (hope its not going to be another hour and half wait there) and get insurance and then my SO will take me out for driving practice. The AOS interview is in 3 weeks time, so hopefully once that is over i may have had enough practice to go for my driving licence but if the EAD isn't sufficient to get the licence then it may pay just to wait for the GC to come first.	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-04 11:54:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jul 31 2009, 08:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Another "touch" on my I-485 today but no change of status as yet....... Hmmmmmm Did you find that car today Ana ....... That's good that you got a touch! you could get an approval any day!! We did look at a car today and we aren't no mechanics but it 'seemed' ok as far as one can tell. My SO works over the weekend and the guy selling the car works afternoon shift. so we gave him a $100 deposit (we wrote a receipt and he signed it) and will be back on Monday morning to finalize the sale. So fingers crossed, that all will go well on Monday. I can't help but be a little bit wary of everything. (until we actually have the car keys and ownership papers in our hands )	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-31 22:11:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jul 31 2009, 01:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ana - I know you haven't got your US licence yet, I found this site that has free online tests you can practice with if you need them. I was going to go for mine the other day and wasn't overly confident as there's so much to try and remember in the book, when I found this site I put it off and have been doing the tests. I feel alot better about it now and hope to go for it soon. http://www.drivingdi.../test/index.php Cheers Kim Wow! This is soo cool Thank You! I have bookmarked it. They have some practice driving tests on the DMV site but this is much more thorough! Today we are going to phone about a few used cars for sale I put the 'looking for cars' saga off the last few days as i had a few bad experiences with some really rude sellers on the phone and it really upset me. I am sure the older i get, the more sensitive i have become lol! QUOTE (rubyred @ Jul 31 2009, 01:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> APPROVED!! really lovely interviewing officer - she told us she was recommending us for approval within about 3mins of the interview! Congratulations!!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-31 12:58:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jul 29 2009, 05:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Lol......... I now have seven. California - Michigan - Tennessee - Arkansas - Oklahoma - Missouri - Illinois. We're moving to Portland Oregon either late this year or sometime early next year, (I can do another winter here but I refuse to do another summer ), so that will be a few more as we'll be driving there. Not sure which way we'll be going yet as it will depend on the weather at the time. Chris drove trucks across the country for years so he's been just about everywhere, I have a lot of catching up to do but the list doth groweth.....lol Which state will you be moving to when you get the go ahead from immigration? Congrats Cdneh.....one more hurdle been passed......you got transfered too didn't you so it should be plain sailing from here on I have only three states to my 'states i have been to' list... California, Arizona and Nevada lol!! Good to hear that the biometrics went smoothly cdneh! The lady had trouble with fingers on one of my hands too. Maybe you are right and they are wearing off as we get older!! The process is going along quite quickly, which is a welcome change as i remember when your case was stuck in AP. At the time, I was like 'it must be getting released from AP next week.... week after that.. definitely the week after that.. I couldn't believe they kept your file in there for 7 weeks or more!! But they have definitely picked up the pace with AOS which is great to see! Thanks Kelzm for giving the links for the kiwi san fran and LA groups!	kiwiana	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-29 23:23:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (rubyred @ Feb 17 2008, 07:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> i was feeling so alone and overwhelmed at the thought of the huge and lengthy process ahead of me, and finding this forum and particularly finding kim and kelzm, has diminished a lot of that. it'll be great to be able to talk with people going through the same particular things as me, specific to nz and the auckland consulate. (ps. Kim, thanks for the PM, i'll reply soon) Congrats and good luck	Jamaican JNR	Male	Jamaica	2009-08-08 15:46:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Woohoo, congrats Kelly and Even on making it this far and getting to be together Kiwiana - I don't think I had to show my licence at all. If I did it was only to show that I was able to drive around in the interim of applying (since I'd driven myself to the DMV to take the practical). I did the written test, turned up for the appt. He wrote me out a paper interim license which was what I used till the card arrived. I know for sure I did not hand over my license then. One thing that I had to do that I wasn't expecting was show all the hand signals, so make sure you learn them! It was part of the practical test as well as doing things like turning on lights, indicators, hazard lights etc.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-09 17:16:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	I wasn't asked to hand over my license. It may be because I had to do the driving test and was considered a brand new driver rather than leveraging off my nz one. I did hear if you have an out of state license and get a California one based on that you had to turn over the other one, so it seems that's likely what they were doing when asking for the NZ one this time. I have both in my wallet right now	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-09 01:03:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Wow... that storm sounds scary. Glad you got through it! As for the license thing, when I went for mine last year I had to do a practical driving test. Apparently in California if you have an out of state license you don't have to do the test but for foreign licenses you do.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-06 22:49:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Kelly - not sure what part of California you're in but there are a few different groups. http://www.sfkiwis.com/ is the San Francisco group and the LA group is http://www.kiwisinla.com/ You might also want to try meetup.com to do some searching, I joined a San Jose based kiwi group and have met everyone for lunch, they also had a bbq over summer that I wasn't able to get to.	kelzm	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-29 21:31:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Aug 14 2009, 01:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Kelvan After you mentioned the radio station. I looked up The Edge online and found that they broadcast over the internet. It was cool to hear kiwi accents speaking and was funny to hear them say the time ( it was morning there- five hours earlier than here in cali) cdneh: Congratulations on the EAD card production!! With the AP i was never able to track the case number online as it would say it didn't exist and I never received any emails. The AP approval letter etc was just waiting in our letter box one day. A total surprise!! Got an email from CRIS this morning stating on August 13th my GC production ordered.........should receive it within 30 days Was just talking to my brother on the phone a couple of hours ago saying that this is the last thing I'm waiting on (Friday night beers, him not me....lol), and I get in and turn on the pooter and there it is........ When I remember I like to tune in to MoreFM Auckland online and listen to Kim and Corbett and hear some familiar music and voices I'm noticing it's a bit darker in the mornings when we get up and I take Chris to work at 6am, and this morning was cooler and without much humidity, so I could actually sit outside and have a coffee, it reminded me alot of the weather at home. Made a nice change	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-14 08:55:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kelvan @ Aug 12 2009, 10:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hehe that shouldn't be a problem We are sooo busy with wedding stuff right now! Our wedding will be September 18th. Man is it HOT here I hate the heat and they keep telling me that this has been a mild summer.................. the temps have been in the late 30's (celcius) for at least a couple of months............. I've been gasping.......I'll never complain about the heat or humidity in Auckland again	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-13 07:41:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kelvan @ Aug 12 2009, 04:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hello guys! Now that I'm in the US, what exactly do I do now? I read that you should wait about 2 weeks before applying for a SSN. Is there anything else I need to do in terms of forms? No. as you said, just wait for two weeks and go and apply for you SSN. Relax for a bit, but just don't forget to get married!!!! ........lol	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-12 17:14:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Zeddess @ Aug 11 2009, 05:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> No matter how much I plan in advance I always seem to do things at the last minute, I'm an extreme planner yet an extreme procrastinator at the same time right now I'm just concentrating on saving up in case I don't get a job for a while but can still pay off my debt. does it matter if my SO isn't able to come to the interview with me? He'll probably miss out by a couple of weeks which is a shame Extreme planner yet extreme procrastinator.........you sound like you're writing my life story....lol No they only want to interview you anyway. My SO was in the US as alot of them are. You'll be fine on your own if he can't make it here in time.	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-11 17:20:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Zeddess @ Aug 10 2009, 11:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hey guys, just thought I'd say that we're officially waiting to be approved now, yay! I've just been reading and observing what's going on with everybody and trying to keep up lol, I'm really far behind so it's a bit hard to understand what happens later on in the process... Congrats to Kelly & Evan! you must be so happily exhausted!! lol. Sorry you lost your license Kim! but well done for getting your US one, hopefully your NZ one turns up soon, or if it doesn't at least you can get a replacement, although it's probably not quite the same as having the one you've been driving on for years... what an experience with the tornado though! glad it didn't come too close, although Portland sure would be safer tornado-wise.. when are you guys moving? Good luck with the parallel parking Ana! glad that you're enjoying driving don't worry I'm completely hopeless at parallel parking even here, I've driven a few times over there but parallel parking is definitely NOT my area of expertise lol, let us know how you get on! Did you end up getting the Geo? And thanks to Julie & Alan for your lovely note of support, I appreciate it heaps -Camille Thanks Camille......... We're hoping to move late this year or early next year. Well now you've got a bit of waiting to do, but my main advice to you is, use this time to get all your personal stuff sorted out. I don't know how old you are, but we older members had an aweful lot of stuff accumulated over the years (well I did anyway) and getting rid of it all was a major feat. When you're issued with the interview date things will move very quicly from there on and before you know it you'll be approved and booking your ticket and jetting off. So take this few months waiting time to get organised. There's nothing worse than rushing at the end and trying to get it all done. That happened to me and I'd definately do it differently if I had it to do all over....god forbid!!!!! .....lol	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-11 07:47:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Aug 10 2009, 12:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Aug 10 2009, 08:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (cdneh @ Aug 10 2009, 08:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I don't know if this helps, but when I got to New Zealand I was told I could drive there on my Canadian DL for a year. People rent cars there when they visit from all over and they do the same thing. Thanks Cdneh, yeah I figured I could probably still drive at home on my US license. It's just me, I want me NZ one ....lol I just rang the DMV and they said they haven't got it so I'm going to aply for a new one. Crazy I know, but that's me what a shame they didn't have it! I suppose there isn't any slim chance it fell out of your bag and wedged down the side of the car seat of the car? I know you have probably hunted everywhere for it and that was the first place to look but i know when i lose anything, my mind won't rest until i look everywhere like 100 times over Thanks Kelzm for the tip about learning hand signals. The thought never entered my head, so i will definitely do that! Thanks for the thoughts Ana, but I checked everywhere else I went that day as soon as I got up Saturday morning, and the car many times over.....lol.....but thanks for the thought. It'll be ok, I'll just order another one.	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-10 13:09:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (cdneh @ Aug 10 2009, 08:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I don't know if this helps, but when I got to New Zealand I was told I could drive there on my Canadian DL for a year. People rent cars there when they visit from all over and they do the same thing. Thanks Cdneh, yeah I figured I could probably still drive at home on my US license. It's just me, I want me NZ one ....lol I just rang the DMV and they said they haven't got it so I'm going to aply for a new one. Crazy I know, but that's me	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-10 08:49:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kelvan @ Aug 9 2009, 09:54 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm in Kansas now! Immigration at the airport went fine. The woman was a little scary though. I'm super tired and it's only my second day! So now I guess I need to apply for my SSN in two weeks. Woohoo I am here!!! Well done Kelly and Evan........ Congrats on arriving finally The rush and the crazyness of getting organised to leave and then the looooooong flight and connection to get here.....I'm sure you're exhausted, I know I was. Now sit back and relax a while, you've earnt it Fingers crossed for tomorrow Ana, it won't be the end of the world if it's not there, but it'll save alot of hassle if it is	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-09 18:28:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kelzm @ Aug 9 2009, 01:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I have both in my wallet right now I would too if I hadn't lost it	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-09 07:26:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Aug 8 2009, 03:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Aug 8 2009, 01:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm picking they'll try and get it off you. You're probably better to tell them you didn't bring it with you. I went in to pick my new US license up yesterday, and she asked for my NZ license. I said am I going to get it back and she said no. I told her I need it coz I'm about to visit home (I'm not), and if I get caught driving without it I'll be in trouble and get fined. She said I'd be in trouble here if I get caught driving around with two licenses so I said I'll leave my NZ one at home. After confering with a collegue she said that's ok.............and you know what I promptly did.......I lost the damn thing!!!!!!! I've looked everywhere and I can't find it. Just desserts or what.....lol!! I'll ph the DMV on Monday and see if it's there otherwise I'm going to have to apply for a new one ($32 nzd). I won't really need it here but then I don't want to wait till I get back home to sort it either as it takes a few weeks to get a replacement. Aaah well, at least I'm legal here for now but talk about a pain in the behind That is what i was thinking too. If we go back to nz for vacation etc then how will we all be able to drive if we don't have our nz licence? that makes no sense to me! I mean the nz licence is meaningless here anyway really. I hope you manage to find your nz licence. Are you sure the lady at DMV didn't pick it up while you weren't looking? And a big CONGRATULATIONS!! on getting your USA one!! well done!!! I am feeling quite pleased with myself at the moment. Yesterday my SO took me out in the "new" car (its 16 years old but you know what i mean by 'new' !) and first i drove round a huge parking lot and practised three point turns and *parallel parking (*my worst nightmare are those!) and then i took it out on the road and drove!. It was so much better driving an automatic! My confidence started to come back and it felt like i had never stopped driving in the first place. so i felt VERY good about that!! I can't wait to go out again! Ana I could kick myself for losing it, after having one for 28 years and never losing it before, I'm more mad at myself than anything else........ I never actually handed it to the woman and just slipped it back into my bag rather than putting away properly, or so I thought, it could have fallen out anywhere but I'll call the DMV on Monday morning and ask if they've had it handed in, I've checked everywhere else I went afterwards with no luck. If they make you hand it over before they'll let you have the US one, here's a link where you can order a replacement. It's crazy waiting till you get home to put the paperwork in, it will take a few weeks and you'll be gone again before it arrives. http://www.ltsa.govt...t-licences.html Ana I'm so pleased you're back behind the wheel again, there's nothing like feeling your independence returning and a sense of normality once more. .......well done!! Edited by Kim & Chris, 08 August 2009 - 05:15 PM.	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-08 17:14:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Aug 8 2009, 11:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (kelzm @ Aug 6 2009, 11:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Wow... that storm sounds scary. Glad you got through it! As for the license thing, when I went for mine last year I had to do a practical driving test. Apparently in California if you have an out of state license you don't have to do the test but for foreign licenses you do. When you pass your Californian driving test, do they take your nz licence or do they let you keep it? I'm picking they'll try and get it off you. You're probably better to tell them you didn't bring it with you. I went in to pick my new US license up yesterday, and she asked for my NZ license. I said am I going to get it back and she said no. I told her I need it coz I'm about to visit home (I'm not), and if I get caught driving without it I'll be in trouble and get fined. She said I'd be in trouble here if I get caught driving around with two licenses so I said I'll leave my NZ one at home. After confering with a collegue she said that's ok.............and you know what I promptly did.......I lost the damn thing!!!!!!! I've looked everywhere and I can't find it. Just desserts or what.....lol!! I'll ph the DMV on Monday and see if it's there otherwise I'm going to have to apply for a new one ($32 nzd). I won't really need it here but then I don't want to wait till I get back home to sort it either as it takes a few weeks to get a replacement. Aaah well, at least I'm legal here for now but talk about a pain in the behind	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-08 13:48:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	I forgot to mention............................. Our hopes for a good nights sleep the night before last were shattered around 3.30ish am when the cat disturbed us, (luckily), and as we were laying there we heard the power go off, (the ceiling fan stopped and you don't realise how much whirring the turned off electrical stuff makes untill it shuts down all at once),........ followed closely by the tornado sirens!!!!! OMG!!! .... we've had a few storms since I've been here but the tornado season was unusually quiet this year and was meant to be over by this time, the power goes off in this street frequently and we've had it go off in the small hours before followed by big electrical storms....but never the sirens at the same time since I've been here so as you can imagine I was a little on the wired side to say the least. As there was also no internet we were flying blind, so I rang my cuzzy in NZ and got her to jump online and tell me what was going on here....as we suspected there were several tornado warnings which were expected to last about about an hour so we all gathered in one room to wait it out. The wind was blowing a gale but Chris still had his head out the front door to check for funnels when the sky was lit up and said "it seems to be in the distance". Just at that moment a massive flash and boom happened all at once right above us, it was quite comical to see the look on his face and watch him jump back inside the house. (I tend to run to a bit of humour in a crisis)....lol. About 4.30am as the storm had quietened down a bit we thought we'd try and get some sleep before the alarm at 5.15, then the damned neighbours dog started!!!.....lol I really don't blame him, I mean fancy leaving your dog out in an electrical storm and possible tornado strike. I miss the rain and electrical storms we have at home and look forward to moving to Portland so I can enjoy them again without the fear of tornadoes. The sirens and storm in the middle of the night has to be the worst for putting the wind up you.....no pun intended.....lol	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-06 07:10:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Kelvan @ Aug 6 2009, 04:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Aug 5 2009, 04:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ordinarily if you've not had a licence before, you go sit the written test, and if you pass they give you an instruction permit which means you're allowed to be behind the wheel with a fully licenced driver in the car and be taught to drive. You have to wait a minimum of 30 days before you can go back and do the driving part. However, if you already have a licence from another country that drives on the left, like us, you have to sit the written but not the driving part. You get a waiver for the 30 days of having to wait and they can issue it immediately. Awesome! I have my full NZ license! Does that mean I don't have to sit a practical test to get my license in Kansas? Do all US states go by this rule? I'm not too sure if it's the same in every state or not but I know a friend from the UK who's now living in Louisiana sat hers and said the 30 day minimum wait after passing the theory didn't apply to her either, but she never said if they gave her the license straight away or not. If it's not the same in Kansas, take a drive on down to Arkansas....lol	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-06 06:05:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Aug 4 2009, 11:54 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Aug 4 2009, 12:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> How'd it go with the car Ana?? I went for my written drivers test today and passed !!!! Got em all right too !! The officer in charge said I didn't have to take the driving test as I already have a licence (NZ one), and to take the permit to the DMV office to the Driver Control part and get a 30 day waiver, then to go over to the main desk where they issue them from and get my licence.......I mighta known there would be some kind of hiccup......I've had nothing but grief at the DMV office so far when I went to get my state ID. I got it but there was it was a bit of a palava in the process..........and now even after all the ID I gave them for the licence, they have to get clearance from DHS and it will take 3-4 days, and to call back in and see them then.......not phone mind you, but call up there. Luckily it's not too far away and not hugely busy, but it's not the point. I thought the EAD card was enough but apparantly not. She asked if I had permanent residency yet and I said that's the last bit I'm waiting on and there you go........delay And lo and behold yesterday I got another "touch" and still no change of status.......I'm starting to feel quite violated by all this touching ....wish they'd just pull their fingers out YAY!! Congratulations at passing the written test!! It must be soo good to get that out of the way!! So with the 30 day waiver does it mean that you won't have to do the driving part of the test? I thought the EAD was enough evidence/ID too. It is certainly frustrating dealing with these departments With all the touches you have had, it must be VERY close to approval. Hope they stop playing around and issue it this week for you We did buy the car yesterday(geo prizm) and i must say a little bit of weight has fallen from my shoulders as i had been feeling a bit stressed about it lately! We have to go to DMV tomorrow to change ownership papers (hope its not going to be another hour and half wait there) and get insurance and then my SO will take me out for driving practice. The AOS interview is in 3 weeks time, so hopefully once that is over i may have had enough practice to go for my driving licence but if the EAD isn't sufficient to get the licence then it may pay just to wait for the GC to come first. Congrats on the car I know what you mean by a weights been lifted, I felt like that just passing the written test.....lol. Ordinarily if you've not had a licence before, you go sit the written test, and if you pass they give you an instruction permit which means you're allowed to be behind the wheel with a fully licenced driver in the car and be taught to drive. You have to wait a minimum of 30 days before you can go back and do the driving part. However, if you already have a licence from another country that drives on the left, like us, you have to sit the written but not the driving part. You get a waiver for the 30 days of having to wait and they can issue it immediately. They can issue it on EAD, but the computer pops up a window that tells them they have to get verification from DHS of the immigration status which she said will take about 3-4 days. I guess it's a safeguard to make sure your EAD is authentic and I think it's also to make sure the FBI checks for AOS have been passed ok. That's where I'm at now, so hopefully it will all be ok by the end of the week. I seem to be doing an aweful lot of whistling and waiting on here lately.....lol And just when I was having a particularly good hair day for the photo for it too	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-04 13:17:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Jul 31 2009, 10:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jul 31 2009, 08:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Another "touch" on my I-485 today but no change of status as yet....... Hmmmmmm Did you find that car today Ana ....... That's good that you got a touch! you could get an approval any day!! We did look at a car today and we aren't no mechanics but it 'seemed' ok as far as one can tell. My SO works over the weekend and the guy selling the car works afternoon shift. so we gave him a $100 deposit (we wrote a receipt and he signed it) and will be back on Monday morning to finalize the sale. So fingers crossed, that all will go well on Monday. I can't help but be a little bit wary of everything. (until we actually have the car keys and ownership papers in our hands ) How'd it go with the car Ana?? I went for my written drivers test today and passed !!!! Got em all right too !! The officer in charge said I didn't have to take the driving test as I already have a licence (NZ one), and to take the permit to the DMV office to the Driver Control part and get a 30 day waiver, then to go over to the main desk where they issue them from and get my licence.......I mighta known there would be some kind of hiccup......I've had nothing but grief at the DMV office so far when I went to get my state ID. I got it but there was it was a bit of a palava in the process..........and now even after all the ID I gave them for the licence, they have to get clearance from DHS and it will take 3-4 days, and to call back in and see them then.......not phone mind you, but call up there. Luckily it's not too far away and not hugely busy, but it's not the point. I thought the EAD card was enough but apparantly not. She asked if I had permanent residency yet and I said that's the last bit I'm waiting on and there you go........delay And lo and behold yesterday I got another "touch" and still no change of status.......I'm starting to feel quite violated by all this touching ....wish they'd just pull their fingers out	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-08-04 11:18:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Another "touch" on my I-485 today but no change of status as yet....... Hmmmmmm Did you find that car today Ana .......	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-31 20:39:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	Ana - I know you haven't got your US licence yet, I found this site that has free online tests you can practice with if you need them. I was going to go for mine the other day and wasn't overly confident as there's so much to try and remember in the book, when I found this site I put it off and have been doing the tests. I feel alot better about it now and hope to go for it soon. http://www.drivingdi.../test/index.php Cheers Kim	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-31 12:16:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Zeddess @ Jul 29 2009, 07:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Which state will you be moving to when you get the go ahead from immigration? Wow, awesome! The Tri-Cities in southeast Washington state will be my home, so I'll be pretty close to Portland It'll be so much fun when you to drive to Oregon, one day I really want to drive all the way to the East Coast and then fly back to WA, but those midwest and southern summers must be unbearable! What's the temp gotten up to this summer? I just got back from the Tri-Cities a couple of weeks ago and it was about 100, it wasn't toooo bad because it's a dry desert heat. Seattle was a nice temp, but it's too similar to Auckland and I'm kinda over the big city living It's been up to 102 but the humidity here is a killer and combined with the heat, put it this way, I thank god every night for air conditioning....lol We chose Portland coz next to San Francisco it's Chris' favourite place, and the climate is more like Auckland which I can live with better than I can this heat we're having here. Plus it's really pretty by the Columbia River and not too far from the coast as I'm missing the ocean a bit. I'm an Aucklander born and bred but I was well over it when I left. Where we are is smallish, a bit bigger than Pukekohe and we live on the outskirts so it's been a nice change. We're looking around the outskirts of Portland too, I think we both prefer it a bit quieter now	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-29 22:31:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (Zeddess @ Jul 29 2009, 04:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks for the welcomes guys! QUOTE (Kim & Chris @ Jul 30 2009, 12:18 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> 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. Omg I can't wait to start my "list"! How many states do you have on yours so far? I've only been to Washington & Idaho so there's only 48 more to go! Haha Lol......... I now have seven. California - Michigan - Tennessee - Arkansas - Oklahoma - Missouri - Illinois. We're moving to Portland Oregon either late this year or sometime early next year, (I can do another winter here but I refuse to do another summer ), so that will be a few more as we'll be driving there. Not sure which way we'll be going yet as it will depend on the weather at the time. Chris drove trucks across the country for years so he's been just about everywhere, I have a lot of catching up to do but the list doth groweth.....lol Which state will you be moving to when you get the go ahead from immigration? Congrats Cdneh.....one more hurdle been passed......you got transfered too didn't you so it should be plain sailing from here on	Kim & Chris	Female	New Zealand	2009-07-29 17:45:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	APPROVED!! really lovely interviewing officer - she told us she was recommending us for approval within about 3mins of the interview!	rubyred	Male	New Zealand	2009-07-31 00:12:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Aug 14 2009, 05:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Kelvan After you mentioned the radio station. I looked up The Edge online and found that they broadcast over the internet. It was cool to hear kiwi accents speaking and was funny to hear them say the time ( it was morning there- five hours earlier than here in cali) I was listening to The Edge as well! xD LOL good old Dom trying to get the McFlurry back at McDonalds in NZ I also like More FM's Kim & Corbett, they are funny! It's nice how whenever you feel homesick you can stream your fav NZ radio station online and listen to Kiwi accents. You can also view some NZ shows online, I was watching Rhys Darby Rock The Nation on C4 via YouTube the other day	Kelvan	Not Telling	New Zealand	2009-08-14 10:48:00
Australia and New Zealand	NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!	QUOTE (kiwiana @ Aug 14 2009, 05:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Kelvan After you mentioned the radio station. I looked up The Edge online and found that they broadcast over the internet. It was cool to hear kiwi accents speaking and was funny to hear them say the time ( it was morning there- five hours earlier than here in cali) I was listening to The Edge as well! xD LOL good old Dom trying to get the McFlurry back at McDonalds in NZ I also like More FM's Kim & Corbett, they are funny! It's nice how whenever you feel homesick you can stream your fav NZ radio station online and listen to Kiwi accents. You can also view some NZ shows online, I was watching Rhys Darby Rock The Nation on C4 via YouTube the other day	Kelvan	Not Telling	New Zealand	2009-08-14 10:24:00