NEW ZEALANDers heading to the US and their USC spouses - POST HERE!

[rubyred 0]

i was feeling so alone and overwhelmed at the thought of the huge and lengthy process ahead of me, and finding this forum and particularly finding kim and kelzm, has diminished a lot of that.

it'll be great to be able to talk with people going through the same particular things as me, specific to nz and the auckland consulate.

(ps. Kim, thanks for the PM, i'll reply soon)

[KimandRuss 0]

Ahhhhh i'm home

Thanks for starting this Ruby.

*clink* here's to a speedy process for all!

[kelzm 0]

Yay! How exciting to see a New Zealand thread. Thanks Ruby, it's great to be able to chat with others going through the process.

Kim, you asked where abouts I'm from and where I'm going. I live in Auckland right now and planning to move to California - heading north a little to the San Benito County.

[KimandRuss 0]

kelzm, I was at the coast near Whakatane for three weeks but just left Auckland Monday night. It was heartbreaking.

Ruby, here is the link to the review page for the U.S. Embassy in Auckland. From other NZ's i've talked with (K1) the process has gone very fast once the consulate receives the petition from the NVC. Yes, I do believe it's quite a cost to call but I also believe it's well worth it when you do!

It seems kelzm had some good luck when she let the POE officers know she was coming to marry. Considering the consequences for visa fraud that others have faced, it's not something I would bring up too much! You could easily come over on the work visa (do you know how easy/hard this is for you to get?) and 'decide' whether or not to marry Jordan while you are here.

You mentioned this new 1-yr work visa? We looked into the work ( B ) visa as well but he needed a job to sponser him. Geologists are not in real high demand in Massachusetts.

Looks like you girls will be real close to each other once you are 'home'!

p.s. regarding the Embassy website. Auckland handles the immigrant visa's and yeah, they don't really have a website so it's not just you!

Edited February 18, 2008 by KimandRuss

[KimandRuss 0]

well hell... it seems we've missed the boat on just about everything! DCF changes, fee increases...now this! Russell is just 29 but it's been a few years since he completed his masters.

Congratulations on completing your studies. Hopefully this is easy for you to get and you can take your time with the whole process.

[KimandRuss 0]

So...perhaps you have your answer..

Because of the way it happened for us, we have lived together and travelled in Australia, New Zealand, America, Canada, England & (him) Ireland over the last 2 years. I'm not sure whether everything happens for a reason or not but I can tell you that I wouldn't give up any of those memories for anything. Like I said, we've known each other for 10 years and because we've essentially lived together for two years now it's extremely hard being separated. If there was any way I could be with him through this process I would be.

April 11th my divorce if FINALLY final and tomorrow I'll find out if I can simply pick up the decree I need to file for the K1. If so, i'll be sending it to VSC overnight!

[KimandRuss 0]

A lot of kiwi's seem to leave NZ for work. Russell was living in Australia a couple years ago for that very reason. It's an absolutely gorgeous country and the people are so pleasant. It's just so far removed from everything. I'm certainly glad to have ties back to NZ and know we'll be travelling there just as often as we can.

Now if we could just get Scotty to beam us over instead of those 13 hour flights (20 for me)....

[KimandRuss 0]

kim, i really really REALLY wish you the best of luck. i think with a 10yr history together it would be difficult for them to find a reason to deny russ a visa.

i miss jordan intensely. webcams are a great invention, and i'm thankful for them every day, but on those days when the internet freaks out and decides not to work for no apparent reason, it's so disheartening and is just a reminder of how tenuous that communication connection can be.

want to hear a really sweet story? one of the reasons jordan's parents are so great about our situation and how we met is because they were penpals for a really long time (18mths i think?) before they met in person, and their honeymoon was the longest time they had spent together up until that time! and we think we have it tough... imagine only being able to write letters and occasionally talk on the ph for 18mths!

Thank you so much. I wish the same for you.

Technology is a wonderful thing but i'll be SOOOO glad when my heart is no longer dependant on it!

What a great story about Jordan's parents! How sweet. It's so important to get to know someone from the inside out. How wonderful it is to finally be wrapped up in each other though!

btw...do you use the phone for communication at all? I've used nobelcom.com for years. It lets me call NZ very cheap. We don't use the phone too often but I always have a card available just in case. Yup...we're old pro's at this!

Ok well I must be off to bed now. I think my body is still on NZ time. Look forward to talking with you again soon.

[rubyred 0]

Thank you so much. I wish the same for you.

Technology is a wonderful thing but i'll be SOOOO glad when my heart is no longer dependant on it!

What a great story about Jordan's parents! How sweet. It's so important to get to know someone from the inside out. How wonderful it is to finally be wrapped up in each other though!

btw...do you use the phone for communication at all? I've used nobelcom.com for years. It lets me call NZ very cheap. We don't use the phone too often but I always have a card available just in case. Yup...we're old pro's at this!

Ok well I must be off to bed now. I think my body is still on NZ time. Look forward to talking with you again soon.

well, we used to phone each other pretty regularly, but mostly IM'd. then we started using skype in september to call each other, and then finally got webcams in october... and haven't really used the phone since, since skype is free.

does anyone use any other video calling service? skype can be pretty crappy a lot of the times, and we're wondering if there's more reliable service out there.

[KimandRuss 0]

Yeah, i'm still up...i suck.

We usually chat on msn but have also used aol, yahoo, netmeeting...just about every program I think...besides skype (strangely enough). Sometimes it's nice to just get off of the computer!

goodnight...really

[kelzm 0]

Gosh you two are chatterboxes!

Nice to see.

Kim - it's perfectly legal to enter the US to marry on the VWP as long as you are not intending to stay. That's why I took a long a bunch of evidence that I was leaving the country. They could still have turned me away, I actually heard the officer tell another she believe that I was going to return as I 'didn't have very much stuff'. I'd purposefully packed light (usually I take far too much clothing!) so that they wouldn't think I was trying to immigrate illegally.

It was a risk, but I felt pretty confident all through it that I'd be fine. However, while it is legal to go there and marry on the VWP if you're returning I'd probably advise others who are doing that to just state you're there for vacation and marry then return home. It'll save sitting in the little stainless steel room!

[cdneh 3,112]

I am not the only one!

I am in Auckland...but I am a Canadian with a returning resident Visa here. My fiancee is in Maryland.

We are just beginning and it all looks so daunting at the moment...I'm so pleased to have stumbled on this web site.

[KimandRuss 0]

kelzm... I was wondering about that. I suppose because you left you had no intent to immigrate just marry your love. Thanks for clarifying. I've never heard of anyone taking this route.

Welcome cdneh, good to have you with us.

[kelzm 0]

Nice to meet you cdneh. Good to have you on the NZ thread.

[kelzm 0]

Guys, I just got some good news. I've got my NOA2. Yippee.

Hopefully my case will be sent to NVC soon so I can get through there and on to the embassy.