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

[kiwiana 2]

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 )

[JonesSanJose 0]

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!!

Hi Zeddess,

At times it can be frustrating just waiting for the next step in the process. Our journey started with our filing in June 2006 and has now finished with removal of conditions July 29, 2009. For us it took 6 months for 1st interview (since Alan lived in Austrailia, he went to the consulate in Sydney). After that, the longest we have had for the next step of the process is 4 months. The Key is to make sure you submit paperwork in order and submit timely. Alan arrived in the US in Dec, 2006 and was able to begin work within 90 days. We live in the Bay Area so weather sort of is similar to NZ and Australia.

Wishing you the best on your journey and feel free to send me an email if you have any process questions.

Best

Julie & Alan

[Kim & Chris 0]

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

[kiwiana 2]

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.

[Kim & Chris 0]

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

[Kelvan 0]

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?

[Kim & Chris 0]

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 0]

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

[cdneh 3,112]

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

Wow! That's some kind of night you had! Glad you are alright there!

[kiwiana 2]

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!

[kelzm 0]

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.

[kiwiana 2]

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?

[Kim & Chris 0]

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

[kiwiana 2]

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!

[Jamaican JNR 2]

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