Some questions (IR1 visa)

[lirpa11 16]

Hi everyone

I have a few questions. If I can find the answers somewhere else, feel free to direct me there and I will have a read.

1) I read somewhere that the interview for my husband (Australian Citizen) to obtain his IR1 (spouse) visa will be in Sydney? Is this correct, and if so why do they not do it in Perth if there is a consulate there.

2) We have received our NOA2. Will our interview only be scheduled once all other documents are lodged and fees paid (AoS etc), or does it happen automatically and we need to get a move on?

3) How much of a notice are you given for the interview? 2 weeks, 4 weeks? Or do you advise when you are available.

4) We live in Australia and have not lived in USA before. Therefore we intend to use assets for the AoS. Assets include cars, money in the bank, and equity in our house. We believe we will have more than the $60k. Has anyone else done this and was it successful? We can ask someone to be a joint sponsor, but I would rather we do it ourselves. Has anyone been successful doing this without a joint sponsor? Or should I have one lined up and ready to go.

5) What exactly happens at the interview and what is its purpose? Is it to go through everything from the I-130 to the AoS, the immigrant's intentions etc?

I'll add on any other questions I can think of, but any help (preferably your own experiences) would be of assistance!

Thanks

[lirpa11 16]

Also, I know the assets must be easily liquidated within 12 months. That doesn't mean we have to liquidate though does it? I'm guessing not as it doesn't say that but I just want to make sure. We plan on keeping an investment property here, but will sell most everything else. The investment will probably have some of the asset amount in it used for the AoS (3 x 125% poverty limit), but we would prefer to keep that here and take other amounts with us. We intend to get jobs shortly after arriving in USA, and I don't feel we should carry $60k over to the USA as I think we can move and start a new life on less than that.

We can stay with my family if needed, but will try to get on our own straight away...

I don't know. Maybe I am thinking too hard into it all.

Thanks

[lirpa11 16]

I have found some of my answers.

1) Yes - only Sydney processes the IR1 Visas as an immigrant. http://canberra.usembassy.gov/iv_faqs.html#bush

2) Once all documents and fees are paid we will be scheduled an interview (thankfully not automatically after I-130 is approved)

3) Interview is scheduled within 30 days from everything being done with immigration

4)?

5)? I'm guessing just to look at the immigrant to make sure it appears ok at face value.

That leaves my questions about the AoS unanswered. I did find a couple of similar questions on here, but they were also unanswered. I have read that a co-sponsor if looked better upon, but we would rather not go that route and do it ourselves.

[meehan 43]

Chiming in a little late, but hopefully can help you out a little.

1. You've already answered this, but yes Sydney is your only option for the interview. There are a number of medical practitioners who can do the medical though, just be sure to check the consulate website for approved Drs

2. Unfortunately you have a ways to go until the interview as NVC is substantially backlogged at the moment. Once your case arrives at NVC you are looking at 30 business days for a case number, then 30 days until you can complete the DS260 and pay the AOS fee, then 30 days until you can complete the DS261 and pay the IV fee. When you pay the AOS fee and IV fees and post your packages it will take 30 business days for them to be reviewed, and they are reviewed in order of receipt. They (NVC) are currently working on mail received from the 5-6th of June for IR1-CR1 cases. Once you receive a Case Complete, depending on the time of month you may have to wait a couple of weeks for an interview to be scheduled. On the plus side, the Sydney consulate seems to be scheduling interviews about 3-4 weeks from case complete.

Don't be disheartened by all of this - NVC may well pick up their game like USCIS did and put on extra staff to clear the backlog. It's worth having all your paperwork ready to go in anticipation

3. The interview is scheduled by NVC on your behalf and is subject to availability of the consulate, not your availability. I think the Sydney consulate only does interviews on Tuesdays and Thursdays (someone else correct me here if I'm wrong) which limits openings

4. I'm pretty sure that if you are using assets to qualify, you actually have to satisfy 5x the poverty level. 3x is for when you are using income to qualify. That being said, we used assets as our primary means of qualification with no issue. There are a lot of instructions in Saylins wiki - http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process. I suggest you review that and include a covering letter explaining how you have arrived at your equity figure. We used cash and equity in our house as our assets, and included currency conversions with all of our statements, property valuation, etc. Be careful about using a vehicle as an asset - I can't remember exactly what the rules are, but there is something around whether you can use them. Also worth noting in your cover letter that all assets can be converted to cash within 12 months, and that there are no limitations on the amount of cash you can take out of Australia at any one time (some countries have restrictions on this so worth highlighting that it isn't a problem). You don't have to liquidate the assets, but it's worth noting that they can be liquidated easily

5. The interview is to confirm that all details you have submitted to date are true, and that the intending immigrant is legitimate. They can ask you questions from any part of the process so it's worth being prepared for interrogation. You can find lists of interview questions in the IR1-CR1 forum. That being said, from what I gather the Sydney consulate is pretty relaxed in their interviews so it may not be too much of an issue for you

Check in on the NVC thread on the IR1-CR1 forum. Lots of people going through the same process there who can help with any questions that Saylins wiki doesn't answer.

Good luck with it

[lirpa11 16]

Thanks so much for your reply!! I did read about the 5x limit later so that's ok. Car wise we might try and sale them so we have the cash instead. So much to do, so keeping busy ha ha

[razspaz13 30]

lirpa your process is going really really fast so pat yourself on the back

I have learnt that every single case can be different, I would have the joint sponsor as a back up ahead of time just in case

when things start to move forward a lot it goes super fast and is a lot easier

cheers