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

[KimandRuss 0]

Oh i'm so sorry. I don't know why I thought you had already filed and were right behind us!

That darn divorce decree was the bain of our existence for so long too! I do hope it gets to him soon and that he can file asap! Maybe the process will be back to the 1 month approval times by then. Keep the faith!

I thought the police certificates were handled by the Auckland Embassy??? They told us we didn't need to do anything with regards to that and that they'd handle it all when the time comes.

[cdneh 3,112]

Oh i'm so sorry. I don't know why I thought you had already filed and were right behind us!

That darn divorce decree was the bain of our existence for so long too! I do hope it gets to him soon and that he can file asap! Maybe the process will be back to the 1 month approval times by then. Keep the faith!

I thought the police certificates were handled by the Auckland Embassy??? They told us we didn't need to do anything with regards to that and that they'd handle it all when the time comes.

We were meant to be right behind you, and file about the same time. I had an end of April date of filing in my time-line, which I have taken out until we can file.

He's been divorced for years...it's the paperwork he can't locate. As far as the police certificate, that is from Canada, and I was of the understanding they would do the NZ one, but I had to get any others.

One month approval time? I could do with a little of that ...

[KimandRuss 0]

no kidding! 4 weeks was the norm in January/February so there's always a chance.

That's too bad about the certificate. At least you know you can get another one.

Where I live in Massachusetts I just contacted the registrar of deeds where my divorce was granted and asked for a certified copy of my decree absolute. It costs me about $20 I think. I hope he can get that soon and that you can be on with it.

good luck!

[cdneh 3,112]

no kidding! 4 weeks was the norm in January/February so there's always a chance.

That's too bad about the certificate. At least you know you can get another one.

Where I live in Massachusetts I just contacted the registrar of deeds where my divorce was granted and asked for a certified copy of my decree absolute. It costs me about $20 I think. I hope he can get that soon and that you can be on with it.

good luck!

That's what he's done, contacted the people out in California where the divorce was granted...it cost him the same amount as yours, and this was weeks ago. He's been trying to reach them all this week, and getting voice mail.

I'd like five minutes alone with Murphy!

[cdneh 3,112]

He got it today

We Fedex in the morning

[kelzm 0]

[KimandRuss 0]

That's so great!! I hope the process starts to move quicker for you!

Today is 8 weeks to the day that we sent ours off. We were expecting to see our approval by now. It's a good thing I keep my glass half full!

Justine????? Just a few days now isn't it? I'll never forget the first time I put my arms around Russell, many, many...many years ago. I can only imagine how excited you both are and I hope that first embrace is all you could have imagined it to be. You better keep in touch with us and we want pictures!

How is everyone else?

[gshennen 0]

Hi All

This is my first post on here, but have been reading a lot of posts etc over the last few weeks. This site seems a great resource.

My name is Grant, I am a very typical Kiwi male, raised in the Waikato, but now living in Auckland. My wife, Brook, is a US Citizen, born and raised in California and has been living in NZ for about 12 years. She is a dual citizen. We met about 5 years ago, and have been married for a little over 2 years.

Brook retains US Bank accounts, credit cards and a California Drivers licence etc so we will be all set to hit the ground running when we get there.

We have two children, boys aged 17 months, and 8 weeks old. Our boys are both dual citizens and have both NZ and US passports (crazy at their age, but that is the way things work).

It was our intention to have two kids quite close together in age, and relocate to the USA once they were good to travel with.

We are about to start the Immigration path for me to become a permanent resident. In fact we have all of the forms filled in and ready to file in the next few days (most likely early next week as I will be out of town on business for the next couple of days). Obviously we are going the DCF route (have actually been to and from the Consulate a lot lately getting the boys birth abroad, and passports etc organised. To date we have found the Consulate Staff to be brilliant and they go out of their way to help out. This is very encouraging.

Anyway, that is enough from me. We are sure that we will not have any problems with the whole process, but I'm sure there will be times when I will ask questions on here.

Once I workout the timeline thing, I will create one for us as well.

Cheers,

Grant

[KimandRuss 0]

Hi Grant..welcome to VJ!

[kelzm 0]

Hi Grant, welcome to VJ. Great to see another kiwi on board.

[gshennen 0]

Thanks for the welcome guys.

Right my first question - if you think I will get a better answer in the DCF section let me know, but I understand that each Consulate has their own procedures, so thought getting a NZ perspective might get me the best answer.

We have the following forms completed and ready to file:

Brook:

- I-130

- G325A

- I-864 (hers)

- I-864 (her parents are my co-sponsors as Brook lives in NZ, and does not earn any income in the US, apart from a small amount of interest on money in the bank there)

Me:

- DS-230 (Part I)

- NZ Police Clearance Form

- G325a

- DS2001 - Readiness Statement

- Cover Letter

We also have all of the supporting documents we need (very recent passport photos, marraige licence, proof we actually are a proper married couple - although our two kids should be evidence enough etc).

Right after all that, here is my question....It is our intention to file all of these together on Wednesday. Is this what we should be doing?

We have rung the 0900 number, but the person on the other end was not overly helpful, and seemed suggest I post in my documents first (before Brook even files the I-130). This seemed contrary to what the instructions on the form says.

We only live 10 minutes from the Consulate, so filing them in person is easy.

Thanks in advance,

Cheers

Grant

[kelzm 0]

Seems to me that going in person would be the easiest way to do things, at least that way you'll get a quick answer if anything is missing!

I'm guessing that you should need the same kind of forms as the rest of us even with DCF. Do you have full birth certificates for both of you? Also my form for my interview stated I needed to bring in a recent payslip from my sponsor, even though they had the I-864 info on file, as well as his most recent tax return, so you may want to have something similar from Brooks folks.

[gshennen 0]

Do you have full birth certificates for both of you? Also my form for my interview stated I needed to bring in a recent payslip from my sponsor, even though they had the I-864 info on file, as well as his most recent tax return, so you may want to have something similar from Brooks folks.

Thanks for your quick answer.

Yes - we have both full birth certificates (and certified copies). Interesting about the recent pay slip from my sponsor. What we have it doesn't have anything about this, it asks for the latest IRS return (and if able the previous three years). We have all of these. Her parents are retired, so don't have payslips. Hopefully we don't need to provide these...however it will not be a show stopper, just a minor hold up.

Cheers

Grant

[KimandRuss 0]

I can't really offer any help since i'm K1 but you could always email the consulate... AucklandIV@state.gov

[gshennen 0]

We went to the Consulate in Auckland today, armed with everything we could think of possibly needing to kick the whole process off.

The lady behind the window was brilliant. We basically filed (with the right supporting documentation) the I-130 (Brook filed), the DS230 (Part 1), the police clearance, the DS2001. We also had to pay the I-130 application fee.

We then took a seat and waited, the same lady came back with an interview letter and date and medical check information for me (19 August is my interview date), we then waited a bit longer and were called up to see a Consulate Officer who had checked all of the forms, and made Brook swear an oath and then we were able to go.

Lets hope the interview stage is as easy as well.

Cheers

Grant