Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Australia and New Zealand	Visa delivery	My fiance is a bit confused about this option for visa delivery. Is this something he needs to set up when he pays through the Australian Post prior to his interview or is it taken care of at the consulate and he will pay for it there? He's just trying to sort out his side of things and I'm the one that's been handling the paperwork thus far so it's got him nervous.   Instead of going to Australia Post, your fiance can pay for the visa application (MRV fee) through ustraveldocs.com, which will include the Toll courier cost.	darin&josh	Male	Australia	2014-06-02 00:42:00
Australia and New Zealand	Questions re: the new Packet 3 process for the U.S. Consulate in Sydney!	hey darin and josh just a question on the newer process???   I finally got an email reply, Sydney consulate has not received our info from nvc, and to get packet 3 ready.......... um we are supposedly getting an urgent medical expedite, should they not give us an interview date and have us bring all the forms then???   While they have changed the process for K-1 applicants, i am not sure how much they have also changed the process for IR-1/CR-1 applicants. I assume that they would streamline both, since the information the applicant supplies for both visas is nearly the same.    Assuming it is the same process, I don't think the Consulate will schedule your interview date until they physically receive your petition file from NVC (which will be everything you've submitted to date). I would imagine that they would set the interview date for the next available slot if it is an expedited case, rather than the standard process of scheduling it for a Tuesday 4-5 weeks ahead.    Do you have everything you need for the interview and have completed the DS-260? If you do then the only thing you can do is wait for the packet 3 email from the Consulate with your date. If they set a date 4-5 weeks ahead you can contact them by email to request an earlier date based on it being an expedite case.     For us it was 2 weeks between the petition leaving NVC and receiving packet 3. Hopefully you will receive yours quicker than that.	darin&josh	Male	Australia	2014-05-29 06:09:00
Australia and New Zealand	Questions re: the new Packet 3 process for the U.S. Consulate in Sydney!	When arranging the documents to hand over at the consulate have the DSL-1076 on top and all the requested documents in the order it is listed. while you might want to have them in a folder or sleeve when heading to the interview, when you hand them over at the window ensure they are loose, so no staples, folders, or plastic envelopes, and I would recommend no tabs or sticky notes. This will make it much easier for the CO to check and copy. When I handed my documents in during the initial check the CO actually thanked me for doing it this way, since it saved her having to put them in order and from removing stickers and labels to run through the copier.    If you are taking additional copies or additional 'proof of relationship' evidence, keep this separate.	darin&josh	Male	Australia	2014-05-24 04:37:00
Australia and New Zealand	Questions re: the new Packet 3 process for the U.S. Consulate in Sydney!	I (U.S. petitioner) just checked my spam folder and there is was!   It's been there 12 days!  I feel like such an idiot!  Everything else that has been sent to my email has come directly to my inbox, so I didn't even think that it could be in my spam.  THANK YOU for the recommendation to check!!!     And FYI to anyone with gmail who is expecting their letter from the U.S. Consulate:  CHECK YOUR SPAM!    Congratulations! At least you have it now and can get started on the next stage in the process	darin&josh	Male	Australia	2014-05-11 10:47:00
Australia and New Zealand	Questions re: the new Packet 3 process for the U.S. Consulate in Sydney!	For us it was just over two weeks between the petition leaving NVC to receiving the email from the US Consulate. The email was sent to the US petitioner. (We went through the newer process where they schedule the date in advance and have you bring the documents to the interview rather than posting it in beforehand). Regardless of whether you go through the new or older process, they will still contact you and provide instructions. You don't have to do anything to trigger that i.e. you don't need to complete the DS-160 for them to send you packet 3. (although there is not reason why you can't do it now.)   I've seen people who've had contact from the Consulate sooner, and others that have waited longer. But I would have expected that you'd receive contact by now. I would have the US petitioner check their email again to be sure (junk folder as well). But since you've emailed the Consulate, they will will respond with advice on what to do next. They can take up to 4-5 days to respond. If you haven't already, I would apply now for your police certificate, schedule your medical, complete the I-134 and get together the other documents that you will need.  Edited by darin&josh, 10 May 2014 - 02:17 AM.	darin&josh	Male	Australia	2014-05-10 02:14:00
Australia and New Zealand	Visa delivery	Yeah comes via Toll (at least if it is the same as a K-1 Visa).   Very easy and secure delivery.	Tassie	Male	Australia	2014-04-12 09:11:00
Australia and New Zealand	anyone with recent sydney medical info?....	thinking of getting some of the immun. stuff done now at local regular GP..... already have Tetanus and proof of it     so will be based on age... time of year.... (flu or no flu)   I hope they have good availability to book in....... I had mine done a couple of weeks ago - you have to get flu which my doctor laughed at because it's summer in the US! He did say though that a lot of companies are getting their employees flu shots for free so maybe look into that as you can save yourself $20! Apart from flu, I just needed MMR and I was all good to go. Good luck!	Donkey81	Male	Australia	2014-06-12 01:45:00
Australia and New Zealand	New to this forum- lots of questions.. sorry if they are silly	My husband did the Melbourne to Sydney thing for his interview; it was relatively painless and I believe he could have done the whole thing in a day if he hadn't opted to visit family, as well.	kehills	Female	Australia	2014-05-13 13:22:00
Australia and New Zealand	Straight from USCIS to Sydney?	Well, it's *at* NVC for a blink. Getting it there,...    (Seriously, I think our case was at NVC for all of four business days before being sent along to the Consulate. But looking at our timeline, it took three weeks for it to go from Texas to NVC.)	kehills	Female	Australia	2014-06-10 13:48:00
Australia and New Zealand	Straight from USCIS to Sydney?	It goes to NVC for literally a blink. It took two-three weeks before our paperwork showed up, and once it did, they were charming and helpful (or at least, the ones I talked to were), and will give you the case number, etc. Then it's routed to Sydney, and then everything happens REALLY DAMNED FAST.   Have you gotten the next batch of paperwork, sans medical, together?   Oh, btw - make sure the petitioner keeps an eye on their email. That's how you'll get packet 3! Edited by kehills, 09 June 2014 - 04:00 PM.	kehills	Female	Australia	2014-06-09 15:55:00
Australia and New Zealand	New to this forum- lots of questions.. sorry if they are silly	Cool!  Thanks Rinni.  I will def talk to him about it. I know he has been to Sydney before but as far as being familiar enough, I don't think so.   Matt and I met online gaming as well btw  We played WoW and Guild Wars 2 and are in ESO right now.  Congratulations on your Visa!!  I will appreciate any advice you have in this process.   Haha, that's awesome. We met on WoW of course, but we're currently suffering from end of expansion woes, so we've been playing a lot of Diablo 3 of late. He's getting into the Wildstar Beta so I think he'll end up playing that for a while when it is released. Haven't tried ESO yet though.   And for sure, any questions feel free to PM if you need. Most things are pretty straight forward for us Aussies. Just tell him to relax when it comes to the interview stage. Definitely nothing to be over nervous about - like I was!	Rinni	Female	Australia	2014-05-14 10:38:00
Australia and New Zealand	New to this forum- lots of questions.. sorry if they are silly	Slightly off topic: It -may- be a bit expensive, but if he's unsure about flying to Sydney, I can recommend taking the Melbourne XPT to Sydney. It will be an overnight train ride job, but at least the train will have him stopping at Central. From there it is an easy walk up Pitt street, or even George Street. It's very easy to find the MLC centre once you hit the Martin Place vicinity (take it from a country gal from Goulburn! - I dislike Sydney). Decent hike though. I only mention this as I didn't wish to drive in Sydney and found the train a lot easier. Bear in mind train tickets do fluctuate in School Holiday periods.  Otherwise, if he's familiar with Sydney, flying might be easier by all means.	Rinni	Female	Australia	2014-05-12 09:36:00
Australia and New Zealand	anyone with recent sydney medical info?....	I decided a little while ago to get basically all of the immunisations that were on the list - quite a costly exercise!	Bulwara Road	Male	Australia	2014-06-12 04:35:00
Australia and New Zealand	changing name after married	I am in a same sex relationship with my spouse.  I am currently in the US and we have just started the adjustment of status procedure here in the states.  As far as the name change goes it gets difficult with same sex couples because of Australia not recognising the union.  What I have therefore done is hyphenated my name I used her surname first and then left mine last.  ie:  if her name was smith and mine brown I hyphernated it Smith-Brown.  I did it because to change my name in Australia I have to do it through birth death and marriages and it has to be signed by one of their office workers I believe, so I figured with my name still being the last part until I can get back to Australia to do that my passport etc will still be recognised.  My Social Security Number etc have my married name.  If you can do it before you leave Aussie and have it all done then that is an option to look out, but with time constraints that can be difficult.  Look at all your options, it is a lot harder for us than for other couples.  If I can help at all please don't hesitate to ask.	Aussie-DJ	Female	Australia	2014-06-18 19:38:00
Australia and New Zealand	Upcoming K1 Interview-Sydney	Moved from K1 Process & Procedures to Australia & New Zealand regional forum; topic is specific to post-interview procedures in Australia.	Ryan H	Male	China	2014-04-22 01:04:00
Australia and New Zealand	super and liquid assets? help!!!! please!!	primary residence is normally not allowed as it violates the clause of "without causing financial harm"   In other words it would be hard for the governemnt to sue and kick you out of your own place. Also the asset need to be inside the US	NigeriaorBust	Not Telling	Nigeria	2014-05-11 08:55:00
Australia and New Zealand	Medical and surgery scars - breast reduction	No	Inluv	Female	Morocco	2014-03-09 22:40:00
Australia and New Zealand	Medical and surgery scars - breast reduction	Are you still taking the strong pain meds?	Inluv	Female	Morocco	2014-03-08 23:19:00
Australia and New Zealand	super and liquid assets? help!!!! please!!	has anyone used the amount in their super as part of their liquid assets? currently you can withdraw money from your super ( although be it a tax penalty)   we are afraid that with no sponsor and our house not yet sold, we should show the money in our super or maybe even take some out....   has anyone used their primary residence only in the affidavit of support? head spinnin' and worrying.... cheers   I doubt anyone outside Australia knows what a super is.   Assets must be liquid.	Ning	Female	Thailand	2014-05-11 09:01:00
Australia and New Zealand	Sending 8grand from Aus to USA	I am going to sound really dumb now but I didn't realise you could transfer money from an Australian bank to an American one Talk to your bank - as long as you have the  account number, routing number and SWIFT code of the US bank account it's pretty easy.  There are other ways to do it too (Paypal etc) but I've never done this.	Lainie B	Female	Australia	2014-01-01 17:13:00
Australia and New Zealand	Sending 8grand from Aus to USA	Hey everyone   (Really sorry if this has been covered, but unfortunately I am on a pretty crappy computer and anytime I try and use the search function the window freezes).     I am buying a car over in America and a few other bits and pieces and was just wondering what is the easiest and safest way to transfer 8 grand over to the USA? I would like to try and use Western Union as a last resort so just wanted to see what anyone else has used I used wire transfer from Australian to US bank account. There are fees at each end, but they are not too bad.	Lainie B	Female	Australia	2013-12-31 17:49:00
Australia and New Zealand	Way Down the Road...	When I first moved to the US I was shocked at how expensive things seemed. That was back when the Australian dollar was half the US. Now they are about equal, when we visit Australia my husband is the one who is shocked at prices. But you can't compare prices directly. Some things are relatively cheaper in the US, some in Australia. Also wages are generally higher in Australia (though so are taxes). I would be earning twice as much in Australia for the same job I have in the US, plus i would be getting superannuation. Eating out is more expensive in Australia, but partly because wait staff in the US an be earning as little as $2.13 an hour plus tips, which is insanely low.    Buying a house is ridiculously expensive in Australia. Cars are more expensive (but they hold their value better). Rent is variable in both countries, depending on where you live.    Anyway, if you do end up returning, I think you'll find that once you get over the initial shock that you'll do OK. People tend to focus on things that are relatively more expensive and overlook what is cheaper.	Lainie B	Female	Australia	2014-03-07 20:26:00
Australia and New Zealand	Medical and surgery scars - breast reduction	I'm not sure what you mean. I am asking a legitimate question and a legitimate answer would be greatly appreciated as I am unfamiliar with what happens at a medical if you have surgery scars.   The doctor WILL be concerned with scars, as scarring is one of the things that the doctor needs to report on. However the doctor is looking for signs of scarring from suicide attempts. If you have an explanation for your scars then you will be absolutely fine.	Lainie B	Female	Australia	2014-03-13 19:03:00
Australia and New Zealand	Melbourne specific Medical check	Not sure about your first question, I used the Port Melbourne clinic which was the only option at the time. I just took all my vaccination records with me and he reviewed them on the spot.    No problem about your handwritten childhood vaccination records - that's all I had too, and they were accepted (mine were even older than yours and probably even crummier looking).	Lainie B	Female	Australia	2014-05-07 03:38:00
Australia and New Zealand	Medical and surgery scars - breast reduction	Scars from successful past surgeries should not make any difference to the doctor.  If he asks about a scar, just tell him what it was from, and that should be the end of it.	Al422	Male	Philippines	2014-05-02 17:29:00
Australia and New Zealand	Question regarding lost GCSE documentation	Should do, you may be better off posting this in the UK forum as someone there is more likely to have had to do it.	nobbie	Male	United Kingdom	2014-05-05 01:05:00
Australia and New Zealand	After Packet 3, waiting for Packet 4	I think I waited about 19 days for pck 4 to arrive for us. Iterview is usually very quick. We are having to wait 28 days or so for our interview as there are 4 of us applying for visas and even my kids need interview slot. You'll be able to see timeframe of what my process has been like below (signature) to help you estimate yours. Good Luck	Ozgirl1981	Female	Australia	2014-01-20 08:07:00
Australia and New Zealand	Sending 8grand from Aus to USA	I realise this is a bit of a bad/late thread bump (Sorry!) but I'm curious as to what kind of fees you had between bank accounts? I am with St. George here and would possibly be transferring to a Bank of America account. I've read this thread and am trying to find the best ways to transfer money over when I sell my car.   I'm not necessarily opposed to using the money transfer websites, but I know it'll take a hefty amount of explaining for my Dad who isn't very up to date with technology, concerning internet banking. He's unsure what to do with those sites so I think he would prefer sending between bank account.     Its a combination of fees and exchange rate that you should be aware of. The money transfer sites and a Banks exchange fee are often similar, but the money transfer sites (ozforex etc) are perfectly safe too and give you much better rate of exchange than the big banks so you end up with more money at the other end.   The only difference is that its a two-step process - you open an account with ozforex (for example), transfer the amount to want to exchange from your Oz bank account to this ozforex account, and they then exchange and transfer your money into your BOA (for example) account. So its slightly more complicated that a direct bank-to-bank exchange. Its worth it because of the better rate of exchange (can be hundreds of dollars difference depending on how much you're exchanging) you'll get from ozforex, or zoom, or similar.	Kiwinyc	Female	United Kingdom	2014-04-07 15:06:00
Australia and New Zealand	Way Down the Road...	Surely it depends on where you want to move back to in Australia? Unfortunately Sydney and Melbourne have both just made it into a 'Top Ten Most Expensive Cities to Live in' (I was surprised Melbourne is included in that) but the strength of the Australian dollar is what is causing all the grief. In the US its really only New York City thats comparatively as expensive. I've moved from London and wouldn't be able to afford to live in NYC and probably San Francisco without a mortgage but everywhere else is incredibly affordable in comparison. I lived in Sydney for 3 year from 1999-2001 and real estate was the biggest issue, rent was ok but buying required a move out to at least the Inner West or North Shore. If you were willing to live in Perth or Newcastle or Adelaide or away from a big city I'm pretty sure cost of living is affordable just like any other country.	Kiwinyc	Female	United Kingdom	2014-03-07 09:33:00
Australia and New Zealand	Sending 8grand from Aus to USA	I use Xoom almost every other week to send money around, fee is only $5. Quick, Safe, Reliable.	noremac	Male	Australia	2014-01-14 15:47:00
Australia and New Zealand	Sending 8grand from Aus to USA	why not transfer to the bank account...that way u have a traceable record and fees are cheaper i think	MO-MO1974	Male	Nigeria	2013-12-31 12:37:00
Australia and New Zealand	K1 Interview Sydney - MLC Centre	There is a security desk on the first floor, I asked them and they directed me to the elevators. Once you reach lvl 10 there are signs leading the rest of the way good luck! Edited by charlottelizabeth, 29 March 2014 - 10:44 AM.	charlottelizabeth	Female	Australia	2014-03-29 10:44:00
Australia and New Zealand	The wait after NOA2...	Very realistic. You'll find your I-129F expires 4 months from NOA2 anyway, so you're actually expected to get everything done within 4 months. Congrats and good luck! Edited by charlottelizabeth, 14 May 2014 - 10:09 AM.	charlottelizabeth	Female	Australia	2014-05-14 10:08:00
Australia and New Zealand	After Packet 3, waiting for Packet 4	5 suitcases! Haha good luck with that   Yes luckily my parents are coming over for our fall wedding, so they can bring all my coats, boots etc in time for winter!   That sounds great, I love meeting Aussies in NY I used to live in Brooklyn and it was always nice meeting other aussies sharing the same experiences there! Though I can't figure out how to private message on this thing...   I've added you as a friend In our respective profile pages there's an option to "send message"!	flowershoes	Female	Australia	2014-01-22 19:56:00
Australia and New Zealand	After Packet 3, waiting for Packet 4	That sounds good! I might buy one just incase the person who interviews me doesn't offer that to me, then I can aways refund the Aus Post bag.   Yeah we're keeping out celebrations 'intimate' at about 50 people in a nice restaurant and thats still reaching our budget haha. My USC fiance is living here with me at the moment but we're leaving in June but spending about a month in Michigan first before heading back to NY, prob in August.    I saw your post regarding shipping stuff...I'm not taking any furniture or anything, but have a hell of a lot of clothes and personal items! From memory, each person travelling into the US gets 2x 22kg suitcases checked in for free, and then when my parents come for the wedding later in the year (October) I'm gonna pre-pack suitcases for them to bring for me~   Good luck, not long for you now!   Good idea!   Wow, 50 people is huge! It's great your parents will be able to be there When you head back to NY you'll have to get in touch with me and we can have a couple of celebratory drinks somewhere! Always nice to keep in touch with fellow Aussie expats!   Yeah, my fiancee bought back a suitcase full of my stuff, and I'll bring five with me when I travel. Anything else I'll get the folks to post to me as I need it. I had no idea how much stuff I owned!	flowershoes	Female	Australia	2014-01-21 18:12:00
Australia and New Zealand	After Packet 3, waiting for Packet 4	Wow really? So if I don't bring an Aus Post envelope they won't even ask me for one and by default they would just send my passport/visa to me via Toll Couriers anyway? I guess the pro about sending via Aus Post and buying the bag is that I would have the tracking number for it.   I see you're going to NY! Me too Ps have you started planning the wedding yet? We're in the middle of planning now, a Brooklyn wedding, and my goodness its a lotta $$$$$$ even for a small restaurant venue!   She asked if I had one and I said that I did, but then opted to send it with them instead. Toll actually emails you a tracking number, and I also got a phonecall from them when I wasn't home to pick it up. I would HIGHLY reccommend sending it with them   I am! We're having a simple City Hall wedding and then a dinner party down in a restaurant near the river. Even THAT is expensive, it's insane. When's your big move?	flowershoes	Female	Australia	2014-01-21 17:58:00
Australia and New Zealand	After Packet 3, waiting for Packet 4	I just got the Packet 4 email this morning! Scheduled for Feb4th       Thanks! I just got the Packet 4 email from US Consulate this morning! Just to clarify as it does not say in the email...I need to pay USD$240 at Post Office and buy a 3kg express post bag with tracking?   Yay! Congrats!~ It's all down hill from here You DEFINITELY need to pay the Visa fee -- either at the post office or online if you're lazy like me. http://www.ustraveldocs.com/au/ head over here, create a profile and follow the directions to pay. (It's pretty confusing as they'll ask you to schedule an interview but all you need to do at that website is pay.) Make sure you bring the receipt to the interview, it was the second thing I was asked to present.   As for the 3kg Envelope, this is totally optional. I would actually suggest foregoing this one, because the consulate uses TOLL Couriers to mail the packages, which is a lot more safe than Aus Post. Why spend an extra $10 when they'll mail it safely for free, amirite?	flowershoes	Female	Australia	2014-01-21 17:47:00
Australia and New Zealand	After Packet 3, waiting for Packet 4	Hi everyone,   How long does it usually take for the US Consulate Sydney to email Packet 4 after receiving my Packet 3 in the mail? I'd sent mine off about two weeks ago, just wondering if it usually takes longer? And do they usually give you an appointment date close (like next week, a couple weeks etc) or the next month/s?   Thanks!   I waited about eleven days. Then I emailed them requesting an interview date because I got impatiant (and was in Sydney over Christmas), and heard back from them the next day.	flowershoes	Female	Australia	2014-01-20 17:18:00
Australia and New Zealand	Medical and surgery scars - breast reduction	Hi there,   I'm missing two fingers and have had extensive surgery on my right hand. I was SO STRESSED that it would be an issue, or that I'd need some kind of backing docs but went in empty handed, since it was done many years ago. I alerted the doctor to this, he took a brief look at my hand, marvelled at the cleverness of surgeons these days and moved right on.   You won't need anything, the medical is a breeze	flowershoes	Female	Australia	2014-03-12 19:57:00
Australia and New Zealand	Sending 8grand from Aus to USA	Be careful using one of the big banks, they rip you off every chance they get. You get a non-competitive exchange rate and they usually stick their hand in your pocket and take out a fair whack as a 'transfer' fee as well. I asked at Bankwest and they were going to charge me an 'admin' fee of $80 - 120 to transfer $10k and on top of that give me a rubbish exchange rate as well.   I was recommended by some people at work to use Tranzfers.com but I think they have lower transfer limits than what you need, you might want to call them and ask. One of the guys at Tranzfers told me to use http://www.ozforex.com.au (who I think actually own Tranzfers anyway) because they handle larger amounts that you want to transfer.   I transferred $10k to my USA bank account. With Ozforex if you transfer at least $10k then they wave the transfer fee, which was only $15 anyway. The important part for me though was that the official exchange rate at the time was .9674 and Ozforex gave me .9564. The banks were offering something in the range of .9080 - .9150 so when I was transferring $10k, that is a huge difference, I had an extra $500 in my pocket.   Find out what your bank will give you as an exchange rate and see if there's any fees. Then compare that to Tranzfers.com and Ozforex and see what is the best deal for you. I'm almost sure you will be better off.   Keep us posted, I'd like to know what you find as I'm looking at transferring more money soon when the AUD lifts itself off the canvas...if it does   EDIT: Wells Fargo also charged me a $15 incoming transfer fee on my $10k. That was nice of them for doing nothing Edited by dodgyJim73, 06 January 2014 - 06:16 AM.	dodgyJim73	Male	Australia	2014-01-06 06:14:00