LAND DOWNUNDER, Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi

[MzMo1102 0]

great thanks! i assume just going to the melbourne cbd station would be cool even though i live in the inner burbs.

also, is it ok to go get the police check now while i wait for pack 3? i've read conflicting reports on whether they issue it to me or send to consulate. they give it to me, right, so i don't need to wait for my pack 3 case # or anything?

I dont see a problem with you going into the melb cbd to get one...wouldnt hurt as the forms are all standard anyway.

Yes, go for your police/fingerprint check now as it can take a while to receive. I just brought along my passport and drivers license for them to check. If I remember correctly, the certificate is valid for 6 months (or up to a year??) My police certificate came in the mail 2 weeks after i applied for it and i just received my fingerprint certificate today!

With regards to the police sending it to you or the consulate, as them to send it to you directly so you can make copies of this and THEN send it to include in the packet 3. My packet 3 checklist included the police certificate to be attached to send back. When signing the 'Consent' section, this is where you will need to put down your name and address as to where they will send the certificates to.

[mingus_drake 0]

great thanks! i assume just going to the melbourne cbd station would be cool even though i live in the inner burbs.

also, is it ok to go get the police check now while i wait for pack 3? i've read conflicting reports on whether they issue it to me or send to consulate. they give it to me, right, so i don't need to wait for my pack 3 case # or anything?

I dont see a problem with you going into the melb cbd to get one...wouldnt hurt as the forms are all standard anyway.

Yes, go for your police/fingerprint check now as it can take a while to receive. I just brought along my passport and drivers license for them to check. If I remember correctly, the certificate is valid for 6 months (or up to a year??) My police certificate came in the mail 2 weeks after i applied for it and i just received my fingerprint certificate today!

With regards to the police sending it to you or the consulate, as them to send it to you directly so you can make copies of this and THEN send it to include in the packet 3. My packet 3 checklist included the police certificate to be attached to send back. When signing the 'Consent' section, this is where you will need to put down your name and address as to where they will send the certificates to.

thanks so much for the info! i'll get moving on this asap then

[SCFsnoopy 0]

Hey guys, I'm nowhere near this stage yet but wanted to get some info -

During the interview at the consulate, how serious are they about the I-134 Affidavit of Support? Has anyone had any issues with having a co-sponsor? I've read that some consulates are more concerned about it than others.

Welcome to the thread!! If I remember correctly, you're moving to Staten Island, NY? Woohoo if so, great- another one moving to NY area!

It shouldnt be a problem - im having a co-sponsor as well.

Thanks for the welcome! Sorry my post was so short, was rushing it in quiet moment at work. Should I introduce myself?

Good to see that a couple of others are going with co-sponsors. I don't actually think we need it but it's peace of mind =)

And yes, I am moving to Staten Island Say, I don't suppose you and your fiance have room for a pug...? Haha. My fiance's apartment doesn't allow pets and I'm heartbroken to be leaving my dog behind, even temporarily...

Anyway, I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions soon enough. We'll be filing our I-129F in the next couple of weeks. It's good to see that it's only taking about six months for a lot of Aussies at the moment, six months is an easy wait

[Chris & Mara 0]

heh 6months.... that would be sweet.... Im up to 9 months and counting just for the NOA2 *sigh* I honestly thought this part of the journey would have been well and truly over by March at the latest.

[SCFsnoopy 0]

heh 6months.... that would be sweet.... Im up to 9 months and counting just for the NOA2 *sigh* I honestly thought this part of the journey would have been well and truly over by March at the latest.

Hey Chris and Mara... I notice you guys met on WoW? That's cool, Jesse and I both play WoW (although we didn't meet there... actually... Jesse was a friend of a friend I met on WoW so in a roundabout way we did, haha). I have a good friend who lives in Canada now, she met her husband on WoW as well.

Is it just taking so long for you because USCIS lost your case?

Also, with the co-sponsor... anyone know if it has any 'consequences' I suppose for the co-sponsor? I assume that they aren't *actually* ever held financially responsible for anything, ever, but some confirmation on that would be good

[Chris & Mara 0]

haha yes we play wow, and still do

They lost our case and have yet to issue our NOA1 for our second application so who knows, personally its just seeding my hate for the USCIS people.

[densusan 0]

Hi Susan,

Its always so refreshing to get back on to aussie land after living away from home for a while isnt it? Also, leaving aussie is hard too cuz there's nothing like home! Im sure I'll get home sick even though I've lived in the states previously..but this time it will be on a permanent basis....Im glad you enjoyed yourself!

Thanks MZ,

Very refreshing going back to oz. Certainly makes me realise what a wonderful place it is and how great the lifestyle is in Australia......something I will never take for granted. Life is certainly different in the USA but I'm not complaining cause I'm with the man I love and oneday we hope to go back to Australia to live. Just miss family & friends so much at times........we all know that feeling.

Hope everyone is doing well & enjoying the nice spring weather!!!! Yay roll on summer!

Take care everyone,

Susan

[mingus_drake 0]

so i'm all set up to get my fingerprints taken tomorrow. for anyone wondering about the vic process, i called the appointments # for fingerprints on their website, and made an appointment. i just need to bring my filled out form which you can get online (had to print and fill out by hand which i hope is ok. you're supposed to type it in but it didn't work for me), 100 points of ID and my eftpos card to pay.

[MzMo1102 0]

Thanks for the welcome! Sorry my post was so short, was rushing it in quiet moment at work. Should I introduce myself?

Good to see that a couple of others are going with co-sponsors. I don't actually think we need it but it's peace of mind =)

And yes, I am moving to Staten Island Say, I don't suppose you and your fiance have room for a pug...? Haha. My fiance's apartment doesn't allow pets and I'm heartbroken to be leaving my dog behind, even temporarily...

Anyway, I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions soon enough. We'll be filing our I-129F in the next couple of weeks. It's good to see that it's only taking about six months for a lot of Aussies at the moment, six months is an easy wait

No probs!

Sorry, we're gonna be moving into an apartment and they dont allow pets either! We were actually trying to look for a place that allowed for a little dog as I wanted to get one as soon as I got there but now we are having a baby so we're gonna have to wait on the dog for now..

That's right - it usually takes about 6 months IF all goes smoothly. We hired a lawyer in Dec 07 who stuffed us around and ended up filing around March 08. Our check was cashed but we never did end up receiving the NOA1. We filed again in July/Aug of '08 and after waiting for the check to be cashed and NOA1 to arrive after almost two months, we ended up finding out that the USCIS had lost our case. We got sick of it all and decided that we should file ourselves in Nov - everytings going smoothly so far.

But dont get freaked out by this..its just a case by case scenario - but then again, dont make any solid plans until you actually get your NOA2 as you could end up getting beyond frustrated with the whole process.

[MzMo1102 0]

Also, with the co-sponsor... anyone know if it has any 'consequences' I suppose for the co-sponsor? I assume that they aren't *actually* ever held financially responsible for anything, ever, but some confirmation on that would be good

With the sponsor and/or co-sponsor, they are liable if the person they are sponsoring become a public charge. In addition to that, their income/asset information is taken into consideration to determine whether the beneficiary is eligible any benefits such as food stamp, temporary benefits for needy family, suplemental income, etc...

[MzMo1102 0]

Thanks MZ,

Very refreshing going back to oz. Certainly makes me realise what a wonderful place it is and how great the lifestyle is in Australia......something I will never take for granted. Life is certainly different in the USA but I'm not complaining cause I'm with the man I love and oneday we hope to go back to Australia to live. Just miss family & friends so much at times........we all know that feeling.

Hope everyone is doing well & enjoying the nice spring weather!!!! Yay roll on summer!

Take care everyone,

Susan

Living conditions is definitely better in Australia than the US but of course, as long as we're with the other half it makes living there all worth while...We'll eventually move back to Australia as well later down the track.

Yay for summer appraoching..as for some of us here - its starting to get real cold already!

[MzMo1102 0]

so i'm all set up to get my fingerprints taken tomorrow. for anyone wondering about the vic process, i called the appointments # for fingerprints on their website, and made an appointment. i just need to bring my filled out form which you can get online (had to print and fill out by hand which i hope is ok. you're supposed to type it in but it didn't work for me), 100 points of ID and my eftpos card to pay.

At least that's one thing out the way for you now..

[mingus_drake 0]

read a few aussies say they received their pack 3's by email- when did you hand over your email addresses? maybe i did on some previous form and i don't remember, who knows... ?

[MzMo1102 0]

read a few aussies say they received their pack 3's by email- when did you hand over your email addresses? maybe i did on some previous form and i don't remember, who knows... ?

Yeah, I received my packet 3 via email. I was quite surprised cuz I couldnt remember which form I had entered that info in.

[SCFsnoopy 0]

Also, with the co-sponsor... anyone know if it has any 'consequences' I suppose for the co-sponsor? I assume that they aren't *actually* ever held financially responsible for anything, ever, but some confirmation on that would be good

With the sponsor and/or co-sponsor, they are liable if the person they are sponsoring become a public charge. In addition to that, their income/asset information is taken into consideration to determine whether the beneficiary is eligible any benefits such as food stamp, temporary benefits for needy family, suplemental income, etc...

Cool, thanks for the info. Turns out his parents aren't as willing to co-sponsor as I thought... they are going to see an immigration lawyer to get advice, who knows, maybe they will help us out in the end. Jesse's looking into getting his pay fixed up properly so that he will have at least 6 months worth of pay stubs to show but I'm stressing (probably rightly so) that they're going to turn it down because we don't have a tax return to prove his income.

The issue at the moment is that he's not technically employed full time - so it messes with how he has to file for his taxes (I don't really understand the details, any sentence containing the word 'tax' goes right over my head). He's going to try and come to an agreement with his boss and get a contract drawn up that will properly show his working hours and get paid a real salary. One of the pitfalls of working for a small private business, I guess But like I said, he won't have a tax return to prove his 'new' salary, just the pay stubs and a copy of his contract/letter of employment. Ugh.