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

[KimandRuss 0]

Dave, I know exactly how you feel about AOS at this point. Only don't let it hold you up 6 months like we did! :ol: The guides will walk you through most of it. I also made a post a couple of weeks back regarding the vaccination info.

Ivanna, Russell and I lived together for almost two years before he was denied entry and had to go home to NZ. We were then apart for 4 months before my mom and I went to NZ to visit him for 3 weeks. Leaving that time and knowing we'd be apart for more than 7 months was devastating....but ohhhh those 3 weeks! It wasn't the first time I'd been to NZ but it was still an amazing trip! Enjoy your time in that beautiful Country and start your lives together NOW.... hopefully soon after you get back home you will have wonderful news to share!

Congratulations Kelvan!

Michelle, welcome home. I hope your happiness continues as ours certainly has!

I don't know what to tell you about the bread. I'd say it's a southern thing but perhaps it's in CA too. We have great bread here in MA but there are a lot of Italians here! yes, the chocolate is quite different and so are other things you'll come across. Most of what you want can be ordered online and/or you can find substitutes if you look hard enough. My love is a fantastic cook so we've certainly done our share of looking for equivalents.

Justine, the big day is coming up, eh?

We're still extremely busy with work but very happy. AOS is just waiting on a few more papers then it's off. From what i've seen, the Civil Surgeon's sign off is being overlooked for K-1's (at least the folks I know) so we're sending it off without.

Nice to hear so many of you are moving on and are so happy! Don't lose touch!

[cdneh 3,112]

The bread is weird...I dunno what's with that. I've tried 3 or 4 sorts and had no luck.

[Kim & Chris 0]

God I've spent months trying to source food that is similar to what we're used to at home. The bread I settled on is Natures Own. They do a few dif sorts, the extra fibre one is like chewing on heavy grade cardboard, but the whole wheat is very nice.

Whatever you do, stay away from the wonder bread....lol

Alot of the food tastes different to home because they use corn syrup here to sweeten things whereas we use a differnt type of sweetener at home. It makes the food taste and smell quite different, (including the bread). Belive it or not I can even smell it everytime I walk into our local wal-mart store.

It's not really fair to generalise about things here because with the country being so big, things differ greatly depending where you are. For instance the selection of things you can get on the west coast can be quite different to the selection of things you can get here in small town mid/south west. There are no small vege shops here so everything has to be brought from the big supermarkets, I think I've seen one bakery but haven't ventured into it yet. Lamb supply is minimal and usually Australian ...lol I had to look really hard but finally I found some real cheese, not that orange processed stuff

I really miss my sushi and am resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to make my own. But do you think I can find a sushi mat here. Some of the things I just can't find I've sourced online and this will be another of them.

It's not all doom and gloom though, you get used to new tastes and even find things that we don't have that are pretty yum

[Kim & Chris 0]

Oh and I've had an RFE for my AOS application..... after everything so far having wizzed through without a hitch I have to admit I was pretty gutted.

I thought I was pretty thourough but with the I-864. I wrote down the SO's income but didn't provide proof to back it up.

I read back through the instructions thinking I'd forgotten to do something, but it said you don't have to supply any xtra info (proof) unless requested to do so by an official. I would recommend to supply it anyway to prevent the dreaded RFE.

I know it's not the end of the world, but it's unerved me

We did go to the biometrics apt yesterday though. Drove just over 2hrs to Memphis and walked straight into the apt which lasted about 10 mins if that. When I was done Chris said, "is that it??....we drove all that way for that????".......

I was glad he came with me though because we went through the same xray screening and taking off everything metal for the walk through like we had to in Auckland at the consulate. He couldn't believe it....I said "welcome to my world"....lol

The girl was very nice, and very chatty as she was doing my fingerprints. But beware......I thought her questions were quite leading.......like... so have you been back home for a visit yet?....I said, "no, I can't do that till I get the AP"....then after general chit chat she asked, so have you managed to find a job yet?....I said, "ah no....I can't work until I get the EAD!"

I'm sure they are all trained to be alert and to ask the right questions without us realising, so just be aware of it.

She then told me that my card would probably be in the mail in about a fortnight. I akded which card and she said the I-485 green card and the I-765 EAD!! She obviously didn't know about my RFE.......and even without that I doubt it would all be done and dusted in a fortnight.

So that was my biometrics experience.

I was kind of hoping they would transfer it on to CA but with having the RFE who knows....we shall just have to cross our fingers....lol

[KimandRuss 0]

Sorry you got an rfe but it seems simple enough and i'm sure it will be painless. The EAD is just until you get the green card (thats why it's free with the aos filing). It's likely you'll still get your ead even if your green card is held up.

russell told me to tell you folks that your local walmart may very likely have bread that you will like if you buy it from the bakery. I know...walmart! but, he's right. It tastes most like the bread I had in AUS and NZ in all my times there. I actually think it's because it's shipped to the bakeries as dough and they make it in the stores. It has less preservatives than the packaged bread you find on the shelves, therefore, it doesn't last as long but we dont care. We love the rolls and buns there. We have loads of bakery shops and such around here anyway but I think walmart is everywhere!

[kiwiana 2]

hi everyone!

finally got internet connected this morning. Trying to catch up on reading this thread.. so much has happened since i last checked in.

congratulations to all who have been approved or joined their loved ones!!

Like michelle, my plane to LA was delayed for over 2 hours at auckland airport. Luckily i didnt have any connecting flights.

At POE at LAX the lady was so nice.. she opened the mystery envelope and went through it all. didnt ask me any questions at all. she went back and forth for a minute looking for a particular document. After she stapled the 1-94 in my passport etc. she said welcome to united states of america!!

My SO and I went to vegas on 15th march. we went to the county clerks office the next day to get the marriage licence.. when we opened the doors to walk in the whole place was packed with other couples waiting to get one too. i knew vegas was popular place but didnt realise it was THAT popular. it took us an hour in line before we got to the front desk.

We got married on st patricks day in this cute chapel! The 'green' theme was quite predominent in vegas. people wearing green hats and shirts etc. A lady that got married after us wore a silk dress that had a white bodice and the rest was green!

We had a wonderful time in vegas!!

It's just over two weeks since i have been here and I havent applied for ssn yet. I sent away for the marriage certificate yesterday so hope that will arrive next week so i can take that along to the ssa office. hope there wont be any problems getting the ssn with my new married name as i have read that some people on vj have trouble getting it into their married name when their passport has a different name.

Still trying to catch my breath a bit as the last two weeks have been full on. Some of you mentioned the bread and how it is different here.. i have just started to notice small differences too. The cereal here seems soo sugary!! i found some weetabix in the supermarket which came from canada so will try that. And i miss vogel but am looking forward to try new foods too. i am sure i will find replacements for the foods i miss. its just a matter of looking around i guess.

But apart from those small things, i am just over the moon to finally be here with my SO. still pinch myself every morning to make sure its not all a dream. I know the next stage AOS will probably be stressful with all the forms etc but will come to that bridge in a few weeks time

hope everyone is doing well!

[Kim & Chris 0]

hi everyone!

finally got internet connected this morning. Trying to catch up on reading this thread.. so much has happened since i last checked in.

congratulations to all who have been approved or joined their loved ones!!

Like michelle, my plane to LA was delayed for over 2 hours at auckland airport. Luckily i didnt have any connecting flights.

At POE at LAX the lady was so nice.. she opened the mystery envelope and went through it all. didnt ask me any questions at all. she went back and forth for a minute looking for a particular document. After she stapled the 1-94 in my passport etc. she said welcome to united states of america!!

My SO and I went to vegas on 15th march. we went to the county clerks office the next day to get the marriage licence.. when we opened the doors to walk in the whole place was packed with other couples waiting to get one too. i knew vegas was popular place but didnt realise it was THAT popular. it took us an hour in line before we got to the front desk.

We got married on st patricks day in this cute chapel! The 'green' theme was quite predominent in vegas. people wearing green hats and shirts etc. A lady that got married after us wore a silk dress that had a white bodice and the rest was green!

We had a wonderful time in vegas!!

It's just over two weeks since i have been here and I havent applied for ssn yet. I sent away for the marriage certificate yesterday so hope that will arrive next week so i can take that along to the ssa office. hope there wont be any problems getting the ssn with my new married name as i have read that some people on vj have trouble getting it into their married name when their passport has a different name.

Still trying to catch my breath a bit as the last two weeks have been full on. Some of you mentioned the bread and how it is different here.. i have just started to notice small differences too. The cereal here seems soo sugary!! i found some weetabix in the supermarket which came from canada so will try that. And i miss vogel but am looking forward to try new foods too. i am sure i will find replacements for the foods i miss. its just a matter of looking around i guess.

But apart from those small things, i am just over the moon to finally be here with my SO. still pinch myself every morning to make sure its not all a dream. I know the next stage AOS will probably be stressful with all the forms etc but will come to that bridge in a few weeks time

hope everyone is doing well!

Hi Anna

Glad to hear you made it in one piece. Sounds like your POE experience was a good one, so glad for you about that.

You are going to have soooo many fun/crazy wedding memories....lol

I found some Wheet-bix at the Aussie shop but couldn't bring myself to pay $11.95 us for them I too found the Wheetabix at Krogers so i might try them instead.

Anyway, nice to hear from you

[amaciar 0]

Hi Everyone.

It's great to see that everyone is moving forward and that so many of us are now here in the US.

Nic and I have been here since August and he has finally found work in his field. Some days I think the job search was as stressful as immigration! But luckily he is a town planner and municipality always need employees even if it is hard times. So we are extremely excited because we love the city we are living in and our seasonal jobs were coming to an end and we were afraid we were going to have to move.

As for the bread I never noticed it was sweet growing up but after living in NZ for three years I can really taste it now. Yuck. I try to get fresh bread when possible because it doesn't taste sweet. I think our next investment may be a bread maker. Luckily here on the east cost every grocery store seems to have a bakery though.

Nic has been missing pies though so if anyone has any tips on that it would be great. Healthwise he probabably better off without them but it would still be great to find a decent substitute to suprise him.

[kiwiana 2]

amaciar: thats good to hear that nic has found a job not sure where you would find pies here... and speaking of food.........

i looked in my local supermarket early this morning for baked beans and found a couple of brands and they had bacon and brown sugar flavour???(or something like that) i bought a can by a brand B&M? but haven't tried them yet. All the brand names are very foreign to me. Can anyone recommend a brand that i could try?

kim&chris: wow that is a bit pricey for some weetabix eh? The organic ones i got (made in canada) are very similar to the ones in nz. can't remember exactly how much they were but pretty sure for a box of 12 wasn't over $4. More expensive than the popular cereals here but it was nice to have something that isn't all sugary

At the biometrics appointment,do they just take your fingerprints and that is all? did you mail the evidence they needed for the RFE?

It's a gorgeous day outside today here. It's like it is summer already!

Hows everyone doing?

[Kim & Chris 0]

amaciar: thats good to hear that nic has found a job not sure where you would find pies here... and speaking of food.........

i looked in my local supermarket early this morning for baked beans and found a couple of brands and they had bacon and brown sugar flavour???(or something like that) i bought a can by a brand B&M? but haven't tried them yet. All the brand names are very foreign to me. Can anyone recommend a brand that i could try?

kim&chris: wow that is a bit pricey for some weetabix eh? The organic ones i got (made in canada) are very similar to the ones in nz. can't remember exactly how much they were but pretty sure for a box of 12 wasn't over $4. More expensive than the popular cereals here but it was nice to have something that isn't all sugary

At the biometrics appointment,do they just take your fingerprints and that is all? did you mail the evidence they needed for the RFE?

It's a gorgeous day outside today here. It's like it is summer already!

Hows everyone doing?

Pricey is not the word!!!....lol

I did see the organic weetabix (canadian I think) in Krogers one time, I think they're based on the English ones, I heard them mentioned on Coro once...lol Next time I'm in that store, now you've said they're similar to ours, I'm gonna grab a box.

The only beans I've found here so far that vaguely resemble ours is a brand called Showboat. They're called Pork & Beans in tomato sauce, but the pork in them is needle in a haystack material.... .......I miss me Watties Baked Beans and Sausages

Being in the mid west/south BBQ is very big here and you can't eat BBQ without Beans. They're nothing like our baked beans but some of them are extremely delish none the less.

Something to also be aware of is not only the sugar content but the sodium content in food. While checking out the beans when i first got here I noticed the sodium content in some of them was huge, a few even over 1000mg per serving. Not sure if they're the same at home, I only used to check the fat content there. Oh and the nutritional info on the labels at home was always per 100gms of food, but here it's per serve and all the serve sizes vary.....for any of you who are counting sugars, fats, salts etc, just so you know.

The gent from the Aussie shop in North Little Rock told me that a short while ago the NZ Womens 7's Rugby Team had just visited and the Kiwi's that hosted them had gotten some pies and sausage rolls from a place in Atlanta and that they were pretty good. I'm going to try and make some of the things I can't find. It's time for that Kiwi enginuity to start shining through B)

I'm about to post back my RFE info today......god I hope this satisfy's them, I just want to be done with it.

[Lisaandtim 0]

amaciar: thats good to hear that nic has found a job not sure where you would find pies here... and speaking of food.........

i looked in my local supermarket early this morning for baked beans and found a couple of brands and they had bacon and brown sugar flavour???(or something like that) i bought a can by a brand B&M? but haven't tried them yet. All the brand names are very foreign to me. Can anyone recommend a brand that i could try?

kim&chris: wow that is a bit pricey for some weetabix eh? The organic ones i got (made in canada) are very similar to the ones in nz. can't remember exactly how much they were but pretty sure for a box of 12 wasn't over $4. More expensive than the popular cereals here but it was nice to have something that isn't all sugary

At the biometrics appointment,do they just take your fingerprints and that is all? did you mail the evidence they needed for the RFE?

It's a gorgeous day outside today here. It's like it is summer already!

Hows everyone doing?

Pricey is not the word!!!....lol

I did see the organic weetabix (canadian I think) in Krogers one time, I think they're based on the English ones, I heard them mentioned on Coro once...lol Next time I'm in that store, now you've said they're similar to ours, I'm gonna grab a box.

The only beans I've found here so far that vaguely resemble ours is a brand called Showboat. They're called Pork & Beans in tomato sauce, but the pork in them is needle in a haystack material.... .......I miss me Watties Baked Beans and Sausages

Being in the mid west/south BBQ is very big here and you can't eat BBQ without Beans. They're nothing like our baked beans but some of them are extremely delish none the less.

Something to also be aware of is not only the sugar content but the sodium content in food. While checking out the beans when i first got here I noticed the sodium content in some of them was huge, a few even over 1000mg per serving. Not sure if they're the same at home, I only used to check the fat content there. Oh and the nutritional info on the labels at home was always per 100gms of food, but here it's per serve and all the serve sizes vary.....for any of you who are counting sugars, fats, salts etc, just so you know.

The gent from the Aussie shop in North Little Rock told me that a short while ago the NZ Womens 7's Rugby Team had just visited and the Kiwi's that hosted them had gotten some pies and sausage rolls from a place in Atlanta and that they were pretty good. I'm going to try and make some of the things I can't find. It's time for that Kiwi enginuity to start shining through B)

I'm about to post back my RFE info today......god I hope this satisfy's them, I just want to be done with it.

Hello again

Am still having trouble with the 864 and can't find any help I'm looking for on the net and dread calling the misinformation line so here I am again with a question or two. If I understand it right, I am the sponsor, and if i have someone else to help sponsor my SO, they are the joint sponsor right? And I am the main sponsor? See, I hardly make anything and was wondering if I have to include it at all in my form or not, as my sponsor makes enough to cover him. My sponsor also lives with us. Any help on that would be great. Also anyone know if there is a deadline on when to get these in?

[LandS 0]

Hi Dave, nice to see you. Wow ...how far you all have come!

Unfortunately we do have one of our NZ/US couples who was denied at the Embassy very recently. You can read their posts from this week. Hopefully all they will need to do is file a waiver and wait a bit longer to resolve the issues and get the visa!

I'm sure that as long as Genna has everything they've requested that she'll be fine. Most will tell you that it's a breeze.

cdneh, we're not really doing AOS the way we should (...we sure do like playin with fire, eh? ) but I do know what is required and would be happy to help clear up any questions when the time comes.

I can tell you that for those of you getting your medicals for K-1's, be sure you get a TB test (new requirement that not many seem to know about) and a copy of your DS3025 (vaccination worksheet) from the panel physician. If you've already had your medical you can have a TB Test done relatively cheap through the health dept once in the States. Send the results of that test, along with the DS3025, to a civil surgeon to transcribe onto the I-693. They will need to sign this doc and send it back to you. You'll need this for AOS.

There is a list of CS on the uscis website but all of the civil surgeons I called had no clue what I was talking about and weren't willing to sign off on the forms if they didn't perform another full physical (costing hundreds of dollars). A K-1 medical is good for one year so as long as you are filing for AOS before 1 year you do not need another medical so do not let them talk you into that! Either these people are just extremely uneducated to the process or they're just snakes looking for some $$$...either way, it's a hassle!

There's a doc that lots of people here have used that will cost you about $30. You just call, fax your docs over and they'll send it to you in days. This seems to be the best bet (unless you can find a civil surgeon in your area that knows what they're doing and will do it cheap).

Now some people (mostly K-1's) seem to get through ok without certain things and some do not. Because Russell's medical was so close to the new guidelines being put in place we decided to send the AOS package without the TB test and without a civil surgeon transcribing and signing off on the new form I-693. We expect we may receive an RFE and need to have these things done but i'm pretty sure it will only slow up the GC a very short time. (I'm pretty sure they just need updating but, the instructions for the I-485 on the USCIS website still states that a K-1 visa holder need only submit their DS3025 with the application.)

Hi Kim,

I don't know if this will make you feel better since my timeline and Russ' are so similar for the K-1, but I just got my GC approved and did not have the TB test. I also did not send form I-693 (didn't even know about it). Since the embassy did not send me the vaccination form with packet 3, I printed it out myself and took it to my medical exam. The doctor filled it out and I sent it back to the embassy with the other forms. At my interview, they put a seal on it, and gave me two copies (one to keep, one to send with AOS). That's what I sent with the AOS application and I never got asked for an RFE. So, you and Russ might be just fine and not get an RFE. Anyway, good luck!

[Dave_n_Genna 0]

Just dropping by to fill in more of our timeline and check in on folks. Genna and I are doing great now that she is here with me, and working hard on the wedding.

The SS# is sort of a pain in the butt, as we have to drive rather far to apply for it.

Does anyone know what Service Center LA airport PoE sends the Visa info to? Genna forgot to ask, and I dont know where to send the AoS when we get around to it.

AoS is sorta confusing to me overall... Is there a risk of somehow not doing it in time, or failing it and having them send Genna back after our wedding?

[rubyred 0]

don't stress - really, the hard part is over. now comes the tedious part. you MUST be married within 90 days of arriving in the US, BUT there isn't the same kind of restriction for applying for AOS. take your time, make sure you follow the guidelines on VJ, get all your stuff together, recheck it and then recheck it twice more at least. the AOS forms really aren't that bad - they're mostly repetitive.

lol listen to me - i haven't even applied yet and i sound like such a know-it-all! but seriously, i have spent so much time reading and rereading this forum, i do feel like a semi-expert.

[Dave_n_Genna 0]

Thx Ruby!

One more question... how does the Social Security # fit in with this whole process? Is it required for the AoS? We are getting married on the 25th... have we already screwed up by not getting the SS# yet? Genna didnt pick up one of those Work Authorization forms at PoE, becuz we dont really have any desire for her to work just yet.