Help with filing in Australia

[loz9 0]

We don't have a case officer - we did "DCF" for his spousal visa. And we have no correspondance at all from them - just a visa in his passport and an emails from the Embassy in Tokyo notifying him of his approval.

I think I'll need to do some more research and email some people..

In the meantime I'll ask my parents to keep an eye out on any mail that may come

thanks!!

Ahh ok. You know what's funny? This morning I woke up and had an e-mail from my case officer saying, in a nutshell, we see that you left the country in August. Please let us know if your circumstances have changed (i guess that means divorce?). If you do not plan on returning to Australia in the next 6 months you will either need to finalize your visa at the nearest australian embassy or a decision will be made with what we have on file."

They must have been trolling the boards. lol

So I e-mailed them back asking what the procedure would be if I went to an Oz embassy in the US so I can finish up. I looked at a list of the embassies in the US and I have quite a few choices, but I'll have to travel no matter what, which is fine with me (just an excuse to go somewhere fun).

Hopefully I'll hear back pretty quickly and can finalize my permanent residency.

[kaffy 2]

LOL I wonder if my husband will be receiving an email like that. He left about a week after you did and we applied for the visa in March 2007 so we're about 5 months away from our TR -> PR granting.

Anyway thanks for posting that because you just reminded me to send an email to Brisbane DIAC - I couldnt find an email contact for them so I sent an email to the Embassy in Washington D.C. instead - hopefully it gets forwarded to the correct department

Hope you receive an answer soon on yours!

Edited October 2, 2008 by kaffy

[loz9 0]

Good news! I just talked to my husband and he received his passport, visa and unopenable (lol) envelope in the mail on Thursday, October 2! Looks like we're all set!! woo hoo!

[kaffy 2]

That's great!! and so quick when is he flying over?

[loz9 0]

That's great!! and so quick when is he flying over?

Right now we're thinking the 14th of October. He's had some issues with his last employer, who he was with for about 2 years before he quit, and his group certificate. So he'll be getting his group certificate next week (hopefully) and he has to go file his taxes. Other than that, he's pretty much ready. We were going to try and wait until his refund came through from the government, but we may just get our bank to draw a cheque and send it to us so we don't have to wait around.

Did the person who interviewed you in Sydney tell you to allow 5 hours in LA for the POE procedures? That's what they told my husband and i'm not sure how we're going to get him here the same day. He may have to stay in LA and fly to Alabama on the 15th b/c the flight times are limited.

The flight from Melbourne won't get in until around 11-11:30 and all the flights to Alabama depart mainly from 6am-2pm. So if he allows 5 hours from the time he gets in that would be 4pm. Next flight would be around 8-10pm and he'd have to fly overnight with stops. He would get in around 10-1. If he stayed the night in LA instead of doing the overnight flight he could leave in the morning and still get here around the same time. I think he should just get some sleep and take the morning flight instead of making himself more miserable lol.

[kaffy 2]

If you keep a bank account active in Australia you can get your return directly deposited into your account - that's what we did and it came through very quickly. Hope he gets his group certificate soon - I know how much of a pain some employers are to deal with when it comes to tax time!

I wasn't told how long to allow for POE since I wasn't transiting.. have you looked at him flying into San Francisco? would the connection time be better for him there?

[loz9 0]

If you keep a bank account active in Australia you can get your return directly deposited into your account - that's what we did and it came through very quickly. Hope he gets his group certificate soon - I know how much of a pain some employers are to deal with when it comes to tax time!

I wasn't told how long to allow for POE since I wasn't transiting.. have you looked at him flying into San Francisco? would the connection time be better for him there?

That's what I'm thinking we'll do so we don't have to wait for the money to show up. Mine came through pretty quickly, so hopefully it'll be the same for him. Either way, we'll just leave it open and if it come through in time, then it comes through. If not, we're going to have to close our accounts anyways, so we'll just get them to draw up a cheque and send it to us.

I'll have to have a look at prices/times if he flies to San Fran. That's a good idea. Thanks!

[kaffy 2]

DIAC in Washington is quick! They got back to me already.. and all they told me to do was complete Form 929 Change of Address and/or passport details form and send it to the office in Brisbane

I guess I'll do just that

[loz9 0]

DIAC in Washington is quick! They got back to me already.. and all they told me to do was complete Form 929 Change of Address and/or passport details form and send it to the office in Brisbane

I guess I'll do just that

Awesome!! Don't you love it when things are nice and easy?!

[kaffy 2]

Yep definitely!

Any luck with the SF flights?

[loz9 0]

Yep definitely!

Any luck with the SF flights?

Well, I checked flights to San Fran and then on to Alabama and ran in to the same problem... He would get in around 11:30am but the last flight until the night is just after 1, so that would be cutting it really close, even if he breezed through immigration.

I think we may just set him up in a hotel for the night and he can leave early the next morning. I'm going to talk to him tonight when he wakes up and see what he prefers. It's crazy to think that he has the freedom to come here whenever he wants though. We've waited so long and now he come tomorrow if he wanted. lol

[loz9 0]

Tickets are booked! He'll be in LA on the 14th and then Alabama on the 15th! Woo hoo!!

[kaffy 2]

Awesome!!!

[loz9 0]

Awesome!!!

How's the new job Kaffy??

[kaffy 2]

Going well! Had two days of orientation and training so far. Everyone there is so freaking nice.. I'm not used to working in such a friendly environment The campus is huge though.. about 6 or 7 sections.. I'm trying to learn it quickly so that I don't get lost when I have to do my rounds (going to every department to pick up records)

How's uni?