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

[Kim & Chris 0]

i know i have to get a full medical, i'm just not sure when i have to get it - do i need to get it now, before i send in the AOS, or do i need to wait to be notified? jordan tried calling the CIS office in san francisco (the link to a list of civil surgeons in your local area is broken on VJ) and got an answering machine. i doubt they'll return his call. the checklist doesn't really say much, except to get specific info from your local office.

i know i have to get a full medical, i'm just not sure when i have to get it - do i need to get it now, before i send in the AOS, or do i need to wait to be notified? jordan tried calling the CIS office in san francisco (the link to a list of civil surgeons in your local area is broken on VJ) and got an answering machine. i doubt they'll return his call. the checklist doesn't really say much, except to get specific info from your local office.

I would say it would be before you send in the AOS, I think it's the only way you can get the vaccination sheet that has to be sent in with the AOS paperwork. At least it'll all be done then and out the way....

Don't ya just love the paperwork ....lol

[kiwiana 2]

I would say it would be before you send in the AOS, I think it's the only way you can get the vaccination sheet that has to be sent in with the AOS paperwork. At least it'll all be done then and out the way....

Don't ya just love the paperwork ....lol

yes the paperwork is soo much fun!! i went to the civil surgeon today and gave the receptionist my vaccination record. she looked over it and said that the doctor in nz did not write a date that i had the measles and rubella vaccine done.(the doc had put a tick on all the vaccines that was listed, so that would indicate that they were completed, wouldnt you think? )

I said to her that generally we get most vaccines done when we are babies.

she said that i would have to have a blood test done to check for my immunity against measles etc. I told her that i was not going to have any more vaccines done as it wasn't neccesary. she said no i probably won't need any but still need to take a blood test to be sure.

so i said ok and had it done. The doctor transcribed the vaccination record onto the 1693 and put it all in envelope and sealed it etc and handed it to me. It cost $40 for him to transcribe the record and $40 for blood test.

soo i am glad that is all over with. i did not get a tb skin test done. I want to try and get all the forms sent away in a few weeks and get it all out of the way and will then wait and see if i get an RFE for the tb skin test.

rubyred: congratulations on your wedding!! As kim&chris said, i think you would do the medical before AOS.

kim&chris: when do you think you will move out west? have you looked at monster and careerbuilder.com for jobs? Good luck with everything!!

I will look out for the malted milk chocolate when i head to the supermarket!!

[Kim & Chris 0]

I would say it would be before you send in the AOS, I think it's the only way you can get the vaccination sheet that has to be sent in with the AOS paperwork. At least it'll all be done then and out the way....

Don't ya just love the paperwork ....lol

yes the paperwork is soo much fun!! i went to the civil surgeon today and gave the receptionist my vaccination record. she looked over it and said that the doctor in nz did not write a date that i had the measles and rubella vaccine done.(the doc had put a tick on all the vaccines that was listed, so that would indicate that they were completed, wouldnt you think? )

I said to her that generally we get most vaccines done when we are babies.

she said that i would have to have a blood test done to check for my immunity against measles etc. I told her that i was not going to have any more vaccines done as it wasn't neccesary. she said no i probably won't need any but still need to take a blood test to be sure.

so i said ok and had it done. The doctor transcribed the vaccination record onto the 1693 and put it all in envelope and sealed it etc and handed it to me. It cost $40 for him to transcribe the record and $40 for blood test.

soo i am glad that is all over with. i did not get a tb skin test done. I want to try and get all the forms sent away in a few weeks and get it all out of the way and will then wait and see if i get an RFE for the tb skin test.

rubyred: congratulations on your wedding!! As kim&chris said, i think you would do the medical before AOS.

kim&chris: when do you think you will move out west? have you looked at monster and careerbuilder.com for jobs? Good luck with everything!!

I will look out for the malted milk chocolate when i head to the supermarket!!

Glad your civil surgeon visit is over and done with. At least it's another thing to cross off the list.

Not sure when we will head out west, but we're starting the groundwork now. I had absolutely no idea where to start so thanks for the websites. If there's any others you can think of please feel free to throw them in the pot

[Dave_n_Genna 0]

We drove out yesterday to get Genna's SS#. We were just going to wait till after the wedding, but decided to get it done. It was about an hour drive to get to the place, and then about an hour and a half wait for them to call our number. The actual process was really quick. Anyway, another thing done.

Now we are just putting immigration on hold while we work on the wedding (April 25th).

Speaking of NZ foodz and drinks... Has anyone found "V" or a similar tasting drink here in the States?

Hope everyone is getting on good!

[kiwiana 2]

Happy Easter everyone!!

Dave_n_Genna: Glad that all went well at the SSA! I got a letter from them yesterday to say that i should get my ssn in two weeks or if not then to contact them.

I'm not sure where you can buy V but my SO took me to a store called Trader Joes (not sure if i have already mentioned this) and they sell organic and imported goods. They had a wonderful array of different cheeses and i found some NZ cheese!! I was in heaven!!! A block that was (at a guess) around 500g cost $5 which i thought was very reasonable considering it is imported!! They also sell meat and some of it is either from Australia, Canada, NZ or Mexico. Their mince was around $2 for about 500g. They also sold nz beer. I think it was 'steinlager' but not sure as i don't know much about beer but it said NZ next to the beverage. And they had wines from around the world.

I am pretty sure they have these stores right around USA. I love it there!

cdneh: how was the wedding?

kim&chris: I'll let you know if i can find any more websites

ok another quick question: With the 1864 and 1864A form (affadavit of support). Do the sponsor(s) have to supply a copy of their birth certificate with the form or do they just have to give copies of their tax returns, pay stubs and letter from employer and that is all??

hope everyone is well!

[Kim & Chris 0]

Happy Easter everyone!!

Dave_n_Genna: Glad that all went well at the SSA! I got a letter from them yesterday to say that i should get my ssn in two weeks or if not then to contact them.

I'm not sure where you can buy V but my SO took me to a store called Trader Joes (not sure if i have already mentioned this) and they sell organic and imported goods. They had a wonderful array of different cheeses and i found some NZ cheese!! I was in heaven!!! A block that was (at a guess) around 500g cost $5 which i thought was very reasonable considering it is imported!! They also sell meat and some of it is either from Australia, Canada, NZ or Mexico. Their mince was around $2 for about 500g. They also sold nz beer. I think it was 'steinlager' but not sure as i don't know much about beer but it said NZ next to the beverage. And they had wines from around the world.

I am pretty sure they have these stores right around USA. I love it there!

cdneh: how was the wedding?

kim&chris: I'll let you know if i can find any more websites

ok another quick question: With the 1864 and 1864A form (affadavit of support). Do the sponsor(s) have to supply a copy of their birth certificate with the form or do they just have to give copies of their tax returns, pay stubs and letter from employer and that is all??

hope everyone is well!

Ana......You don't need to supply a copy of the sponsors birth cert, just all the other guff you mentioned. Glad you heard something about your SSN. Shouldn't take too much longer to get there, then you can march straight back and have it changed to your married name. Rediculous the extra lengths you have to go to just coz they don't know their stuff!!

One thing I'm looking forward to when we finally get out west is the different foods in the supermarkets .....we have no Trader Joes in Arkansas which to be honest, doesn't surprise me..... I could tell I'd arrived back in the south the minute I stepped off the plane and into the terminal at Memphis.......the smell of fried food hit me like a brick......seriously......lol

Happy Easter to you all too........

[rubyred 0]

well, it's been a rough weekend here... for all my research and daily reading of VJ i have made two huge errors:

we were ready to organise our package to send off this weekend, and while doing the last few bits i realised i still wasn't sure about a couple of things... i totally missed the $355 filing fee - somehow i thought the law change last year had erased that fee and that all the forms were covered under the $1010, but that is not the case. THEN i found out that the medical has to be completed BEFORE the AOS package is sent off. somehow i'd been under the impression all along that the medical had to be done any time before the actual interview.

so you can imagine how stressful this has been! now we have to get the medical organised next week (have to get the AOS sent off immediately so that there'll be more of a chance of my EAD arriving before my visa expires), and i don't have vaccine transcripts, no idea how to get them here, so i'm expecting the medical to run to about $500, which obviously is $500 than we have, especially considering the extra $355 we weren't prepared for.

so yeah: good times all round :/

[Kim & Chris 0]

well, it's been a rough weekend here... for all my research and daily reading of VJ i have made two huge errors:

we were ready to organise our package to send off this weekend, and while doing the last few bits i realised i still wasn't sure about a couple of things... i totally missed the $355 filing fee - somehow i thought the law change last year had erased that fee and that all the forms were covered under the $1010, but that is not the case. THEN i found out that the medical has to be completed BEFORE the AOS package is sent off. somehow i'd been under the impression all along that the medical had to be done any time before the actual interview.

so you can imagine how stressful this has been! now we have to get the medical organised next week (have to get the AOS sent off immediately so that there'll be more of a chance of my EAD arriving before my visa expires), and i don't have vaccine transcripts, no idea how to get them here, so i'm expecting the medical to run to about $500, which obviously is $500 than we have, especially considering the extra $355 we weren't prepared for.

so yeah: good times all round :/

Rubyred......what's the extra $355 filing fee for??

$1010 includes all the forms (I-485 AOS, I-765 EAD, I-131 AP) if all are filed at the same time as AOS.......are you filing something extra? Sorry, I'm not sure of the in's and out's of Student Visa.

I would assume the civil surgeon who does your medical will provide you with the correct transcript form, if not, I read on here that alot of people don't get them transcribed, they just send in the vac form they get from their medical. That's all i did and didn't get pinged for it.

[rubyred 0]

i don't have a k-1 visa - i'm adjusting straight from my work visa so i need an I-130 (petition) and that's the $355 fee. i think i'd been reading this thread too much, so i had the single $1010 fee stuck in brain! silly me :/

i emailed my mum and asked her to contact our family dr and have my vacc records faxed here asap, my exam is on friday morning at 8am, but we have an hour drive to get there... the USCIS civil surgeon locator is a PIECE OF ######! my hubby spent all morning calling one after another, and 90% of those on the list were a)no longer doing immigration exams or b)or accepted asian/australian/canadian/not-newzealanders #######??? plus, i specifically wanted a female dr, since docs in general make me feel extremely anxious. gahhhhhhhhhhhh! hopefully it will all go okay.

[Kim & Chris 0]

i don't have a k-1 visa - i'm adjusting straight from my work visa so i need an I-130 (petition) and that's the $355 fee. i think i'd been reading this thread too much, so i had the single $1010 fee stuck in brain! silly me :/

i emailed my mum and asked her to contact our family dr and have my vacc records faxed here asap, my exam is on friday morning at 8am, but we have an hour drive to get there... the USCIS civil surgeon locator is a PIECE OF ######! my hubby spent all morning calling one after another, and 90% of those on the list were a)no longer doing immigration exams or b)or accepted asian/australian/canadian/not-newzealanders #######??? plus, i specifically wanted a female dr, since docs in general make me feel extremely anxious. gahhhhhhhhhhhh! hopefully it will all go okay.

Sorry, don't know why I had it in my head you were on a student visa.....

Yes it's very easy to forget there's life outside this thread........ the whole process sucks, especially when we're doing it the right way and you hear about how some want to let all the illegals stay, without having to go through the hassles we've had.

A week or so and it'll be done.....then you can join us in the waiting line

[kiwiana 2]

Ana......You don't need to supply a copy of the sponsors birth cert, just all the other guff you mentioned. Glad you heard something about your SSN. Shouldn't take too much longer to get there, then you can march straight back and have it changed to your married name. Rediculous the extra lengths you have to go to just coz they don't know their stuff!!

One thing I'm looking forward to when we finally get out west is the different foods in the supermarkets .....we have no Trader Joes in Arkansas which to be honest, doesn't surprise me..... I could tell I'd arrived back in the south the minute I stepped off the plane and into the terminal at Memphis.......the smell of fried food hit me like a brick......seriously......lol

Happy Easter to you all too........

Kim&Chris: I can't wait to get all the forms together and send the package off. I honestly don't know what we would have done if vj wasn't around. The whole process can be quite confusing and frustrating at times

One thing that i find the MOST frustrating is that the right hand doesn't seem to know what the left one is doing (as far as the different departments go) as to their knowledge on the rules of the whole k-1 process (like ssa for example) Why can't they all be on the same page?

yet when you try to tell them that they are not correct with their information AND show them proof, they still won't listen

rubyred: I totally know where you are coming from with finding a doctor you are comfortable with. It's a pity we can't choose the doctor we want to see for the medical. It would at least make that part of the process a little less stressful.

One thing that i am everso thankful for is at least I can go through this next stage with my SO by my side

[cdneh 3,112]

Back again...we drove to Arkansas (Searcy) and back in an SUV with two kids under ten. Heaven help me my ears are still ringing. And I hate Hannah Montana.

Things went well otherwise, his father, who is 95 and has memory issues, got through the ceremony without a hitch, other than calling me by 2 different names at various times. We had a nice small reception back at their quite lovely home, and stayed a few days to catch up with them all and relax a bit.

We are back in VA now, and back working on the flat. I see more of Lowe's and Home Depot than anyone should have to do ..heh..but we are painting this week and putting down the new floors and then I get to to what he calls the frou-frou bits. I am good at frou-frou

Here's a pic for you to have a look at...not bad for a couple of old folks who scrub up okay

Prezzies!

Cake cutting

After match with the Mother in law

[Michelle Kauffman 0]

woohoo!!

Kate I'm so happy for you, you look so happy. Congratulations to you and Chase. I hope you had a wonderful day, sure looks like you had fun

I love your dress, you both look glorious.

Edited April 16, 2009 by Michelle.S

[Kim & Chris 0]

Back again...we drove to Arkansas (Searcy) and back in an SUV with two kids under ten. Heaven help me my ears are still ringing. And I hate Hannah Montana.

Things went well otherwise, his father, who is 95 and has memory issues, got through the ceremony without a hitch, other than calling me by 2 different names at various times. We had a nice small reception back at their quite lovely home, and stayed a few days to catch up with them all and relax a bit.

We are back in VA now, and back working on the flat. I see more of Lowe's and Home Depot than anyone should have to do ..heh..but we are painting this week and putting down the new floors and then I get to to what he calls the frou-frou bits. I am good at frou-frou

Here's a pic for you to have a look at...not bad for a couple of old folks who scrub up okay

Prezzies!

Cake cutting

After match with the Mother in law

Kate you look lovely and your dress is gorgeous......congrats to you both....looks like you had a wonderful day...............I can't believe you were in Searcy. That's where I live !!!! ...and where i got married...so snap!!

Chris' flatmate moved out in early March, taking all of his stuff with him as you would expect, so we've had to buy up large on many things....so I also know Lowes well....lol

After living in Auckland my whole life, and having to suffer through peak hour traffic for many years, I was looking forward to the slower pace of Searcy, (about the size of Pukekohe), and as nice as it is, (and the people are lovely), I'm glad Chris has said it's time to start organising the move west to San Francisco, it won't be till towards the end of the year, but he knows I like a project. He's lived in many places throughout the states, but he's a Californian boy and SF is his favourite.

[Ed+Cindy 1]

Speaking of NZ foodz and drinks... Has anyone found "V" or a similar tasting drink here in the States?

You could try Amp or Rockstar. They are popular energy drinks, but I haven't tried them, so I can't compare to "V"

My current project is getting some feijoa seeds to grow