LAND DOWNUNDER

[Chocolot 0]

Hi guys, you certainly are some busy writers, I get so busy reading, I dont have time to reply but congratulations to all of you who have moved on in your visa journey.

My latest news, is that finally I went and got my Florida Drivers licence. They issued it for the full 6 years, where I was afraid it would only be valid until my conditional greencard's expiry date. So now I can drive around without worrying about getting pulled over. It was so easy compared to my last one sooo many years ago in Brisbane. No parallel park or emergency stop, of course no hillstart and we didnt go out of the car park, so I was very chuffed.

I still cant get into my timeline, I have contacted the admin people 3 times, and dont know what else to do.

Anyway, keep your chins up all of you

Jayde

hi kym

I dont think your alone with the nerves about an interview...you have done you part in the journey now its all up to the aussie and with it being out of your hands it can be a bit nerve racking thinking .. have they got it together ..lol

i just want to reiterate to those that have gone for or going for their medicals plz ask for a copy of the medical for your own records .. the vaccination sheet is needed for the AOS for K1 and K3 journey's...also remember you can get blood tests done by your local doctor to determine what you are ammune to and put on medicare..but make sure you have a letter from the doctor stating the results to take to the medical...i have read quite a few aussie posts where they didnt get a copy and have to either get it done again over here or ring oz to get a copy sent over...

good luck meowgirl on getting an interview date ...

kym good luck to you and yours for your interview next week ... let us know how it goes...

loke loke loke sighhhhhhhhhh lol.. i will have you know i got my licence in 1978 in oz and i didnt have one accident or ticket lol...so your safe mate...with saying that robert always sez to me .. its not your driving im worried about its the other idiots on the road lol..so your safe mate...my test is on the 31st...went there on the weekend to have a look at the area and see what this maneuverability test is all about.. looks more confusing on the car park than in the book lol...i dont know if this thing is for every state but ohio has to do it.. they dont even do a parellel parking test..lol...

well robbie's first day back to work today...sighhhhhhh... then middle of this week am ringing k-mart to see when i am going to start work...

take care

kath

p.s. jonathon..make sure you have things like bank statements leases a letter from your employer stating what date your expected back to work...your itenary...anything that shows you have ties to australia to help at your POE on your visit to the states...which state you coming over to?

[vylex 0]

Good Luck Sharyna!!!!

[Kelli 0]

I can't wait to hear some news from Sharyna!!!!!

[Kym 0]

***stupid question alert***

Let me say first up that I know I need to go to the DMV site and read up on this....just don't have time for the next several days because I am going to be gone and super busy. And I've been reading a lot of posts regarding driver's license, so thought I would throw this in...

When Darryl gets here he can not legally drive until after he has taken a written/driving test and passed? Is there a certain time frame before he can take these tests or is it just when he feels ready and prepared? If he were caught driving without an American driver's license, what do you think would happen? Or would it be beneficial for him to try and get an international driver's license before leaving Australia (or maybe that is not even an option)?

Thanks again....

[Loke 0]

Kath - you know it is and always has been the domain of the male to question the driving skills of the female no matter what her age, qualifications or experience. I plead guilty only to acting in accordance with the traditional intergender antagonsiation act of 2 million BC.

also remember you can get blood tests done by your local doctor to determine what you are ammune to and put on medicare..but make sure you have a letter from the doctor stating the results to take to the medical...i have read quite a few aussie posts where they didnt get a copy and have to either get it done again over here or ring oz to get a copy sent over...

and actually read the medical form that is sent with you in your packet 3 (or whatever), there is a page that will go over what vaccinations are required for your age group...I remember someone posting in this thread (and I think it was re-posted several times) a list of 'necessary' vaccinations which was not true, it all depends on your age, it is listed in your medical form, so read it....and funnily enough when I got in to have my doctors appointment, he was asking if the consulate was sending out a long list of required vaccinations for immigrants because of late he'd had a lot of people coming in who'd had many many vaccinations, a lot of whihc were unnecessary...so remember, don't turn your arm into a pincushion unnecessarily!

I was one of those who got jabbed multiple times and had a couple of vaccinations that weren't strictly necessary and while I agree that it is often worth going over the information in packet 3 in order to know what vaccinations are actually required for your age group, I would still repeat my experience over again the same way. Rings and I were trying to push our visa through as quickly as we could in order to be reunited and I would always have preferred to be over-vaccinated than under-vaccinated. My medical was booked for the monday 6 days after my packet 3 arrived and left little time to get vaccinations as required by the documentation. It did cost me a little more than if I had stuck to the required vaccinations but it also provided me with instant peace of mind when I did read through the requirements of packet 3 to know I had everything I needed (and more lol).

Sugarbob - There actually was a slight sense of interrogation in my question process at the medical. I didn't find it particularly intimidating and I think as long as you are not trying to hide anything, there is no reason to worry, but the tone of the exam does depend on the personality/mood of each individual doctor. I have read differing accounts of the exam from people who saw different doctors, and I have read a review of a medical done by the doctor I saw that described him as 'robotic', and I can't honestly say it was a friendly atmosphere. I don't think he was trying to be unfriendly, just that it was a very business-like exam. All that being said, I know I worried more than I should have about the exam (I am a worrier) and it was very straightforward and didn't cause me any problems.

***stupid question alert***

Let me say first up that I know I need to go to the DMV site and read up on this....just don't have time for the next several days because I am going to be gone and super busy. And I've been reading a lot of posts regarding driver's license, so thought I would throw this in...

When Darryl gets here he can not legally drive until after he has taken a written/driving test and passed? Is there a certain time frame before he can take these tests or is it just when he feels ready and prepared? If he were caught driving without an American driver's license, what do you think would happen? Or would it be beneficial for him to try and get an international driver's license before leaving Australia (or maybe that is not even an option)?

Thanks again....

Kym, this might help you out in determining what Darryl needs to do regarding his drivers licence when he gets to the States. There's a link on the page to the requirements for each individual state so you check out what your state wants from him....

http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Foreign_Visitors_Driving.shtml

[Katz 0]

You can't claim any of the medical from Medicare, isn't that correct? :/

[sugarbob 0]

I was one of those who got jabbed multiple times and had a couple of vaccinations that weren't strictly necessary and while I agree that it is often worth going over the information in packet 3 in order to know what vaccinations are actually required for your age group, I would still repeat my experience over again the same way. Rings and I were trying to push our visa through as quickly as we could in order to be reunited and I would always have preferred to be over-vaccinated than under-vaccinated. My medical was booked for the monday 6 days after my packet 3 arrived and left little time to get vaccinations as required by the documentation. It did cost me a little more than if I had stuck to the required vaccinations but it also provided me with instant peace of mind when I did read through the requirements of packet 3 to know I had everything I needed (and more lol).

I don't get it because you knew what you needed and got more regardless...all that would happen is he would see records of unnecessary vaccinations and put them aside....the doctor is working off the same sheet as you would be. Worst case scenario is if you didn't have one done, you go back to your regular doc, have the needle then fax the letter from your doc over, no biggie.

Sugarbob - There actually was a slight sense of interrogation in my question process at the medical. I didn't find it particularly intimidating and I think as long as you are not trying to hide anything, there is no reason to worry, but the tone of the exam does depend on the personality/mood of each individual doctor. I have read differing accounts of the exam from people who saw different doctors, and I have read a review of a medical done by the doctor I saw that described him as 'robotic', and I can't honestly say it was a friendly atmosphere. I don't think he was trying to be unfriendly, just that it was a very business-like exam. All that being said, I know I worried more than I should have about the exam (I am a worrier) and it was very straightforward and didn't cause me any problems.

perhaps people are really nervous when they go and struggle to build rapport...dunno

You can't claim any of the medical from Medicare, isn't that correct? :/

correct.

things you get done leading up to official medical can be claimed (mostly)

[Katz 0]

Damn... Oh well...

[Katz 0]

GOOD LUCK, SHARYNA!!

[Kym 0]

Kym, this might help you out in determining what Darryl needs to do regarding his drivers licence when he gets to the States. There's a link on the page to the requirements for each individual state so you check out what your state wants from him....

http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Foreign_Visitors_Driving.shtml

Thank you VERY much, Loke. I think International is what he needs to do for now so he can drive when he gets here.

I have forwarded the link on so he can read up on it!

[Loke 0]

I was one of those who got jabbed multiple times and had a couple of vaccinations that weren't strictly necessary and while I agree that it is often worth going over the information in packet 3 in order to know what vaccinations are actually required for your age group, I would still repeat my experience over again the same way. Rings and I were trying to push our visa through as quickly as we could in order to be reunited and I would always have preferred to be over-vaccinated than under-vaccinated. My medical was booked for the monday 6 days after my packet 3 arrived and left little time to get vaccinations as required by the documentation. It did cost me a little more than if I had stuck to the required vaccinations but it also provided me with instant peace of mind when I did read through the requirements of packet 3 to know I had everything I needed (and more lol).

I don't get it because you knew what you needed and got more regardless...all that would happen is he would see records of unnecessary vaccinations and put them aside....the doctor is working off the same sheet as you would be. Worst case scenario is if you didn't have one done, you go back to your regular doc, have the needle then fax the letter from your doc over, no biggie.

Sugarbob - There actually was a slight sense of interrogation in my question process at the medical. I didn't find it particularly intimidating and I think as long as you are not trying to hide anything, there is no reason to worry, but the tone of the exam does depend on the personality/mood of each individual doctor. I have read differing accounts of the exam from people who saw different doctors, and I have read a review of a medical done by the doctor I saw that described him as 'robotic', and I can't honestly say it was a friendly atmosphere. I don't think he was trying to be unfriendly, just that it was a very business-like exam. All that being said, I know I worried more than I should have about the exam (I am a worrier) and it was very straightforward and didn't cause me any problems.

perhaps people are really nervous when they go and struggle to build rapport...dunno

a) I got all my vaccinations done well ahead of time. I wasn't working off a sheet because I had not received the vaccination information in packet 3 at the time I had them done. It was something I could do while I waited for our petition to be processed and helped me to alleviate that sense of helplessness that can occur while you are waiting for government departments to get around to processing the petitions. I got my vaccinations based on consultation with my doctor and also from a post of Hammy's that listed some required shots. As it turns out, the only really unnecessary shots I had were for pneumococcal and whooping cough. I also began a course of hepatitis vaccinations but I would defy anyone to tell me that's not a good idea, even if it is not necessary for the visa. The rest of my shots were spot on and as a result I have had no problems with my vaccination records. The doctor in melbourne actually filed my vaccination results as incomplete and requested a waiver on the basis that I would receive a third tetanus shot in September (as my vaccination history only noted two previous vaccinations), but the doctor here in the US said it wasn't necessary and also that she was very pleased with my approach to being thoroughly vaccinated and making her job easy. So, as I said above, I would still do it over again for the peace of mind it has afforded me later on.

b ) perhaps people are nervous, but that had nothing to do with the impersonal nature of my exam, and as I said above other people have noted the 'robotic' nature of this particular doctor at their exams. Different people have different personalities - the doctor I saw here for my vaccination records for our AOS application was friendly and chatty and we got along really well. Doctor Okraglik in Melbourne was much more businesslike right from the outset and that's okay, it's just the way he is. I certainly didn't behave any differently in front of either doctor, yet the rapport was vastly different on each occasion.

Edited July 24, 2007 by Loke

[hollywood79 0]

Kym,

I had 30 days from when I arrived to drive on an my Aussie license here in CA. Just check with your local DMV it may be different if you're one a K-1.

[SharynY 2]

hi Guys!! I AM APPROVED!!!!!

All went smoothly - got up at 5am to have brekkie and head over to the city - caught the train in...... and the two girls that saw me at the consulate were just lovely...... i'll post a review so you can read all about it!!

ALL APPROVED YAY!!!!

[Poi_n_J 0]

hi Guys!! I AM APPROVED!!!!!

All went smoothly - got up at 5am to have brekkie and head over to the city - caught the train in...... and the two girls that saw me at the consulate were just lovely...... i'll post a review so you can read all about it!!

ALL APPROVED YAY!!!!

Congratulations..!

[Kath 0]

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy sharyna congrats to you..

glad it went all smoothly for you...did they have any quarms about getting it sent to your work mate..

another one bites the dust...

kym your fiance is up next isnt he??? good luck to you for monday..

as for the driving over here...depends on which state you are in...some states ya dont have to have your international licence and i think i did read in CA it wasnt recognised...with mine i had to do the written test and then drive on my australian for 30 days and they were allowing me to go over my 30 days to go for my test ..which is next tuesday..even give them a ring because in some of the dmv.gov pages its hard to find out the precise information for non u.s. citz...but most need to see a ssn card some kind of id to proove you live here or the greencard..in ca you can produce the I-94 an approved notice for the greencard or the greencard itself..

in ohio they changed the law back in 2006 that they need to see something from uscis that verifies your a permanent resident..this also went for a state id..had a hell of a time getting that...

take care

kath