Australians Waiting For Interview at US Consulate Sydney

[C & S - M 0]

On 1/1/2021 at 11:26 PM, ErinB said:

Friends! 
 

I’m wondering, for those of you who have already had the medical, what vaccines any of you required? 
I’ve got mine coming up and I’m terrified of needles 🙃🙃

I had mine a couple of weeks ago at MediCentral in Sydney and the below was what was required -

 

4. Immunisation Records as per US Consulate website for specific age groups.
The minimum requirements are:
• DTP (Diphtheria Tetanus Pertussis) – You need to be vaccinated unless you have a record showing that you have been vaccinated within the last 10 years.
• MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) if born in 1957 or later (blood test results to show immunity if no record of immunisation available)
• Chicken Pox (Varicella) (Blood test result to show immunity if no records available or a history of chickenpox in adults)
• Influenza Vaccine (for Medicals during 01 Apr to 30 Sep only)
If you are unable to show proof of immunisation or the test results are negative for immunity, you may need to be vaccinated during the Visa Medical Examination visit and extra costs will be incurred. If your local doctor immunises you, please bring proof of vaccination which states the date and batch number(s) with your doctor’s signature.

[Sahbear13 0]

Are the Medicare vaccination records on myGov enough proof?

[ErinB 17]

1 hour ago, Sahbear13 said:

Are the Medicare vaccination records on myGov enough proof?

I would think so. I have to call Medicare tomorrow, I can’t add it to myGov for some reason 

[tdrysdale 2]

On 1/1/2021 at 11:25 PM, ErinB said:

You just need your two US passport photos with your full name written on the back of both 

Thank you!

[RM1664 10]

Hi Visa Journey adventurers.

First time posting here, and I thought I would share my experience as a way to say thank you and give back to the community, as I found it very helpful.
Apologies in Advance for the long winded post.

I met my wife on a plane, I sat next to her from Tokyo to Brissie, and the rest they say is history. It was 1st of April 2018.
We got engaged in Vietnam in March of 2019. While travelling the USA for 2.5 months with her in summer of 2019 (us summer), we were discussing 
where to live and the arrangements regarding that, and we decided I would move to the USA. Due to the Gov websites not being very friendly in regards to getting clear and simple advice.
We decided to go see a lawyer in Denver to discuss the visa options. It was a free 30 min consultation.

First question I was asked by the lawyer was why am I leaving the USA? My response was because I was there on a ESTA and had to leave before 90 days was up.
He advised to not return to Australia, but to overstay, get married in the USA and apply for adjustment of status. because the other options of Fiancée visa being restrictive and not giving you much time to organize things, and apply for spouse visa can take up to 2 years outside of the USA. 

We thought this sounded like bad advice, so we decided to go see another lawyer this time. He basically said the same thing.
We were astounded at this advice.

What we decided to do, was get married before I left the USA (July 2019) and go back to Australia and Apply for the CR-1/IR-1 Visa and do it the slow but right way for us.
As I didn't like the idea of breaking of the law and asking for forgiveness after during the adjustment of status. As painful as we knew it would be to wait upwards of 2 years, vs 6 months if we broke the law.

 So we got married in July 2019 and I flew home to Australia and engaged a lawyer in Denver, Colorado to help with Filing.
Life got in the way a little, my wife went travelling overseas for 6 weeks with one of her best friends and didn't get to finish submitting her side of the first forms until late september with our attorney, we got a priority date of the 8th of Oct 2019.

I am not 100% sure of the exact requirements, and the lawyer didn't help at all with it, but with the criminal record checks, (as I have lived in a few countries before), I ended up over the last 18months applying for them 3 bloody times, as they expire ( which makes no sense, as I have not lived in some of those countries for 8 years and have not returned to them at any stage since I left). Make sure that you get an Australian Federal Police check and not a state based one. Also, I cant remember the exact option, but my first police check was denied as not valid because I chose the police check required for moving overseas, and the US Consulate wants the police check to be a "Complete Disclosure" for people moving to canberra and not a standard disclosure.
The option was either 35 or 33 from memory. If you are unsure which is the right one to apply for, call the afp number on the criminal records page and ask (thats what I ended up doing) and they will tell you the right option to apply for the USA visa for the complete disclosure option. I have both criminal record checks and the only difference between them is the words Complete and Standard, everything else is identical.

Also something else to note, that is lost in translation between British/Aussie English and American English is "certified copy".
To me a certified copy is getting a photocopy of a document and having it signed as a certified true copy by the Justice of the Peace JP), this is what the UK, Canada and Australia have always accepted as a certified copy. But in America, a certified copy is the original document, or a reprinted original from the direct source of the document, think of it like as asking for a replacement of a birth certificate or degree etc. that is what they mean. At my interview an Irish guy had JP certified docs and they got denied. so note, whenever you see certified copy, get the original.

Basically after applying we had heard nothing from the DOS CEAC or whatever they are called until early Nov, 2020, we they said my case would soon be moving to my local consulate for processing, it was a long painful wait of over a year with not hearing from them at all, the lawyer was pretty much "be patient". within 3 days of the message, I got note that they would soon be in contact to  schedule an interview, then a couple days after that I got a date saying my interview would be in Sydney on the 5th Jan and gave me a list of options whether to cancel completely, delay de to covid, or accept. I accepted it. Then arranged for a medical in Brisbane on the 16th Dec.

The medical is nothing to worry about, its expensive about $600 or so, took me 2 hours to do. In Brisbane upon arrival, they give you a cup to wizz in and tell you to go upstairs into the hotel above and use their toilets, and then come back down and give it to them. The doctor then test your urine for a certain STD right there on the spot, and also sends it off to a pathologist to get tested(you bring it with you to the pathologist) for another STD), the medical itself was mostly a family and personal medical history quiz, do you have a history of xxxxx disease or problem etc... then takes height and weight, blood pressure and reflexes. If you can walk into the medical without dying I think you will pass with flying colours. There was no alien butt or pee hole probing or getting naked, only took off my shirt and shorts, had underwear on still. after this, I had to walk to the other side of the CBD and go to the pathology place. They took my wizz cup, and took my blood to go get tested for Syphilis and other STD that are communicable etc. It doesn't hurt, its just a tiny bit of blood, and really fast. Then I had to walk into the queen street mall and get a TB Xray for my chest to show that I don't have it. They are just checking to make sure you don't have something that other people can catch like aids/hiv, syphilis, TB etc...  I didnt need any vacinations, as I already had them all from serving in the Royal Marines in the UK. I just brought my medical docs with me to medical and also to the consulate to show proof.

The Pathologist and Radiologist gather the results, send them to the doctor, and the doctor emails them to the consulate directly, but gives you a sheet saying you have completed your medical. I spent more time waiting for the medical stuff than actually doing it.

My wife took a massive redundancy from work in late 2017 and was enjoying travelling around the world and not working, our lawyer advised us, it would be better for our application if she returned to work to meet the financial sponsor requirements, so she packed up from Denver and moved to Provo Utah for a job she kept getting headhunted for there.
At the interview(Visa),  the officer said she had not been in the job long enough for it to count (4 months) and because she was enjoying her time off from work, she recorded no income for 2018 and 2019 on her tax returns, and that's what they base the financial sponsorship off, I was told I would have to get a joint sponsor at the interview, and it would delay the visa.
I asked if there was any other way without having to ask her family to sponsor us etc...They said she has to have easily liquid assets or savings, that are 3 times the minimum wage.
So basically, if she worked in 2019, she would have needed to earn approx. 23k USD, but the assets needed would have to be 3 times that amount or approx. 70k USD, my wife is an accountant and quite squared away financially, and easily had that in Investments and savings. So the consular officer accepted that instead of her job and salary of $70USD.
This was good and bad news. Good because I didn't need to go find another financial sponsor and it didn't delay my application, bad because my wife didn't want to return to work and she only took the job to help with visa, now she is stuck there for the next 2-3 years. Its a great job, and lovely people etc., but she wasn't ready to return to work. So if you are in a similar situation, they can financially assess you based of your sponsors savings and investments vs only having a job. Check with your layer about this, honestly our lawyer was a tax accountant and immigration attorney, and he dropped the ball on this one, and luckily we were prepared with a copy of all her personal finances at my interview.

The interview itself.

I went to Officeworks and bought a clear file case to put all my documents in. My lawyer gave me a document check list that was virtually the same as the US gov one they give, but just elaborated on the types of evidence in each section a little bit more. I arranged the documents in order of the checklist,  used paper clips to bundle and keep sections clear, and added a yellow post on the first page of each bundle for easy sorting.

Due to Sydney being in a covid hotspot, and I was coming from Brissie, I had 3 choices, cancel/postpone the interview, go to the interview and then return to Brisbane but get forced into mandatory hotel quarantine for $3k, or fly one way to Sydney, do the interview and wait in NSW for VISA and fly to America. I chose to fly to Sydney the day before interview, I stayed in the Travel Lodge on 165 Phillip Road martin Place  ( I booked through go snap travel for a discount through my WhatsApp I found it through travago travel website (https://www.snaptravel.com/) and it was $138 for the night). Its literally 200m from the Martin Place Train Station, and 300m from the US consulate, I left the hotel at 830, waited at 2 sets of lights to cross and was in the lifts at 835am). Honestly, I was so stressed out, arriving to Sydney the day before the interview, and being so close to the station and the consulate was such a relief. Then after the interview I am staying with some friends in Newcastle for the 3 weeks and I intend on flying out to USA at the end of January.

There are no obvious signs for the consulate, the building is undergoing construction. I entered basically a food court (it has super IGA and a bunch of takeaway shops).
Found the elevator and went to the top floor(8), you then exit the elevators walk around to the right a little bit, through  of a maze and into another set of elevators (about 30m walking around 2 corners from memory)
 the next elevator has a digital pad, has a bunch of floor numbers then a box that says US Consulate, press that to get to level 10.

When you leave the elevators, you basically walk a long curving hall way, and you will see the diplomatic Security teams there. They are very blunt and direct, don't be offended its their job. They asked did I have an appointment, was a citizen or visa applicant, then directed me to walkdown the stairs to a bathroom and wash my hands and return.

They made me pull out my phone, and they watched me closely to see it be switched off, then they made me put it in a security case and directed through the door into a line.

There was a Lebanese/Australia dual national in front of me. After a short wait of 5 mins, I was next, the lady asked me my name, appointment time and for more documents.
She sorted through them in about 30 seconds due to the way I organized everything, unlike the other guy who was a bit disorganized, and put some of my documents back into my case, and some into a new case she gave me to hold on to. Then comically told me to follow the markings on the floor around some velvet ropes for the lines, and directed me back literally 2ft away from where I was standing with her, to go through security (I could have taken 1 step to my right, but I had to go through the line.... hahahaha). Note, I was told by my lawyer, not to bring any electronic devices except for my phone, use a clear case, and not bring any bags etc.... I placed my shoes, folders, and wallet and phone in separate tubs, then went through a metal detector. at the other end I collected my shoes and the folders, but they kept my phone and gave me a receipt for it. So don't rely on having your phone with you, you cant have it. have all your info and docs printed in your folder.

After this, disinfected my hands again, was directed to another elevator where they control it and took me to the 26th floor. I exited and had to Disinfect my hands again, go through a door and then take a ticket number like you do at the motor registry and sit and wait to be called. In the section I was sitting in and could see, there was a visa section and US Citizen section. the Visa Section had about 8 booths (standing), the officers behind are all behind class, like in a prison movie or an old fashion bank talking to you through the glass with a microphone. Some of the booths are louder than others. So far this took about 20 mins, my appointment was for 9am, I arrived at 835, and my ticket says 857am when I sat down.

There was an older Chinese lady in her late 50's with her American husband, I could hear him, but not her or the officer, so I dont know what happened but they were there for 50 mins at least. There was a dual Irish/Australia citizen, the officers microphone was super loud, I could hear everything that was asked of him, he got denied his visa and has to follow up with the originals as he used a JP certified copy, and not the original copies (like I explained above), he was also asked questions for a solid 30 mins and copped a grilling. his medical was also expiring, so he would have to pay another $600 on top of waiting for original docs to arrive from Ireland. After he left, the dual Lebanese/Aussie guy (his English was not great) got grilled for 30 mins, he got denied, because he couldn't show enough evidence of the relationship. The officer wanted, plane tickets to see each other(itinerarys etc), social media proof, letters of support from friends and family who has seen you together. Everything, plus, he also had some JP certified stuff and not originals, and some stuff in Lebanese/Arabic that wasn't translated etc. his took about 30 mins as well and left with a Denied visa awaiting the suggested corrections. All of their problems were fixable, but might take another month of delay for them. At this stage I was not feeling confident, thinking maybe the officers were just hitting everyone with the Ban Hammer hahaha....

I was called up next, handed over the folder the clarke had arranged downstairs, he went through it quickly, said my wife's Job was not good enough and I need to show her income for 2019 (she was living off her redundancy money travelling around the world as she never took a gap year after uni, so decided her early 30's she would have some adventures). He then said I need her parents etc. to be a joint sponsor. I said is there any other way, and he said yes if you have 3x the amount required in liquid assets, so I handed over my wife's investment portfolio, tax stuff, and her banking info. They wouldn't even look at her Job (Accountant), Salary ($70k USD) or her pay slips etc. they didn't care and said she had enough liquid assets that the job was irrelevant, so that was our good and bad news. Good I didn't need to find another sponsor, bad because my wife took on a job she didn't want to help ensure I get over there. I feel tremendously guilty, but she is such a wonderful person, Ill do my best to make it up to her somehow. The officer noted, I had everything in order and what he wanted and he would process my visa this week and mail it back to me. He did not ask me any questions, and I was lucky if I was standing there for 5 mins with him, and said I was done, I didn't pay any more money, Didn't sign anything, wasn't handed anything to take home with me, that was it, and I left. I was surprised I wasn't grilled, but I suppose I was very organized and had everything ready for him, so I was not a pain in the #######, so no need to give me a hard time.

You need to make sure you bring a return envelope with you. This can be confusing as there are three different recommendations between the DOS  CEAC  website, the US Consul Website in Australia and the email they send you. They are all wrong adn have not been updated in a while. You have to use a return envelope that has signature required upon delivery. don't use a standard envelope, and the email advise is to get a Platinum Express Post  Envelope Medium.  All these are incorrect and they don't make platinum post anymore. Just go to Australia post, buy a 3kg Express Post Satchel bag (its yellow and white and made from plastic) its massive in size, but they are sending you more than your passport in return.. they have one pinned on the wall as you meet the first clarke downstairs who sorts your docs out. It cost me $23 for it. I put my name on it and used my friends address in Newcastle as the return address, I made sure to tell the officer upstairs that I couldn't return to Brissie without doing hotel Quarantine, and would be staying in Newcastle until I flew out. He said that was fine and he didn't care, as long as it was the right address. He said my passport and an immigration pack would be mailed to me inside. and I was not to open the immigration pack, only the express post envelope to get my passport.

that's it, I waited 15 months for the interview, 1hr 25 mins in the building going through security and sitting down staring at the others being interview, you are not even eavesdropping, the speakers are so loud everyone will hear everything you say and what the officer says, did a 5 min document exchange with the officer who was really cool, and had just arrived to Australia after a few years in Mexico as a consul officer there. All that waiting for 5 mins... It was over what a relief. 

I was so stressed out the few weeks before all of this, that I started breaking out in hives from stress, for the first time ever in my life, I had to go to the doctors and I was given steroids to calm them down. After all this, it was done in 5 mins, no questions, no grilling..... Just handed over docs, and they scanned my finger prints digitally at the counter. that was it.

Because we have been married less than two years, I will get a CR-1 visa which is a conditional relative, after apprx 18 months in the USA I apply for change of status to IR-1 and pay another fee ( I am not sure how much it is) then I don't have to fill out anymore silly forms etc.

We had digitally uploaded (or the lawyer did anyway) everything, from my MBA degree, to bank accounts, to digital passport photos from the post office, to references, to all of my wife's banking, taxes, house leases, investments etc... The officer within 20 seconds handed back every document of mine and said it wasn't needed, the only thing In the fat stack of paperwork he kept was our marriage certificate, everyone else was my wife's personal documents. I would recommend over preparing like we did and bringing everything. My document case from office works was a4 size and about 5cm thick, it was completely full of all my old passports, and all our documents and evidence. We made sure it was all uploaded digitally ontot he ceac application page ( or our lawyer did) and as well as me bring the actual docs in to the interview. Better safe than sorry.

I feel like we over prepared and because we had everything digital and in person, it made his life easier.

But we printed every plane itinerary for every flight we have ever taken together, then we also created a word doc that I printed, which was basically a plane ticket to Vietnam for both of us, then photos of every major city in Vietnam we went to together and took a couples selfie so saigon, Dalat, Hoi An, Hue, Danang, hanoi, Ha long ba, and added the dates of each of these places we took them in. then we did that process for Singapore, Malaysia all the places we went, vancouver, USA from Denver, to seattle right down to San Diego, to Australia from Brisbane to Newcastle, and then we took screen shots of shared/tagged facebook and instagrams posts they showed our relationship together or experieces we shared together like concerts, baseball games etc.
And then a few personal private WhatsApp's (this is our preferred way to call and message while we have been in separate countries.) and then receipts for things like hotels, engagements rings and Airbnb's during our travels together. In total I had 42 pages (double sided so 84 pages) printed off at office works, as our evidence of our relationship.

In the end the over preparation I think made it all easier for officer to assess, that is why I assume he asked no questions, because we were really squared away.

The moment I hit the 6th floor food court where I got off, I couldn't wait to call my wife in Provo, Utah and tell her the good news, but Sydney has laws about wearing masks indoors etc, so it was a painfully long 50m walk until i was outside and mask free to call her. We were really happy, she was quite overwhelmed and was at work when I called and started crying in relief, I think she was a little embarrassed and didn't want to make a scene, but its been a hard year for her, moving interstate by herself, he 15yr old dog/best mate passing away and starting a new job, but we got through it in the end. I called her at 1005 am, as it took about 5 mins to live the Consulate and get outside catching 2 elevators and walking.

Note again, no laptops, no bags are to be brought in at all, you cant leave them either. your phone or tablet will be confiscated too and given back when you leave.
You must wear a facemask the entire time. no exceptions. Wait as long as possible to get your police checks from all the countries you have lived more than 12 months in.
And make sure you get a complete disclosure from the Federal police and not a standard one. I have never had so much as a speeding ticket before and it was knocked back about 3 months ago, and I had to reapply for it. All that is different is one word its stupid, but rules are rules for bureaucrats...  The UK police check took about 3.5 weeks to arrive, and you can pay extra to get it done faster too.

It was hard to get an appointment so close to Christmas in Brisbane for my medical, and I got lucky with the last available slot. I recommended as soon as you get your interview date, schedule your Doctors medical asap. The receptionist was the hardest person to deal with in this whole process, it took 25 mins on the phone to book an appointment... ridiculous, he was just really obtuse, she kept telling me I needed to do my medical after my visa interview etc. She is wrong! get it done before if you want to be approved on the day of your interview. if you don't, you go into administrative processing until the medical is done, wasting a few more weeks. She also wanted my CEAC number, I said I don't know what that is but I have a case file number from the consulate. state dep that I use to login into their system. She said that wasn't it and she wouldn't schedule my appointment until I had it. I had to email my lawyer and ask for it, he said the CEAC number is the Case file number... So it delayed me a day there getting the medical done.

Make sure you go to Australia Post before your interview, get a 3kg express post satchel and ask the postal worker to make it a sign upon delivery parcel. It needs a Signature, I heard another officer tell a client that it needs to be signed for as the documents are sensitive that they are mailing back.
Take a photo of the sender tracking code for yourself, fill it out before you arrive at the embassy with your details, don't worry about the sender details the officer will sort that out and bring it with you, if you forget it, it would be a massive pain in the butt to go through all the security and floor changes run to the post office and back again...
 

The aussie fed poilce check, I think I checked the box for visa for moving overseas, but they want you to check the box for foreigners moving to Canberra basically, so that you end up with a Complete and not a standard disclosure. Call the AFP record number on the AFP criminal records page to check. it took me 5 mins to get through and the guy says he gets about 20 calls a month about being denied and needing the right one. Fed Police number to find out exactly which option is the complete disclosure you need. Ph: (02) 6140 6502 and it cost me $42 I think. https://www.afp.gov.au/what-we-do/services/criminal-records/national-police-checks

Also, for the medical in Brisbane at least, they wanted 2 Australian size passport photos, but the US Consulate on interview day requires to US Size passport photos. They are different. I think I had to wait to sign the passport photos in front of the medical receptionist, but I signed the US Size photos with my name CEAC number/cfn before the interview. I only need two for the interview. But I brought 4 just in case.
Basically ours are portrait rectangles and smaller than the yanks, and the yanks use square photos. If you use the wrong photos, it will just delay you and you'll have to wait a little longer.

 

UK police checks this is what I used and was accepted, but I made a mistake and did this 15 months ago, it expired twice on me. So I ended up paying for the UK check 3 times in total, and 2 times for the aussie one due to the mix up between Complete and Standard. The checks are only valid for 6 months and my last ran out end of Oct, and I had the new UK one end of Nov. It was a waste of money applying so early for them. https://www.acro.police.uk/police_certificates.aspx

Before they set my interview date, I got about 4 messages on their DOS CEAC page saying my appointments had all been cancelled, when I never received any notice of an interview being made. My lawyer told me, that basically their system is so old and bad, to set an appointment that have to check a box clearls any appointments that automatically sends an email saying its been cancelled, even if you never had one. I got a few of these for 2-3 days in a row, before I received the email saying interview on the 5th of Jan and do I wish to accept it.

I have now applied for a permit to leave Australia due to covid travel restrictions, I am uncertain if need one or not, as I wont be returning anytime soon to Australia, and I now have PR in the USA, Ill see if that gets approved or not, no one at border force on the phone was very helpful at all regarding if I needed it or not... I intend to fly out on the 26th of Jan.

I hope this helps anyone reading it regarding the how long it took us from Submission being accepted in Oct 2019, me applying for all of this from Australia, getting approved Jan 2021. and what happens when you arrive at the building etc.

Any questions Ill do my best to help with.

Lastly, we chose to pay for a lawyer, it was super expensive, we thought it would give us piece of mind. But honestly he just treated us like another number, took forever to respond to our emails etc, and didn't inspire a lot of confidence through it all. Finding this website about 4 months ago, was the best thing to happen during this entire process, lots of little nuggets of gold were dug in in searches, and reading about other peoples stories etc... 

Thank you to all who contributed and helped to make me feel more relaxed about what to expect.
Many apologies about a super long post!

Thanks for reading and good luck in your visa journey!!





 

Edited January 6, 2021 by RM1664

[HRQX 4,145]

52 minutes ago, RM1664 said:

As I didn't like the idea of breaking of the law and asking for forgiveness after during the adjustment of status.

The part that I disagree with those lawyers is the overstay first and then file for adjustment advice. In contrast, it should be file for adjustment ASAP. USCIS doesn't have the so-called "90-day rule." https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-8-part-j-chapter-3

"Although referred to by DOS as a “rule” in its Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM), the 90-day rule is not a regulation. It is DOS guidance to its officers, and as such, the 90-day rule is not binding on USCIS officers."

 

Also, intent is determined at entry for Immediate Relatives (as defined by the INA), not at the adjustment interview. See the BIA precedent rulings in Matter of Battista and Matter of Cavazos.

 

As an Immediate Relative, adjustment would have been straightforward in your case: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-b-chapter-8

An adjustment applicant applying as an immediate relative may be eligible to adjust status even if:

• The applicant is now employed or has ever been employed in the United States without authorization;

• The applicant is not in lawful immigration status on the date he or she files the adjustment application;

• The applicant has ever failed to continuously maintain a lawful status since entry into the United States;

• The applicant was last admitted to Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) as a visitor under the Guam or CNMI Visa Waiver Program and is not a Canadian citizen;

• The applicant was last admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant visitor without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program; or

• The applicant has ever violated the terms of his or her nonimmigrant status.

See following example:

"when he got to the question about if you ever violated terms and conditions of your immigration status he just said “and you overstayed your esta?” I said yes and he moved on..." I.e. it's not an issue.

52 minutes ago, RM1664 said:

I am not 100% sure of the exact requirements, and the lawyer didn't help at all with it, but with the criminal record checks, (as I have lived in a few countries before), I ended up over the last 18months applying for them 3 bloody times, as they expire ( which makes no sense, as I have not lived in some of those countries for 8 years and have not returned to them at any stage since I left). Make sure that you get an Australian Federal Police check and not a state based one. Also, I cant remember the exact option, but my first police check was denied as not valid because I chose the police check required for moving overseas, and the US Consulate wants the police check to be a "Complete Disclosure" for people moving to canberra and not a standard disclosure.
The option was either 35 or 33 from memory. If you are unsure which is the right one to apply for, call the afp number on the criminal records page and ask (thats what I ended up doing) and they will tell you the right option to apply for the USA visa for the complete disclosure option. I have both criminal record checks and the only difference between them is the words Complete and Standard, everything else is identical.

It's definitely category Code ‘33’ – Immigration/Citizenship – for supply to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

Edited January 6, 2021 by HRQX

[RM1664 10]

10 minutes ago, HRQX said:

The part that I disagree with those lawyers is the overstay first and then file for adjustment advice. In contrast, it should be file for adjustment ASAP. USCIS doesn't have the so-called "90-day rule." https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-8-part-j-chapter-3

"Although referred to by DOS as a “rule” in its Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM), the 90-day rule is not a regulation. It is DOS guidance to its officers, and as such, the 90-day rule is not binding on USCIS officers."

 

Also, intent is determined at entry for Immediate Relatives (as defined by the INA), not at the adjustment interview. See the BIA precedent rulings in Matter of Battista and Matter of Cavazos.

 

As an Immediate Relative, adjustment would have been straightforward in your case: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-b-chapter-8

An adjustment applicant applying as an immediate relative may be eligible to adjust status even if:

• The applicant is now employed or has ever been employed in the United States without authorization;

• The applicant is not in lawful immigration status on the date he or she files the adjustment application;

• The applicant has ever failed to continuously maintain a lawful status since entry into the United States;

• The applicant was last admitted to Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) as a visitor under the Guam or CNMI Visa Waiver Program and is not a Canadian citizen;

• The applicant was last admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant visitor without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program; or

• The applicant has ever violated the terms of his or her nonimmigrant status.

See following example:

"when he got to the question about if you ever violated terms and conditions of your immigration status he just said “and you overstayed your esta?” I said yes and he moved on..." I.e. it's not an issue.

It's definitely category Code ‘33’ – Immigration/Citizenship – for supply to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

Yeah the lawyers didnt seem to think it was a big deal at all but it just didnt feel right to do it. Maybe that is naïve and stupid of me, but it felt right in our case to do it the long way.
Although it was super important for us to be together ASAP, we dont have children etc, so their was not super important rush, and I felt like I would have been looking over my shoulder the whole time. My biggest regret is not finding this forum faster, it would have made everything a million times easier with so many informative posters like yourself here.

 

[ErinB 17]

Alrighty, probably the second-last update from me: 

 

Had my medical today at Toorak Village Medical with Doctor Charles something or other - can’t remember his last name. 
 

As it had been pointed out that it would be cheaper, I went to a doctor in Chadstone for my tetanus and diphtheria vaccine. I knew I didn’t need the varicella due to history, I shouldn’t need the flu vaccine because it’s out of season, and I have records of one of two MMR, which as far as I knew was the minimum - so that just left tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. I’m allergic to the pertussis part of that vaccine and I was given an alternate booster mix as a child as a result. I had documentation of my original allergic reaction, and figured that should be enough. 
 

I’m terrified of needles, so for anyone in the future reading this who’s worried about the medical part because of all the big scary jabs you have to get: for real, it was completely fine. 
 

So I had my tetanus etc vaccine in the morning, killed some time with a mate, then went to the medical assessment. 
 

I may have just gotten him on a bad day, but Dr Charles turned out to not be my all time favourite doctor. He was pretty curt with me, and I understand that this process requires asking a lot of questions but some of them came with an attitude of...suspicion, and interrogation. He kept saying “now circling back to..” and then proceeded to ask me whether I had a history of drug use about five times - which I definitely do not. He then got cranky with me because his computer would not accept today’s date as part of the vaccine record for my earlier tetanus vaccine excursion; which really feels like a him and his computer problem, and not a me problem 🤷‍♀️
 

He then proceeded to tell me that I would need my second MMR and also a flu vaccine. I didn’t argue, whatever. But he then also really tried to press me into having the pertussis vaccine, saying I probably never experienced a true allergic reaction, and may not have a reaction to the “new form” of the vaccine. Which may all be well and good, but if I have documented instances of reaction so severe that I was hospitalised for 24 hours, I told him that if it wasn’t necessary, I’d really rather not chance it. He eventually said that it wouldn’t be required because I do have documentation of a contraindication. 
 

The rest of the medical exam went smoothly. The nurse who did my subsequent vaccines was lovely and it didn’t hurt at all. The phlebotomist who took my blood sample was also very good and that didn’t hurt at all either. Off to X-ray, which to my dismay was over in a matter of seconds - I haven’t had to have an X-ray in a long time, I was kind of excited. 
 

Unfortunately Dr Charles Grumpypants is away on holiday until the 25th of Jan, so he won’t be able to sign off on my assessment and send it to the consulate until he gets back, so I’d say we won’t have a physical visa until about the tenth or so of Feb. 

Edited January 7, 2021 by ErinB

[zochu 255]

4 hours ago, ErinB said:

Alrighty, probably the second-last update from me: 

 

Had my medical today at Toorak Village Medical with Doctor Charles something or other - can’t remember his last name. 
 

As it had been pointed out that it would be cheaper, I went to a doctor in Chadstone for my tetanus and diphtheria vaccine. I knew I didn’t need the varicella due to history, I shouldn’t need the flu vaccine because it’s out of season, and I have records of one of two MMR, which as far as I knew was the minimum - so that just left tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. I’m allergic to the pertussis part of that vaccine and I was given an alternate booster mix as a child as a result. I had documentation of my original allergic reaction, and figured that should be enough. 
 

I’m terrified of needles, so for anyone in the future reading this who’s worried about the medical part because of all the big scary jabs you have to get: for real, it was completely fine. 
 

So I had my tetanus etc vaccine in the morning, killed some time with a mate, then went to the medical assessment. 
 

I may have just gotten him on a bad day, but Dr Charles turned out to not be my all time favourite doctor. He was pretty curt with me, and I understand that this process requires asking a lot of questions but some of them came with an attitude of...suspicion, and interrogation. He kept saying “now circling back to..” and then proceeded to ask me whether I had a history of drug use about five times - which I definitely do not. He then got cranky with me because his computer would not accept today’s date as part of the vaccine record for my earlier tetanus vaccine excursion; which really feels like a him and his computer problem, and not a me problem 🤷‍♀️
 

He then proceeded to tell me that I would need my second MMR and also a flu vaccine. I didn’t argue, whatever. But he then also really tried to press me into having the pertussis vaccine, saying I probably never experienced a true allergic reaction, and may not have a reaction to the “new form” of the vaccine. Which may all be well and good, but if I have documented instances of reaction so severe that I was hospitalised for 24 hours, I told him that if it wasn’t necessary, I’d really rather not chance it. He eventually said that it wouldn’t be required because I do have documentation of a contraindication. 
 

The rest of the medical exam went smoothly. The nurse who did my subsequent vaccines was lovely and it didn’t hurt at all. The phlebotomist who took my blood sample was also very good and that didn’t hurt at all either. Off to X-ray, which to my dismay was over in a matter of seconds - I haven’t had to have an X-ray in a long time, I was kind of excited. 
 

Unfortunately Dr Charles Grumpypants is away on holiday until the 25th of Jan, so he won’t be able to sign off on my assessment and send it to the consulate until he gets back, so I’d say we won’t have a physical visa until about the tenth or so of Feb. 

 

that is why I did not have my appointment with him. 
 

I paid the bit extra and went to Dr Stephanie at Sonic Health near Flagstaff station. She was amazing.

 

to anyone else in Victoria - do not go to Toorak Village. 

go to Dr Stephanie in the CBD 

[Laur800 0]

It has been really helpful reading through everyone's recent experience. My husband just got DQ'd on 6 January, and I am wondering how long it will take to get an interview scheduled for IR-1 and if there is a backlog due to border closures. Can anyone share how long it took to get their interview scheduled recently?

 

Thanks!

[Cam & Elle 0]

21 hours ago, Laur800 said:

It has been really helpful reading through everyone's recent experience. My husband just got DQ'd on 6 January, and I am wondering how long it will take to get an interview scheduled for IR-1 and if there is a backlog due to border closures. Can anyone share how long it took to get their interview scheduled recently?

 

Thanks!

I had my interview on the 5th of Jan after being DQ'd at the end of November. I actually sent an email asking if there were any earlier slots due to the border closures and they replied that this hadn't impacted the current schedule. I am based in Sydney however so border closures did not impact me. I can't comment if there is a backlog from NVC sending cases to the consulate. 

I would recomment applying for an expedite request, we submitted one in late November (had pretty general circumstances, send me a dm if you want me to list out exactly what we put down). We applied a couple days after being DQ'd and had the interview sheduled about 5 weeks after submitting the expedite request. This depends on your situation but I had read some others what had not gotten thier cases expedited taking months to be passed to the consulate after getting DQ'd. 

For the request: 

You can send an email to NVCExpedite@state.gov in the following stucture:
 

NVC Expedite Request 
NVC Case Number:
Invoice ID Number:

Beneficiary:
First Name: 
Last Name: 
Date of Birth: 

Petitioner:
First Name: 
Last Name: 
Date of Birth: 

Dear NVC, follwed by the reasoning 

We did around 500 words explaining the circumstances and attached some supporting documents 

This was ackowledged and approved within 2 weeks and then fowarded on to the consulate. Once the consulate recives your case they will give you the following options:
 

1 – Please schedule the next available appointment.

2 – I am unable to attend an interview due to COVID-19 restrictions in my State or Territory. I will contact you for an appointment as soon as I can attend.

3 – I am not yet ready to attend an interview, I will contact your office 2 months prior to when I hope to have an interview scheduled. I understand this may be longer due to the effect of COVID -19 on scheduling availability.

Once I had responded to this I had my interview date within 2 days. 
 

[Jean Silva 1]

Hi there,

I hope everyone is okay.

 

I just got my case complete in the NVC. I am thinking of requesting the expedite of the interview, but I am in Brisbane and the border of Queenslad is closed to NSW at the moment.

 

How long is it taking on average between sending the expedite request email to scheduling the interview?

 

Does anyone know how to reschedule the interview, in case this problem happens?

[Laur800 0]

9 hours ago, Cam & Elle said:

I had my interview on the 5th of Jan after being DQ'd at the end of November. I actually sent an email asking if there were any earlier slots due to the border closures and they replied that this hadn't impacted the current schedule. I am based in Sydney however so border closures did not impact me. I can't comment if there is a backlog from NVC sending cases to the consulate. 

I would recomment applying for an expedite request, we submitted one in late November (had pretty general circumstances, send me a dm if you want me to list out exactly what we put down). We applied a couple days after being DQ'd and had the interview sheduled about 5 weeks after submitting the expedite request. This depends on your situation but I had read some others what had not gotten thier cases expedited taking months to be passed to the consulate after getting DQ'd. 

For the request: 

You can send an email to NVCExpedite@state.gov in the following stucture:
 

NVC Expedite Request 
NVC Case Number:
Invoice ID Number:

Beneficiary:
First Name: 
Last Name: 
Date of Birth: 

Petitioner:
First Name: 
Last Name: 
Date of Birth: 

Dear NVC, follwed by the reasoning 

We did around 500 words explaining the circumstances and attached some supporting documents 

This was ackowledged and approved within 2 weeks and then fowarded on to the consulate. Once the consulate recives your case they will give you the following options:
 

1 – Please schedule the next available appointment.

2 – I am unable to attend an interview due to COVID-19 restrictions in my State or Territory. I will contact you for an appointment as soon as I can attend.

3 – I am not yet ready to attend an interview, I will contact your office 2 months prior to when I hope to have an interview scheduled. I understand this may be longer due to the effect of COVID -19 on scheduling availability.

Once I had responded to this I had my interview date within 2 days. 
 

Thanks for this. Since we aren’t in a major rush at the moment (I’m a dual citizen so we are together, living in Aus) so I might see what happens over the next month. 

[jMarti 2]

On 12/10/2020 at 2:45 AM, icantsmell said:

Hi everyone

 

I've been lurking on this thread for a couple of months now lol. My husband has been in Melbourne, when we heard they were lifting the lockdown restrictions we requested an expedite so that maybe he could have been hear after new years.

At first,

-On 11/9 we got an e-mail saying our "Immigration Appointment was Cancelled" even though there was never any immigration appointment scheduled.

-On 11/14 we got an e-mail saying our request for expedite has been approved.

 

We have heard no news since 11/14. No interview appointment has yet been assigned to us. I'm getting worried and depressed. I haven't seen anyone wait almost a month between getting their request for expedite approved and having an interview scheduled.

 

Anyone else in same boat?

 

 

VISA CLASS:	CR1
YOUR CASE IS CURRENTLY AT:	SYDNEY
FOREIGN STATE OF CHARGEABILITY:	AUSTRALIA
INTERVIEW LOCATION:	SYDNEY
PRIORITY DATE:	29-JUL-2019

Hi,  I'm in a similar boat as you right now where we received an email stating that the "Immigration Appointment was Cancelled" although we never received any email or messages on CEAC stating that we had any interview scheduled.   We are currently in Melbourne.

 

Did you ever get your interview scheduled and how long did it take?  Thanks!

 

VISA CLASS:	CR1
YOUR CASE IS CURRENTLY AT:	NVC
FOREIGN STATE OF CHARGEABILITY:	AUSTRALIA
INTERVIEW LOCATION:	SYDNEY
PRIORITY DATE:	08-JUN-2020

[icantsmell 0]

1 hour ago, jMarti said:

Hi,  I'm in a similar boat as you right now where we received an email stating that the "Immigration Appointment was Cancelled" although we never received any email or messages on CEAC stating that we had any interview scheduled.   We are currently in Melbourne.

 

Did you ever get your interview scheduled and how long did it take?  Thanks!

 

VISA CLASS:	CR1
YOUR CASE IS CURRENTLY AT:	NVC
FOREIGN STATE OF CHARGEABILITY:	AUSTRALIA
INTERVIEW LOCATION:	SYDNEY
PRIORITY DATE:	08-JUN-2020

Hi!

We got the email asking for correspondence to schedule an interview on December 9.

On December 9 we replied and we received a response on December 13 telling us our interview will be on 12-Jan.

 

The interview went smooth, now my husband is basically stranded in Sydney because he's from Melbourne. He's asked the consulate to mail him the passport/whatever else to his hotel so he can travel straight to USA from Sydney.

Unfortunately there's been no movement on neither the travel exemption to leave the country, nor the passport so we're just bleeding $ since he has to keep extending his hotel stay.

 

Does anyone else have an estimate or is anyone else waiting right now for getting their passport/docs back from the consulate? How long does it typically take? We've been waiting since the 12th.

 

Thanks