A lot has been happening here in the last week!

cdneh: Thats great your immunities are all in check. Now you can relax and sit back

kelvan: congrats on getting your NOA1. Its always a relief when it comes in the mail. Now you know that they have well and truly received your package and the process begins.

amaciar: welcome home! hope you are settling in, have everything unpacked etc. I would think the weather is pretty good over there at the moment as well. Send some sunshine this way

Grant and yankiwi: It sounds like the embassy is pretty good in Auckland. It certainly puts my mind at ease a little for when the time comes. When do you plan to leave NZ?

Kim: Things are moving along pretty quickly now for you and russ. you must be pretty excited! I wonder if you would know at all, if one has to get police certificates/checks if they spent some time in Australia? I was there many YEARS ago and wondered if one still has to get it done, if it has been soo long ago.

I dunno how ... I need to get me some patience pills...and double whatever the prescribed dose on those is... heh..

Hmm sign me up for some of those pills too pls, i've been driving Rob nuts asking if he's got the NOA1 - tho i'm not so worried now, now that i know the cheque's been cashed

I'll let you know Michelle

If no one has invented these yet they better get on to it...there is a fortune to be made, on VJ alone!

NOA1 received!

Ok less than two hours have passed and i'm now worrying about the next step. I'm very confused, i've been trawling the forums and I'm reading very conflicting information regarding the I-134.

Some people are saying you can't have a co-sponsor and some people are saying you can, I really hope you can cos Rob def doesn't meet the minimum. I've looked at Capt. Ewok's details of requirements but I can't see anything there about co-sponsors.

Does anyone really know?

Kelvan and Michelle-- Congrats on your NOA1!!! I hope they process your applications in record time

Amy and Nic-- Glad you've made it safely home! Enjoy your time with family and friend before the job hunting/moving begins again!

Cdneh- Man, I need some of those pills for sure! I was born 2 months early and my Mom jokes it was because of my extreme impatience...I was impatient in the womb and have been an impatient person all my life! I figure things like the immigration process is the universe trying to teach me patience by brute force...

Kim-- Great to hear he got an appointment so quickly!! Chris says the medical check with Dr. Stone was a breeze, the x-ray and lab are just around the corner and pretty quick as well. so he'll be through in no time and one step closer to being in your arms! The people at the Consulate were great. I think if he tells them he's planning on leaving as soon as is humanely possible they'll work with him to get his passport processed and in hand as quickly as possible. I'm so happy for you guys!

Kiwiana- The way things stand now, we've decided to wait until after our second anniversary to enter the US. Since that's not 'til the end of December, we've decided that February is a good goal to set. That allows enough time for Chris to take on a short contract job here, job hunt in the US via the web and connections, and we get to enjoy another spring and summer in NZ instead of almost a year of continuous winter (going from winter here to winter in the US)! How are things going with you?

Woohoo - I have my passport back with the magic "foil" in it, and my secret envelope.

Now the real planning can begin!! My grandmother turns 80 in October and we are having a big family get together, so we will look at going over shortly after that.

I still have not advanced any further on the job finding front, but have applied for a few in the last couple of days.

Hope everyone else is progressing well as well - seems like it is all go for us Kiwi's.

Cheers

Grant

ana, Russell did live in Australia for 7 months in 2006 but, even tho everything else says 6 months, the Embassy told him he only needed a police report if he had been there over a year. I am double checking with him and will let you know. Yes, we are extremely excited! thanks!

Michelle, glad you got your NOA1 and are on your way now! Some Consulates do not allow a co-sponser to be used but as far as I know you can in NZ. You can email them at AucklandIV@state.gov to be certain. They are really great at getting back to you with good information. I can tell you that they did ask that we also bring Russell's Resume/CV as well so they seem to be all about what you, the NZ citizen, will bring to the table too. Also just fyi.. I'm also pretty certain social security for disability (I think that is what Rob counts on as he is sick?) counts toward income for the I-134.

Tiara, thanks for the info. My love is on his way to Auk right now to see Dr. Stone! Sounds like a good plan to move after the start of the year and after your second anniversary.. makes perfect sense.

Congratulations Grant! How exciting for you!

As I mentioned... Russell is on his way to his medical right now... 4 hour drive! His dad and brother went along with him to make a day of it just for the boys. The Consulate has been more than helpful. Our case has not even left NVC yet (even tho they got it last friday) but Russell emailed them and asked that they send package 3 anyway, which they agreed to do since he already had his new case number. They overnighted it to him and he got it yesterday! Finally...efficiency! He should have everything he needs by the beginning of next week so we're hoping for an interview the week after and a flight home on Monday the 8th. Best case scenerio really. btw.. if you fly NZ to US through Tahiti on a Monday or a Friday the costs is quite a bit cheaper.

I know the wait for those of us who are not together is tough but you'll get through it..and you'll be even better because of it. I do hope it starts to speed up for you all!

Ana, this is the reply that we got from the Consulate when we asked about the Australian police report...

Once again thanks for the excellent advice Kim, I've emailed the consulate and hopefully they'll have the answer I want

Kim you must be so excited with everything moving along so quickly now

Michelle....congratulations!!! I've been watching for this!!!


And let me know what you hear back about the co-sponser...we are using one as well, Himself being retired...

Hey Michelle woohoo you got your NOA1 as well! I'm so glad. We have similar timelines

Thanks Kate, I guess now there'll be no reply before Monday and I'm working Monday so we'll both have to wait til Monday night, hope you're not working then

Hehe thanks Kelly, i guess we were both posting at the same time

Monday...lol...what torture! I am off though....so you know where I'll be...right here...waiting to hear!

Wow! everything is certainly happening here for us kiwi folk!

Michelle: Congrats on receiving your NOA1. You are not alone in worrying about the next step. I read the same conflicting information about 1-134. I hope that the embassy here allows co-sponsors. Hope you will let us know what they say when they email you back.

Yankiwi: yes, it definitely makes sense to enjoy spring/summer here than have one continous winter (brrh!). Do you know of any good job hunting websites in the US?

Grant: how cool to have the magic 'foil' in passport. Are you ever tempted to open the 'secret envelope'? jk


Kim: thank you for the info about police report from aussie. I think i will email them at the addy you gave and see if they can tell me where i would have to go to get one from Australia as i was there for more than a year. hope it doesn't hold things up waiting for it (when the time comes)
Hope the medical went all ok for Russ. The process is really moving along for you guys now. At long last!

cdneh,michelleS, Kelvan: It is quite exciting as we all have our NOA1's close to each other (give or take a few weeks to 6 weeks at most) I must say that some days my brain seems to go into overload from trying to digest all the information and neccesary forms, vaccines needed and next steps of the process etc. Yet there are thousands and thousands of people who have gone through the whole process ok. So i have to keep telling myself to just take one step at a time and will eventually get there with my sanity and patience in tact And above all to know that one day i will be able to be with my partner.... whom i love and miss soooooo much!!!

Good morning folks

Ana, this is what Russell told me....



Michelle, you're welcome. In all my time here i've not heard of NZ not accepting co-sponsors soooo my assumption would be that you will be ok.

Yes, Grant, I also want to know if you're tempted to open the brown envelope.

Russell's medical went very well yesterday and he was done in no time at all. He also paid for his visa and overnighted his p3 back to the Embassy. They should have everything they need on Monday. My packet to him should arrive the same time so he'll be all ready for an interview any time after that. Yes, we are quite excited!!!

We had to wait all these years just to file... 7 months at VJ just waiting for my divorce decree ... and it's been 5 months since we filed now... hard to believe we're almost finally there! Takes my breath away.

Oh yes...I sure am. It is a bit like a wet paint sign..

They make it pretty damned hard to tamper with, it is sealed (like a normal envelope), then has the consulate stamp over the seal, then someone's signature, and then the whole flap is taped shut.

We have put it out of sight (after we kept picking it up and staring at it).

Our plans are (at this moment). Brook's mother will fly out here on about the 15th of Oct (to be chief baby sitter while we wrap our NZ stuff up). Brook, the kids and her will fly to the US on the 22nd(ish). I can sell/put into storage the remainder of our stuff, get rid of the cars etc, and I'll fly over on about the 29th of Oct.

In the meantime, so that we are prepared for the kids arrival, we will arrange cots, car seats etc online and get them shipped to her parents, and we will send over some money so that Brook's Dad can buy a car for us so we can hit the ground running upon our arrival.

Tiara - do you get the envelope etc now, or do you wait until you resubmit Chris' passport? Did they say you were approved on the spot on Tuesday? With us the guy didn't actually say so, but he certainly left us with no doubt that it was all approved. Even so, it was still a nervous wait until the courier pack arrived (especially seeing I was putting the track and trace number into the website of the completely wrong courier company, and always getting an error message!!).

Cheers

Grant

Another really interesting thing that happened ar the Consulate, was the interviewing officer, really (and I mean really) ecouraged me to get naturalized after being in the US for 3 years. It wasn't just a passing piece of advice, he really laboured the point.

Cheers

Grant

hi guys, this is russ,

just figured i would post on the whole medical side of things, first off i can really recommend Dr Stone, he and his "peeps" made things very clear and very easy for me, and i would suspect all visa applicants, to go through the process with the minimal amount of fuss and bother. They usually can accomodate you within a week of calling, i called on a monday morning and got an appointment for friday, speed is good when you have been waiting so long

now the actually medical itself took about 10 mins, weight, height, blood pressure, reflexes, a little listen here and there and that was about it, ran over old medical history (medication, surgeries, vacinations). i just required a booster shot and was all set, the whole thing cost 185 dollars which was 40 less then the recommended price and that was with the shot included, didn't end up paying extra for that which is also good.

now the radiologist was actually 1.5kms down the road (~ 1 mile) so if you dont mind the walk it takes about 15-20 mins, if you do then take the car, the radiology was at 101 Remuera Rd and the Blood work place was around the corner at 12 St Marks, now the first place sticks out from the main street and is down a little driveway, was pretty painless and cost $80, the blood works place is tucked away behind a womans medical clinic and is call Diagnostics MedLab, the entrance is around the back side, that cost $31 so all up less than $300 and was pretty painless.

The whole process took me about an hour and a half (i walked the mile.... good excercise ), but that could be as less then an hour and nearer two depending on waiting times at each of the places (the only drawback of medical being at three different places), so if you go for your medical book it before 3 to give you ample time to get to all the places in one go.

all and all it was pretty painless, a couple jabs in the arm and all done,

i hope this helps those yet to go through it

oh one last thing, make sure you have your forms, two passport photos, and your passport (need it at all three places as they each have to sign the verification sheet, make sure they sign it or you will be going back to them to get them to sign it), and they dont take credit cards

cheers

Russ

Russ again

P.s.

i love you baby with all my heart SOON

Russ thanks so much for that, good to know all those little details that I for one always worry about

Hey thanks for your info Russ! I'll remember that when my time comes and forward it onto my friend who's almost at that point in the timeline. Nice to meet you

I love you too my love.

I'm doing the Final filling in of the forms thing... and I have hit yet another question mark.

New Zealand Adresses! Aaaaargh! The space on the forms leaves so little room, and I am supposed to make "Wainuiomata, Wellington" somehow fit in the Town or City box that is This <------------> big?

My Fiancee, Genna, says I need to include the following info: Her street, Wainuiomata, Wellington, New Zealand, 6008
But there are only spots on the I-129F form for Street, Town or City, State or Country, and Postal Code

Can someone who has been filling these in for NZ give me some bit of insight?

Hi Dave n Genna! We had that problem with some of our fields when filling out the pdf form on the computer. You can leave it blank and then handwrite it (very neatly) in the box after you've printed it out in black ink. Can someone else confirm this?

Hi and welcome.

Yes, you can either do as Kel suggested and write it in freehand, OR you can follow the I-129f instructions ...

If extra space is needed to complete any item, attach a continuation sheet, indicate the item number, and date and sign each sheet.

The example forms (link above) will help you a lot too.

as an added note... be sure you tick the box part C, Q2. Many people miss this, and are RFE'd, as they believe it's related to the military question above.

You just saved me and RFE with that last part. Thanks so much.

I have decided to leave the "Wellington" section off of the address, as she does not actually live in Wellington and I have already listed a "town"... ugh...

Thanks Russ for giving us the account of the medical and xrays etc. I have written it all down and will know where to go when the time comes, instead of stressing out even more so than normal on the day (worrying about where the medlab etc is) and.....

Kim and Russ: Thanks for the info on the Australian police certificate. I may ask at the Aussie Regional forum and see if they may know where i go to file for the police certificate.

Grant: I think that sealed envelope would drive me nuts with curiosity!! I would be holding it up to the light, picking at one corner, putting it down on the table and then picking it up again a few seconds later and placing it on another table, pacing up and down etc.. I would DEFINITELY put that envelope away somewhere. padlock it away in my suitcase or something, so that i wouldn't see it

Dave_n_Genna: welcome to the regional forum! When we filled in the forms, I found the same trouble with trying to type in the information. So my partner hand wrote the 1-129f and we each hand wrote the G325's. He had the carbon copy ones he ordered from the USCIS (of the G325's) but i had printed my forms out so i had to hand write on all four pages.

We then made two other copies of everything to keep as references so handwrote those too! I hadn't done so much handwriting in my life. One gets so used to just typing stuff that you don't realise just how shoddy ones handwriting becomes until you have to write very NEATLY into those itty bitty tiny boxes!! It was a challenge for sure! I think out of the 12 pages in total i wrote out(including extra copies) I actually wrote out probably 16 times, with the ones i made mistakes on and had to redo!

Hey Dave and Genna, welcome to our thread

sadly i also had trouble, south titirangi rd doesn't fit either, i struggled and struggled with doing it on the computer and then ended up doing them all by hand, what a pain, quite literally

Hi guys,

First off, thanks Kim for telling me about this thread, and thanks Russ for the info on the medical. I am really excited as I will have mine on Tuesday. Although I am in Christchurch it helps to know that it was pretty painless.

Now, I thought by now I would be an expert on these forms but no such luck. Maybe someone can help me...

Are we supposed to get the vaccination form (DS-3025) with Packet 3? I didn't get one, so I downloaded it from one of the websites they gave us (version 03/2008).

Do we need to to include the visa fee receipt when we send back packet 3 or do we take it to the interview?

Do we need to take passport-sized photos of our US citizen fiance(e) to the interview?

In form I-134, if the US citizen sponsor (born in the US) has lived outside the US for a period, what should s/he put in #2 as the date since when s/he has resided in the US? Birth date or date s/he returned?
Also, I am partially dependent on Shawn right now as I have just finished my Masters, so should he include my name in #8?

Good morning my kiwi friends.

Welcome to the NZ thread Luciana,

Here is a list of vaccinations

The vaccinations were updated 7/1/08. The new form I-693 will be filled out at adjustment time. Russell got a signed document (vaccination documentation worksheet) stating he's had his vaccinations so it wont need to be signed off on by a civil surgeon when the time comes. Many things are not even needed until AOS but a lot of people choose to have them in their home Country.

Your visa receipt should be placed on the outside of your passport and taken to interview. At least that's what Russell told me.

No photo's of the US fiance needed. They have the one sent with the initial package.

If the US has always been his home (ie; residency) I would assume you would put since birth. I don't think I would put that you are partially dependent on him as that is what the form is for anyway. Somebody else may have some different thoughts regarding that but that is what I would do.

hope I helped.

Welcome Shawn and Luciana

Hey Kim what airline was it that had the cheaper fares to the states? you mentioned something in an earlier post about flying thru tahiti on a mon or fri.

Welcome to the new guys in here. Put your feet up, we are a good friendly bunch.

I have a question...

What experience has anyone had with transferring money to the US from NZ? I want to transfer some oney to Brook's parents to buy a car for us, but not sure of the best or most cost effective and safe way of doing this?

They don't have the internet, so using Paypal (which I have heard of being used a lot) is not an option. Basically it has to go straight into their bank account.

Thanks in advance,

Cheers

Grant

hey grant, mum sent me some extra spending money while i was visiting in april, she paid $25 to bnz here but then the receiving bank took $30 and then Rob's bank also took their share (tho i don't remember how much that was i think it was under $10) so after losing on the exchange rate and the banks taking their bit it was all a bit depressing

Hi all, big welcome to our new kiwi couples! It's heartening to see there are so many of us going through this (not that I wish the stress and confusion of applying on people!), but it's nice to have company on the trip.

Grant I looked at different ways to transfer my money, some people recommend using commercial transfer places such as XE. I decided in the end it was easiest to talk to my bank about it. There are two options through most NZ banks (I use Westpac), telegraphic transfer or money draft. For both of these they charge a flat fee ($25) but unlike cash there is no currency commission so that's the only fee on this end. Like Michelle said there may be charges from banks on the other end, but for most it seems to be around $10 - $15. To do a direct transfer you'll need Brook's parents bank info which they should be able to obtain from their bank.

I decided to go with a bank draft to take my money with me, which is made out to me and I'll use it to open my own bank account in the US.

Here's the info from Westpac: http://www.westpac.co.nz/olcontent/olconte...aphic+transfers

Welcome ShawnandLu!

MichelleS: I wasn't aware of this but apparently for the 1-134 form, ones fiance has to earn 100% above the poverty line and not 125% as I had always thought. Apparently the 125% applies when one fills in the 1-864 form later on the US.
Here's the site: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/ty...types_2994.html

Grant: Don't get me started on transferring money from here to US A few weeks ago i went to my bank here (who shall remain nameless) and asked them if i could send some money from my bank account to one in the US. The teller said .'Oh we don't send money to the US" I was like' what??'
I tried to explain it to her again and she said 'how about a bank money order?" i said, no i want to transfer money directly. She ummed and arrred and then said, well i will make a phone call and see if we deal with any banks in america. she came back and said we do but not with the bank you want to use over there. To cut a LONG story short. she said she would send it to another bank in the US they deal with and they in turn will pass it on to the bank i wanted the money to go into. It cost $25 to do the transaction and i left there feeling very frustrated and angry with the whole episode.

Later on I decided to look online for banks here in nz and found that westpac are pretty good with sending money overseas (telegraphic transfer) so i went and opened an account with them. The woman there was very helpful and said there would be no problem sending money to banks in the USA. They also have affilation with the Bank Of America, so that is good. There is still the standard $25 fee for transferring the money over. As kelzm mentioned, you can also get a bank draft, which sounds like a good idea to do, when one leaves new zealand. thanks kelzm for mentioning that!

Hi folks...

Michelle, i'll pm you.

Grant...paypal really is a great option and just fyi, it does link right to your bank account. Mine is linked to my bank account as well as my debit card. It's possible you can do a transfer directly from your bank in NZ, should check with them. Sorry I couldn't help more.

Hi Kel

Ana, it is well known that most Consulates look for 125% income. Rather than try to explain it all, I'll copy and paste Yu & Dan's post (as I often do ) in another forum. He really does explain it best....



I'm so busy with work my butt hurts from sitting in this chair! grrrrrrrrrrrrr I'm so tired of computers!

Thanks Kim!

Gosh look at us all online

I'm tired of my chair too, mostly because I'm frantic to get 3 assignments done this week. These are the times I regret the amount of procrastination I did in previous years, trying to finish up my degree as fast as possible isn't the greatest way to spend all my weekends!

Thanks for all the warm welcomes everyone!

Thanks Kim, you are a lifesaver.

My GP said she could write me a letter saying that I've had my vaccinations, but I guess I'll take the form to my medical just in case. It would be handy not to have to go through another medical for the vaccinations when AOS time comes.

Wish I could help with the money transfer question, but the only thing I'm a little familiar with is Western Union...

Good luck with the 3 assignments Kelzm!!!

We send money from Nics bank to mine. You need to have the routing number and a few other details for the account the money is going into. Both banks will take a bit of a fee but it is safe and relatively easy. When you do send money try and send a larger sum so that the fees don't feel as bad. Good luck! I know that from BNZ and Kiwibank you and do international transfers online and there is no need to go to a bank.

Cool - thanks for that, will look into that, as the two banks we use are BNZ and Kiwibank!!

Cheers

Grant

I got a reply email from the auckland consulate today, the question being if it was ok to have a co-sponsor for the I-134,
there reply was.........




If you have sufficient funds of your own, the I-134 is not essential.
Your CV would also be required.

Any person resident in the U S can provide an I-134 but needs to show their income and last year's income tax return, as well as their U S passport (copy) or Legal Resident card.



As they haven't said what constitutes "sufficient" i'm not sure i'm any happier than i was before, however, if i recall correctly someone earlier in the thread said they showed them a bank balance of $13000.00 and the consulate was happy with that so i guess i'll be ok.

I'm also not really clear on what they're saying in the second paragraph, do they mean the fiancee doesn't have to fill in the I-134 but if we have someone willing to sponsor us other than our SO we can get them to complete the I-134??

i'm confused and it's been a crappy day so i'm sorry the info isn't better

MichelleS: Thanks for letting us know what the consulate said. I too, am confused over what they mean. Maybe Kim would know what it is all about. The way things are at the moment, my fiance would need a co-sponser too, so i am very worried about this part of the process. Why do they want to see a CV? What does that have to do with having enough income? So if the beneficiary has sufficent funds (whatever that amount may be). Does it mean that the fiance doesn't need to fill in a 1-134. I hope someone cam answer these questions for us. It is all so confusing.
Once again, thanks for finding these details out. Just hope someone can explain it to us all.
sorry it's been a crappy day for you but hopefully things will look brighter once it is all explained

This is what i read in one of the reviews of the auckland consulate......


She also checked through the affidavit of support - I was getting Joanne's dad to co-sponsor as Jo is heading back to Grad School. But after looking at Jo's she asked if I had any saving and if I bought the bank statements with me - I had and showed that I had savings of around NZD13,000, and she said it would be find with just Jo's affidavit and my savings - we didn't need a co-sponsor. She said she wanted to make it as easy as possible for us to down it on our own.


I'm thinking we are going to be ok, i just didn't want to be worried about that right up to and during the interview.

I just spoke to the US consulate and they said that basically, what the officer wants to know is that you are not going to go on welfare. Considering it takes about 3 months for the work authorization to be processed, and depending on when you get married after you enter the US, they want to know you have enough funds for those initial months until you are able to find a job. It doesn't matter if they are your own savings or your fiance(e)'s income, or co-sponsor's income. I think US$13000.00 is enough.

The CV is to see what kind of qualifications/work experience you have, your earning potential, and I guess your work history.

Evening/afternoon folks.

The NZ Embassy does seem pretty lax in regards to the I-134. I actually like their thinking.

Most consulates follow the standards set by the I864, which we will file for at adjustment. I have a feeling the US government will follow protocol so you might just want to have a back up plan for adjustment time in the States if you will not meet the minimum.

Am I the only one that doesn't get this? Sorry...I'm a bit confused still.

No Kate, I'm confused also, but i've deciding i'm going to take my cv, my bank statement, a completed I-134 from Rob and a completed I-134 from our friend, if they don't need all of that, great but i'd rather have it with me then be turned away and asked to come back with something. Seems the safest way to me