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| Sydney, Australia |  Review on June 28, 2008: |
kaffy
Rating:  | Review Topic: Direct Consular Filing
We checked in at the Consulate at about 9.50am for our 10am 1-130 appointment. It was quite busy so we didn't get called till about 10.45 but that was fine. The lady in Window #1 was very friendly and we submitted the I-130 documents to her. She didn't take any of our supporting documents though because she said they were for my 2nd interview later on. She noticed that my husband was here on an Aussie spousal visa and asked if he was applying for his PR here (we said yes). Also, with my application I included a letter stating why my official name was still my maiden name (I had lived overseas until last August, QLD has silly name-change residency requirements, I intend on changing my name after arriving in the US). She was extremely understanding and actually offered to have them issue my green card in my married name! (and would include a note as reference to my official (maiden) name). I thought that was pretty darn nice of her since Aussie officials are so uptight about names/name changes. So she asked us to head over to the other window to pay while she entered the details into her computer. The cashier lady was not so friendly but I didn’t mind. About 10 mins later we got called back to Window 1, submitted our payment receipt to the lady and she said she’d pass our application over to the next officer. We sat down, waited another 10 mins then got called to window 8(?). Another friendly guy, he asked my husband what he had been working here as, they talked about jobs then husband explained he was planning on going back to school hence why we were applying for my visa. He also asked us how long we’ve been married for. My husband who has difficult keeping track of time stumbled on this question a little and had to ask me what month it currently was  . I asked him (the officer) if he wanted to see my supporting documents and he again declined, said they were for my 2nd interview but saw how much stuff I had prepared and said we shouldn't have a problem. He asked us what our intended departure date was and we said September, he said we shouldn't have a problem with that either (the first lady explained that spousal visas are usually approved within 2-4 months through Sydney). Finally the guy says that the next step is to wait for the Adam Walsh check (2 weeks estimated processing time), then they will mail Packet 3 to me.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #3061