What to prepare while waiting for NOA2

[Gj & Cathy 20]

Hi I'm still waiting for my NOA2 and it has been 5 months of waiting... What other preparations can I do while waiting?  We filed this March 2018, as per my Timeline,  we should hear by September 20-27 for NOA2.  How accurate is that?

[Dee elle 1,368]

6 hours ago, Gj & Cathy said:

Hi I'm still waiting for my NOA2 and it has been 5 months of waiting... What other preparations can I do while waiting?  We filed this March 2018, as per my Timeline,  we should hear by September 20-27 for NOA2.  How accurate is that?

Become a well read fanatic of the state.gov website....specifically the NVC process 

Make sure you have documents in hand as much as possible

Read the instructions and practice filling out the I864 and DS260

write down your residential history since you were 16y/o for the  DS 260

research info on getting the AFP police check 

locate the Dr you will use for the medical and ascertain how long you would need to wait to get an appointment.. usually around a couple of weeks 

get tax advice to consider how you will handle your Aussie assets

get your medical records including vaccination history

get multiple originals of documents such as birth and marriage certificates  

think about what you will ship over and how, and how you will deal with the rest 

 

[Gj & Cathy 20]

13 hours ago, Dee elle said:

Become a well read fanatic of the state.gov website....specifically the NVC process 

Make sure you have documents in hand as much as possible

Read the instructions and practice filling out the I864 and DS260

write down your residential history since you were 16y/o for the  DS 260

research info on getting the AFP police check 

locate the Dr you will use for the medical and ascertain how long you would need to wait to get an appointment.. usually around a couple of weeks 

get tax advice to consider how you will handle your Aussie assets

get your medical records including vaccination history

get multiple originals of documents such as birth and marriage certificates  

think about what you will ship over and how, and how you will deal with the rest 

 

Hi Dee Elle...where can I find I864 and DS260 to practice please?

Also, why multiple originals of birth certificates? Certified copy no good?

[Dee elle 1,368]

14 minutes ago, Gj & Cathy said:

Hi Dee Elle...where can I find I864 and DS260 to practice please?

Also, why multiple originals of birth certificates? Certified copy no good?

USCIS website search for I864. Look for the form and the instructions 

DS 260 sample 

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/DS-260 Exemplar.pdf

 

In the US, certified copy means something different to Aus 

Aus.. certified copy is a photocopy of the document you got from the issuing agency.. eg birth certificate.. which you then get certified by  an appropriate person.. police etc.. stating it is a true copy. In Aus that is accepted like the original. 

In the US , a certified copy id the form you received from the agency. what you would call an original.. they do not recognise nor have a similar “true copy” process 

Get multiple originals from the AUST Gov agency before you leave, as you need them for many things in the US  

Edited August 22, 2018 by Dee elle

[Gj & Cathy 20]

13 minutes ago, Dee elle said:

USCIS website search for I864. Look for the form and the instructions 

DS 260 sample 

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/DS-260 Exemplar.pdf

 

In the US, certified copy means something different to Aus 

Aus.. certified copy is a photocopy of the document you got from the issuing agency.. eg birth certificate.. which you then get certified by  an appropriate person.. police etc.. stating it is a true copy. In Aus that is accepted like the original. 

In the US , a certified copy id the form you received from the agency. what you would call an original.. they do not recognise nor have a similar “true copy” process 

Get multiple originals from the AUST Gov agency before you leave, as you need them for many things in the US  

Thanks for the link Dee!!!

Oh my I was born in Manila so I have to get copies there...as per Marriage Certificate, I'll just get my husband to get more from where we got married in Cali.

Now to get my AFP Clearance!

How's your process going btw?

[Dee elle 1,368]

We have been in the US for 2 years now. We came on IR 5... parents of USC as we have 2 adult dual citizen children and 6 grandkids in the US. We applied Dec 2015 and it was only taking 8 months then. I still cruise the vj website and hopefully provide some support !! PM me anytime ! 

[Gj & Cathy 20]

3 hours ago, Dee elle said:

We have been in the US for 2 years now. We came on IR 5... parents of USC as we have 2 adult dual citizen children and 6 grandkids in the US. We applied Dec 2015 and it was only taking 8 months then. I still cruise the vj website and hopefully provide some support !! PM me anytime ! 

Thanks Dee! Must be super hard for you...the waiting is a killer...

[AussieBubba 4]

I would agree with what Dee elle said. Also, my experience is that the USCIS timelines are reasonably accurate give or take a couple of weeks. The waiting is hard but try not to worry. There is still a lot of waiting to do yet and plenty of time to get ready for the next step.

[Gj & Cathy 20]

2 hours ago, AussieBubba said:

I would agree with what Dee elle said. Also, my experience is that the USCIS timelines are reasonably accurate give or take a couple of weeks. The waiting is hard but try not to worry. There is still a lot of waiting to do yet and plenty of time to get ready for the next step.

Hi AussieBubba...when you say USCIS Timelines, did you mean to say myuscis.com site or VisaJourney?

How's your timeline going?

[AussieBubba 4]

22 hours ago, Gj & Cathy said:

Hi AussieBubba...when you say USCIS Timelines, did you mean to say myuscis.com site or VisaJourney?

How's your timeline going?

Hey there, I was talking about the USCIS website, it'll change from month to month but as it gets closer it is more accurate - at least in our experience, we lodged in May 2017 and got our NOA2 in January 2018 which was expected.

My IR1 has been issued just waiting on my passport to be returned in the post -  this seems to be the most nerve racking bit i.e. hoping Aus Post doesn't lose my passport!

Edited August 24, 2018 by AussieBubba

[Gj & Cathy 20]

1 minute ago, AussieBubba said:

Hey there, I was talking about the USCIS website, it'll change from month to month but as it gets closer it is more accurate - at least in our experience, we lodged in May 2017 and got our NOA2 in January 2018 which was expected.

My IR1 has been issued just waiting on my passport to be returned in the post -  this seems to be the most nerve racking bit i.e. hoping Aus Post doesn't lose my passport!

Sorry for the ignorance but how do I go to the USCIS site to check the time lines please?

[AussieBubba 4]

2 minutes ago, Gj & Cathy said:

Sorry for the ignorance but how do I go to the USCIS site to check the time lines please?

Go to USCIS website and navigate to the Case Status online page, at the bottom of the page is a box called 'USCIS processing times information' - select that box which will navigate to another page - select your circumstance from the drop down boxes (i.e. I-130 and Nebraska Service Center in my case) and submit. The dates that are displayed correspond to the case NOA1 dates they are currently working - at the moment it is 26 November 2017.

 

Hope this makes sense.

[Gj & Cathy 20]

1 minute ago, AussieBubba said:

Go to USCIS website and navigate to the Case Status online page, at the bottom of the page is a box called 'USCIS processing times information' - select that box which will navigate to another page - select your circumstance from the drop down boxes (i.e. I-130 and Nebraska Service Center in my case) and submit. The dates that are displayed correspond to the case NOA1 dates they are currently working - at the moment it is 26 November 2017.

 

Hope this makes sense.

Many many thanks AussieBubba!!!