LAND DOWNUNDER

[k32007 0]

Hi all,

I'm the USC & my wife just received Packet 3. However, she's away from OZ on business for several weeks & thus can't do the medical for a while. She's sent in her request for the police check and we have all the other documentation ready to go, save the medical.

The question is whether we can send the consulate most of the documentation they require (eg not the police checks & not the medical) and ask for them to schedule the interview? Or, do they really need all of the documentation before they'll proceed?

Is it critical to send in all the existing documentation first, or can we email them?

Finally, I've heard that they will sometimes schedule appointments around USC visits... I'm headed over towards the end of May-- will that make any difference?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Brian

[patriciaofoz 0]

Thanks - We will just wait it out and hope they return it. I'm just really disappointed as we had put so much time into planning, only to mess up something as simple as that. I'm trying to remain positive but this is a kick in the guts.

Most definitely keep positive. I know it's easy for me to say now...but at the time I was frustrated too but then I realised that getting more frustrated wasn't going to get it to us earlier. This whole process is going to frustrate you about 1093574938 more times over, so it's best to just chill out as much as you can

All the best!

P.S. Don't mean to scare you about the "This whole process is going to frustrate you about 1093574938 more times over" bit It probably won't frustrate you at all!

Edited April 25, 2008 by patriciaofoz

[Kath 0]

hi k3

The part about sending all documents into the consulate to get an interview date is a new thing..to me there is not much known about the rules ...

I would email the sydney consulate to verify if this is possible..there is usually a waiting time to get a medical appointment..which state your fiancee from...the consulate is very good at answering emails.. can you let us aussie's know what the answer was to your question cos it could help someone else in the same situation as you down the tracks ..thanks mate..and also on the visiting usc ..you have to write a letter explaining why you want a particular date for your interview..my husband wrote a letter stating he wanted to be with me at the interview for moral support and we got the date we wanted.. ohh one hint look at the days as well as the date when thinking up one..if you ask for a friday you either have to go back on monday and pick up the visa or get it posted out...friday's just adds to the expense of hotels flights and such...

hiya patrica

how u doing...

hello to all the others ...i know i read somewhere someone got an interview date.. congrats to you.. im on a page where if i go back to read the post i will loose everything i have typed here so do forgive me for not naming you..

hope everyone else is going well and enjoying spring...to the aussie's its your turn to freeze ya butts off ..*if ya in a cold state that is* lol

take care

kath

[whisper2me 0]

Thanks - We will just wait it out and hope they return it. I'm just really disappointed as we had put so much time into planning, only to mess up something as simple as that. I'm trying to remain positive but this is a kick in the guts.

Most definitely keep positive. I know it's easy for me to say now...but at the time I was frustrated too but then I realised that getting more frustrated wasn't going to get it to us earlier. This whole process is going to frustrate you about 1093574938 more times over, so it's best to just chill out as much as you can

All the best!

P.S. Don't mean to scare you about the "This whole process is going to frustrate you about 1093574938 more times over" bit It probably won't frustrate you at all!

Ohhh I'm a very patient person Not! lol Congrats on your wedding Patricia!! You married a week before us!

[patriciaofoz 0]

Ohhh I'm a very patient person Not! lol Congrats on your wedding Patricia!! You married a week before us!

Thanks! April is a very good month to get married

Hi Kath! Yes, Spring has sprung! There's all this colour and the birds are chirping and the squirrels are hiding The humidity of Missouri has hit though, which is not something I'm too used to. I'm used to dry heat, not sticky bleh heat. Oh, we'll I'm sure I'll survive.

I got my SSN yesterday - we went to the office to get it but my card is still MIA. We're collating all our AOS stuff this weekend - I know, we've been procrastinating And then we wait...and pray that I can leave the country by December 27th of this year (what are my chances?!?!). I don't know whether to apply for the Advance Parole now or just wait? Any suggestions?

I really miss my family - I spoke to my parents and siblings last night, just randomly catching up. I keep telling them to take photos so I can see them but they're all slackers (I was the family photographer), so I'm a bit bummed about that. And it's my birthday next week and I'm thinking of having an Aussie themed get together with our friends but...I can't cook anything Aussie! Do they sell those Pavlova eggs here? Lamingtons are (or might be) too complicated to learn between now and next Friday. And...no vegemite sandwiches here Got any suggestions?

Well, hope everybody's well and considering it has been quiet lately it must be everybody's out there enjoying Spring!

Take care,

Patricia

[densusan 0]

Hi Kath,

Hope all is well with you and you are enjoying the spring weather. Won't be long and you will be doing your I-751 soon and if your lucky it will be transfered to CSC because it seems they are approving in 3 to 4 months......LUCKY them! I haven't heard anything and looking at the timelines for VSC they are only processing March 2007, so it could be quite a wait buts what new.

Hi Patricia,

First of all congrats on your recent marriage! I think we all hear you about missing family and friends.......it can be really tough sometimes. Poor Kath hasn't been back at all yet and I can only imagine how much she is wanting to go back for a visit. Hugs Kath. I was lucky enough to go back last March but feels like forever ago! Check a few timelines and see how others from the service centre you are doing your AOS at are going and it should give you a rough idea of how long it will take to get your green card. I guess you are planning a trip back to Adelaide in December? I'm looking at flights at the moment to go back to Adelaide in August because I have my NOA1 extension letter now (removal of conditions), so I'm good to go. Kath will second me on this one.........I applied for both EAD and Advance Parole and all I can say is that it was a waste of money! They approved my AOS and I never heard anymore about the the other applications but in saying that I guess it depends on how quick you are approved and peace of mind I guess.

Hi to everyone else.

Susan

[Rings 10]

Hope all my Aussie/American friends are doing okay *hugs*

[patriciaofoz 0]

Kath will second me on this one.........I applied for both EAD and Advance Parole and all I can say is that it was a waste of money! They approved my AOS and I never heard anymore about the the other applications but in saying that I guess it depends on how quick you are approved and peace of mind I guess.

Hi Susan

Hmm...waste of money? I think the fee of $1010 we already need to pay for AOS, the Advance Parole is already included within it. I'm not sure if we're going to apply now...and no, unfortunately the trip in December is not to Australia. It's to the Philippines where we'll be doing our non-quickie wedding. Best thing, all the important family and friends will be joining us so it'll be like going home to Adelaide. Yeah, we get to do another wedding all over again That's why it's imperative I get to leave the country by then, or else they'll be a wedding without me

So fingers crossed...

All the best, everyone!

[HednJimmy 0]

Hi all

Thanks to Kath for finding us in the K-1 forum and letting us know about the Australia thread!!!

We just filed our I-129F last week, so I know we have a long and tedious process ahead of us. My fiancé lives about an hour from Townsville and it looks like, according to the Aus Immigration website, you can only go to one or two *authorized* places for a medical, and the closest one to him is in Cairns...I'm reading the forum and seeing that some of you went to your regular doctor and got the medical, is that correct? What do you do in that process?

Also, when he receives his packet before his consulate interview, will there be a "checklist" of sorts included? I want to make sure we include everything that is needed. For example, since we have the process started, is he able to get a police report now if he wanted to? Am I able to send him the Affadavit of Support as well, or does it need to be closer to the interview time?

Ahhh, so many questions! I'm really glad this forum is here, and everyone is so helpful. Thanks again

Heather

[densusan 0]

Kath will second me on this one.........I applied for both EAD and Advance Parole and all I can say is that it was a waste of money! They approved my AOS and I never heard anymore about the the other applications but in saying that I guess it depends on how quick you are approved and peace of mind I guess.

Hi Susan

Hmm...waste of money? I think the fee of $1010 we already need to pay for AOS, the Advance Parole is already included within it. I'm not sure if we're going to apply now...and no, unfortunately the trip in December is not to Australia. It's to the Philippines where we'll be doing our non-quickie wedding. Best thing, all the important family and friends will be joining us so it'll be like going home to Adelaide. Yeah, we get to do another wedding all over again That's why it's imperative I get to leave the country by then, or else they'll be a wedding without me

So fingers crossed...

All the best, everyone!

Hi Patricia,

YEP......you are correct about the advance parole and EAD when you apply for AOS being included in the fee.....sorry. When I did it they were 3 seperate applications and 3 seperate fees and I never heard anything back that's why the comment about it being a waste of money because my AOS was approved very quickly. Maybe they found that this was happening on a regular basis and decide to include it all in one application the AOS. I'm pretty sure that Kath had the same thing happen as me but don't quot me on that.

I've just booked to go back to Australia in August and am really excited already. Wanted to beat some of the inevitable airfare rises and Qantas have quite good specials until the end of this month.

Hi Hednjimmy,

You will receive a list of the doctors closest to you but as far as I know you are unable to see your regular doctor for this medical exam. I had some of my required immunizations done with my regular doctor and then the USCIS approved doctor transferred te details to the correct forms. Yes you will get a checklist when you get the packet and as for the police check I wouldn't get it too far in advance because they are only good for a certain amount of time. Sorry I am not sure how long but someone on here is sure to know. Goodluck with the journey

Hi to everyone else......hope everyone here in the USA and back in Australia are doing well.

Susan

[whisper2me 0]

Hi all

Thanks to Kath for finding us in the K-1 forum and letting us know about the Australia thread!!!

We just filed our I-129F last week, so I know we have a long and tedious process ahead of us. My fiancé lives about an hour from Townsville and it looks like, according to the Aus Immigration website, you can only go to one or two *authorized* places for a medical, and the closest one to him is in Cairns...I'm reading the forum and seeing that some of you went to your regular doctor and got the medical, is that correct? What do you do in that process?

Also, when he receives his packet before his consulate interview, will there be a "checklist" of sorts included? I want to make sure we include everything that is needed. For example, since we have the process started, is he able to get a police report now if he wanted to? Am I able to send him the Affadavit of Support as well, or does it need to be closer to the interview time?

Ahhh, so many questions! I'm really glad this forum is here, and everyone is so helpful. Thanks again

Heather

Hi Heather,

Welcome to the Aussie thread! I am from Cairns so I am not too far from your fiance. At first I was happy to find that we (kids & self) would be able to have our medicals completed here in Cairns and actually save money on travel. However, when I phoned them, admin told me that she decided she didn't want to perform immigration medicals anymore. They weren't able to advise me if there has been a replacement here in Cairns, so the closest may end up being Brisbane - I hope not! I will let you know.

[patriciaofoz 0]

Hi Patricia,

YEP......you are correct about the advance parole and EAD when you apply for AOS being included in the fee.....sorry. When I did it they were 3 seperate applications and 3 seperate fees and I never heard anything back that's why the comment about it being a waste of money because my AOS was approved very quickly. Maybe they found that this was happening on a regular basis and decide to include it all in one application the AOS. I'm pretty sure that Kath had the same thing happen as me but don't quot me on that.

I've just booked to go back to Australia in August and am really excited already. Wanted to beat some of the inevitable airfare rises and Qantas have quite good specials until the end of this month.

I hope the same thing happens to us - that we get our AOS as quickly as you did. We put in the Advance Parole request anyway and I gave them 3 reasons as to why I believe I qualify. So fingers crossed! I really hope we get approved - even if it's not for December but for early next year because my older brother is having a baby and I'm going to be an Aunt for the very first time I am very excited about it. Anyway, I guess we just wait and see...

Oh, yeah, we sent off our AOS stuff this afternoon so it's on its way to Chicago. Again, fingers crossed everything in there is correct and there are no problems or RFE's. I think the waiting game is a bit different this time since I'm already in the US and with my husband. I have more patience this round

I read yesterday that QANTAS are hiking up their prices Bummer. Oh well, when going home to Australia price is not an issue when you know everyone meeting you on the other side is excited to see you back. Haha! Does it sound like I want to go back so much?

Off I go and watch the AOS threads...

[patriciaofoz 0]

I'm reading the forum and seeing that some of you went to your regular doctor and got the medical, is that correct? What do you do in that process?

Hi Heather

Some folks when to their GP to get their vaccinations done but unfortunately, all the rest must be done by an authorised doctor, as deemed by the US Govt. I don't know of anyway around this, unless there's something special for those around your area. Good luck - best to email the US Consulate in Sydney to verify.

Also, when he receives his packet before his consulate interview, will there be a "checklist" of sorts included? I want to make sure we include everything that is needed. For example, since we have the process started, is he able to get a police report now if he wanted to? Am I able to send him the Affadavit of Support as well, or does it need to be closer to the interview time?

There is definitely a checklist that the Consulate sends. But read up ahead because most of the letters/forms are on VJ (but keep in mind that the Consulate can change their checklist any time they want and the latest may not be the one up on VJ. We used VJ as a very good guide, but never as gospel. Like I tell everybody else, it's your call/judgement because it's your paperwork). My police check took a week to do so it wasn't much of a waiting game there. The one thing that did hold us up is the notarized document for the Affidavit of Support - perhaps starting to collate that is a very good idea.

Good luck with it all!

Edited April 28, 2008 by patriciaofoz

[Liam and Sam 2]

Quick question to those of you who have filed your K1 recently (with the rules changed to - must send in all documents/forms prior to interview). The medical instructions seem outdated and still say that the examiner will hand over the results and he should bring these with him to the interview. However, the packet 3 checklist includes medical results. I told him to go ahead and jot in his medical exam date and send in the checklist with everything else. Do you think they really want people to get their medical results to send in with the Statement of Readiness or just bring them to the interview?? Just curious. We sent it in without them and are crossing our fingers it won't be an issue.

[Kelli 0]

Hey guys, just dropping in too see how all are doing! Well, I have been busy with work and such, which is a good thing!!

Hey to all the new kiddies on the block! Hope you are with your loved one soon!