NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!

[KimandRuss 0]

Justine, I sent you an email.

[KimandRuss 0]

Hi guys,

Just thought i'd let you know that Mark has his interview tomorrow in Auckland!

Good luck MarkJo!

[markjo 0]

Hi guys,

Just thought i'd let you know that Mark has his interview tomorrow in Auckland!

Good luck MarkJo!

Hi all,

Sorry for the lack of contact - have been at home for the last two weeks and been enjoying getting outside and spending a minimum amount of time inside.

So had my interview in Auckland this morning - went good as gold. Really helpful staff and not a problem. They are just waiting on getting my Police Cert back, but as soon as that arrives they are going to get the visa in my passport and post it down to me at home. I will update the Consultae info page too and will write you a full report of the interview in a couple fo days (in an internet cafe at the mo and just about run out fo time).

Hope you are all well and good luck with your journeys.

Regards,

Mark

[KimandRuss 0]

Great Mark! Congrats! Must feel good to have the major bits out of the way. Your SO is with you in NZ, correct? I hope she can stay until your police cert and visa come back and that you are able to travel together. It's such a looong flight home! Look forward to your review.

[cdneh 3,112]

Looking forward to your reply here as well...I'll be going through Auckland..one day

One question you may be able to answer...is the Police check done by them, or can you get one yourself?

[GnomeGrrl 0]

Looking forward to your reply here as well...I'll be going through Auckland..one day

One question you may be able to answer...is the Police check done by them, or can you get one yourself?

First of all, congratulations Mark! The staff in Auckland are lovely, aren't they?

They do the police check. When you first get your packet from them, they include a form for you to fill out which gets returned to the Consulate by post.

[cdneh 3,112]

Thanks for that! It's a way off for me, but I am trying to think of anything I can do in advance, so as not to have a last minute worry over anything. Not that I won't anyway

[kelzm 0]

Congrats Mark, that's great news. Nice to see all this progress happening!

[KimandRuss 0]

Thanks for that! It's a way off for me, but I am trying to think of anything I can do in advance, so as not to have a last minute worry over anything. Not that I won't anyway

are your papers heading to VSC this week????

[cdneh 3,112]

Thanks for that! It's a way off for me, but I am trying to think of anything I can do in advance, so as not to have a last minute worry over anything. Not that I won't anyway

are your papers heading to VSC this week????

Yes they are!!! Funny how every little bit of forward movement cheers the heart. We will at last be in the queue!

He's just said...'we're one day closer love... ' ..awwww

[markjo 0]

Hi again everyone,

Just thought I would let you know that my passport, along with my visa arrived in the mail yesterday. Is great to have it finally.

Yes Joanne (my SO) is over here with me - we head back to the US on 28 May and are getting married on 28 June. Is really relieving to have the visa all sorted.

So, here is a review of Auckland:

The people at the Auckland consulate are excellent - they are really helpful, answer any questions you have and just really try to make it as easy as they can for you (apart from the Security Guard).

I turned up at the consulate about 30 minutes before the scheduled interview. Jo was going to come in with me, but the security guard said she couldn't - he asked who was applying for the visa, and I said I was and that Jo is my fiancee, but he said she couldn't come in (The Consular Officer told me that she could have and that she would have another word to the security guard about it).

After entering the consulate I went directly to a window where a lady went through my documents and visa application part by part to make sure everything was there and that it was all OK. She told me that my Police Record hadn't arrived yet, but that they were expecting it to turn up any day. She asked me if I had been arrested at any stage and said that if I hadn't it should all be OK. She then took finger prints of both hands.

She also checked through the affidavit of support - I was getting Joanne's dad to co-sponsor as Jo is heading back to Grad School. But after looking at Jo's she asked if I had any saving and if I bought the bank statements with me - I had and showed that I had savings of around NZD13,000, and she said it would be find with just Jo's affidavit and my savings - we didn't need a co-sponsor. She said she wanted to make it as easy as possible for us to down it on our own.

After everything was checked she said to go and sit my another window and that the Consular Officer will call me soon.

After waiting about 8 minutes I was called to the window. The Consular Officer was very friendly and took my finger prints again. Then she asked where I met my fiancee - I said at university in the US when I was over there at grad school - she asked what school, and when I replied said that was the same school her father went to and that her brother just graduated from. That was it for the questioning.

She then quickly flicked through all my documents, said it was all Ok, asked me to raise my hand and swear under oath that everything in my application and associated docs is true. I then signed the form and she said I could go.

My Visa and Passport then arrived in the mail four days later (the Police Report must have arrived soon after my interview).

My advice would, be prepared for your interview with everything that you need, present it well so it is easy for them at the Consulate and you shoudl be fine. They are not there to make it hard for you - they want to help you as much as they can.

Good luck to you all with the rest of your journeys. I will keep in touch as we progress through the next stages.

Cheers,

Mark

[KimandRuss 0]

cdneh, congratulations on taking that first step! I agree ...every little detail brings us one step closer to being back together, where we belong! I hope the journey to the visa is quick for you too!

Mark, thanks so much for taking the time to post your experience with Auckland and congratulations on getting your visa!! Have a safe journey, a wonderful wedding and please do keep us posted as you adjust.

How are the rest of us?

We've received our NOA1 hardcopy and are quite happy to finally just be in the waiting game. It appears as though Vermont has slowed down with their approvals some but hopefully that will change soon. It's already been 2 1/2 weeks since we sent our petition... time flys!

[kelzm 0]

Hi all

Mark, congrats on the approval and thanks for posting the review, I'm starting to think about what I need to do at the consulate so every bit of info helps!

I'm currently in North Carolina on vacation in the Outerbanks with my husband and some friends of ours. It's great to have time off, and to actually be here in the USA.

The day I arrived in the US our final coversheet from NVC turned up so I was able to send in all those documents, if everything was correct we should be getting approval sometime next week. Then it'll be sent through to Auckland where I'll just have the medical and turning up for the 'interview' to go. Yippee.

Getting in to the US was a breeze. I had been worried about being stopped at the border. They are aware that the last time I came through we got married but it was a very easy process all in all. Got a couple of questions about where I was staying, with who, and was my husband a US citizen. Then I was told to have a great vacation and was on my way breezing through to baggage claim.

[KimandRuss 0]

Kel, glad you made it across ok. Have a wonderful time with your hubby!

How are the rest of you?

[cdneh 3,112]

Still here..still waiting...