Hi guys,

I absolutely would not worry about what to wear to the interview. I made sure I was tidy and that was about it. The reality is that you stand and talk to them through a high counter with a glass window with a speaker and microphone set up. They likely can't even tell if you have jeans on or not There are also a lot of people going through there from students to workers to holiday makers all in different forms of garb. I don't think you'll be judged at all on what you wear (just you know... wear something!).

I don't wanna be the stick in the mud here but i was thinking if they want to see my cv and see that i'll be able to find a job and not be a burden on the government, i thought dressing nicely, like for work, would be the best idea. Now after reading all these posts I just don't know.

I think I'll just wait and see what it's like on the day. It would seem I have plenty of time to ponder

It would be nice to see that darn date on the case status change. Even just the once. No wonder people worry that their file is lost, or misplaced, or gathering dust under the leg of some employee's wobbly table.

I'm glad we do the clocks ahead tonight..we will be an hour closer together. The poor man sits up until 0300 so he can be sure I get in from work when I am on day shifts...

I'm with you on the clock change tonight!! I have just finished chatting with my SO on messenger and its way past 1.00am over there!! I really look forward to this time of year for day light saving and when theirs change soon we will be two hours closer together!! yay!!


I'm starting to think that the case status site is just like a facade! one can see it on the outside but nothing really works on it

Thanks for the advice folks about what to wear at interview. I'm not sure what month it will be when my interview finally takes place but hopefully it will be during the summer, so won't have to go in there wrapped up like an eskimo or wear wet weather gear

Michelle - by all means dress nicely if you wish As I said I dressed tidily, like I do for work, but I wouldn't worry about going all out with suits and the like. I don't think that they're judging the calibre of your clothing, it's more important to have all your paperwork ready to go. Honestly, I know that it's very nervewracking waiting for the interview but the people at Auckland are lovely. They actually seem to want to help and I don't think they're there to trip anyone up. As long as you're sincere about this visajourney (and I know we all are) then I don't think anyone has anything to worry about.

Hi all,

Just thought I would drop back in to let you know that my Green Card turned up in the post yesterday - stoked to have it in-hand.

We were lucky in that the process has been relatively smooth sailing for us and hope that you all have easy journeys too. The web system kept us updated and I received email alerts as each stage of the process.

Good luck to all.

Cheers,

Mark

Congratulations on getting your EAD and AOS! That is pretty good that it took around 3 months! How long is the green card valid for?
So happy to hear that everything went smoothly for you!
Best wishes

Lisa, congratulations on getting the petition sent out. Sorry you're in a bad place... leaving is soooo hard. Hopefully the process will go quickly for you.

Russell posted about his attire for the interview. He wore a dress shirt and tie and felt quite overdressed. Apparently the folks in there were dressed in mostly very casual clothes. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Congratulations on your GC Mark!! Wonderful news!

Ana, the GC is good for 2 years.

Grant, I hope you get some good news on the job front soon!

Well, after much drama and added expense, my man is finally back home where he belongs! It's been a whirlwind since he's been home but we are extremely happy to be together again. It's almost as though the past year never happened. We meet with the JP Wednesday night. We're planning a short, sweet ceremony on October 18th ...and then a bigger party in April when Russell's family comes from NZ. Can't wait!

congratulations kim and russ!!!!!!

Kim and Russ, I was wondering how you guys were getting on! Congratulations!!! I'm so happy for you both! I have no idea how you are feeling right now, I can only imagine

tick tock tick tock

omg i hate waiting, nothing, not even a touch and i've never wanted to be touched so much in my life

i am so like this i'm sure half the time Rob must feel like a possum caught in headlights


aarrgghh



so how's everyone doing?

No touch here either The other day i had an idea I thought to keep my mind occupied, i'd go to the DMV site for California and download their drivers licence handbook. So i can learn up on their road rules and such for when the time comes i am there and can sit licence. Later on, I thought I would print it out until i saw how big it was. It is something like 92 pages!!!!!!! Now THAT will keep me busy for sure!!!

Kim: It must be soo wonderful to have Russell back home! Not long to go till the ceremony!!

cdneh: I 'think' you got a police report from canada?? How long is the Canadian one valid for? I need to get one from Australia but i read somewhere here on vj on a thread that the Aussie one is only valid for 3 months. That just doesn't seem long enough. It really would be nice to get this out of the way but no point if its only good for 3 months. *sigh* ( i did email the authorities that do the police checks but they haven't replied yet)

Ok enough of my ramblings.. hope everyone is doing ok!

The Canadian one they say is good for six months, but it was a total pain to get. I had to get fingerprints done here in Auckland, the appointment for that took 3 weeks to get, and then I sent the lot off to a Fingerprint Services company in Ottawa. They took it to the RCMP and got the clearance, and sent it back to me. That took four months. It was dated May 14th, and if it was going to be good for 6 months...well we aren't expecting a NOA2 until November ...

I emailed the Embassey in Auckland and they got back to me straightaway. As long as I stay out of Canada, it will be good ! Makes sense to me, as I haven't been in Canada and I haven't any intentions of going there so I am okay with the one I got back in May. Hope that helps!

It is discouraging, isn't it. No touches here either..no sign of any kind of activity. Well other than the date on my time line getting later and later...my poor man has just got into the habit of saying...'yes, dear'...

Wow! that took quite a while to get eh? It sounds like i really should just go ahead and get it over with. It was the AFP i emailed about the aussie police checks. So if they are as efficient at doing the police checks as they are at (not) replying to emails then i really should do it now!
Thanks ever so much for the information cdneh!

No worries ..I'd go ahead if it was me. That's why I've got my shots all done and up to date...if they ever get around to giving us a NOA2..I'm going to be ready ...

Hi All

I'm sorry to hear that some of you are stuck in limbo at the moment, and that progress is pretty slow. You have my sympathy.

Also great that Kim and Russ have finally reached a very happy conclusion!

We are just counting down now, I am trying to wrap up a couple of bits of work. We have shipped all of the stuff we wanted to ship. We have ordered a lot of stuff on line in the US, and it is starting to show up at Brook's parents. It is hard to believe that in less than 3 weeks we will be living the other side of the world!

We have got short term health insurance for all of us (wow that is expensive!!).

I am still job hunting, but am starting to make appointments with recruitment agencies for after we arrive.

We are also the kings of selling stuff on Trade Me. Poor Ash is having his toys sold out from under him. We currently have 17 auctions running, with more to start next week.

Anyway - here's hoping lots of progress starts to get made for those waiting.

Cheers

Grant

Got noa1 today yay

My green card arrived in the mail today. Overall I'm very impressed with the speed of things here since I'd read that some people waited months. SSN arrived 1 week after POE, greencard within 3 weeks of POE.

Yesterday I applied for my CA drivers license and sat the written test while there. I passed that and have my practical driving test on Tuesday.

Yes, I have decided to get it done now. I emailed the US embassy here in Auckland very LATE thursday night with a few q's and received a reply BEFORE 8am friday morning!! They are soo fast at replying!!!

They said that i will have to have fingerprints done for the Aussie check and that it is valid for one year but they said by then i would probably be having my interview anyway, so no worries about time frame of validity.

I emailed the AFP again (different email addy this time) to find out how i go about getting fingerprints done etc. They sent me back reply telling me to go to their website which i have done and it doesn't tell you there how you go about it.

cdneh: how did you go about getting your fingerprints? do you have to go to a specific place here in Auckland to get them done? do they have to be on a particular official paper or anything?


Lisaandtim: Good to hear your NOA1 arrived safely. Now you can join the waiting room with us. Pull up a chair and grab a good book to read

Kelmz: Thats great news about the green card How was the written test for the driving? was it fairly easy? Good luck with your practical on Tuesday!

Grant: wow only 3 weeks to go! Did you get your health insurance through American visitors insurance or somewhere else? It really is a neccesity to have i think. Hope your auctions are all successful!

Kiwiana - the practical wasn't too bad, I was allowed to get 6 wrong, and I got 4 of them wrong. I didn't study too much for it, I read through the handbook that morning and I did a few of the tests online through the DMV site which I really suggest making use of, including the 'driver knowledge' quiz. I noticed some of those questions in my test sheet so that was what really got me through it all!

I rang around and found out that the only place in Auckland to get them done is at the Central Police Station on the corner of Cook and Vincent Streets. Ring this number, (09) 302 6400, to make an appointment, and ask with regard to having fingerprints done for Immigration purposes.

It took me about three weeks to get one, as they only have one retired chap who does them, and he only works one or two days a week. He's lovely and quite helpful.

He has the paperwork form that your prints go on, with the Auckland Police letterhead at the top. He gives you the prints back on the day, all signed and all, and you send them on to where they need to go.

Thanks cdneh! I'm going to phone them tomorrow and try to make an appointment. I really want to get this out the way as soon as possible.

Not sure what the forms were like for Canada but the ones i have to fill out for Australia has a staff-in confidence form where you are giving your consent to obtain personal information. and you have to write WHOM you consent to (name of organisation/department) so i am assuming I would write USCIS there?

On an unrelated note.. I notice that the countdown banner i had on my signature doesn't appear to be working anymore (either that or it is just not showing up on my computer) So wonder what has happened there *sigh*

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

I had to fill out a release form as well, but that was for the fingerprint company so they could get the information for me. In your case it sounds like it would be USCIS. Do they send the completed report back to you ? Mine came to me at my home address .

My banner isn't going either at the moment, which I wondered about too..is it everyone?

The flatmate has her elderly sister and husband visiting today, tiresome cranky people...I'm going to find something outside to busy myself with, if the rain holds off

yes good question about if they send it back to me. I will have to make sure i state in a letter to them that i want it returned to me or the Auckland consulate may receive it 4 months early!!

It's pretty overcast outside thats for sure. But hopefully the rain will stay away

yes something is definitely wrong with the banner. I just went and got a new one. Think its from a different site

Hi everyone,

I've lurked but not posted here before, have read every page of this thread though and got some good info off it.

I received my package 3 from the consulate on Friday just gone , just wanted to know about the photos you need to have taken. I see they ask for 50x50mm pics. Are our standard passport photo's acceptable or do i need to get someone else to take them?



Also Grant - I emailed Allied Movers about these boxes but so far have received no reply, I'll persue it further but just wondered if you checked out a few places and found Allied to be the best.

Any info would be helpful..

Cheers
Kim

Hi Kim

Sorry, my post may have been a mid-misleading. I am only using the Allied Movers boxes (not actually them to do the shipping). I am shipping through NZ Post, at the Post Office. I put a lot of work Allied Movers way, so got a heap of boxes, packing tape, packing paper etc from them.

Cheers

Grant

Kim - You are right, NZ Standard size passports photos are not the right size, however when we had ours done, the photo place knew the US Visa sized photos and provided the photos in that size.

Cheers

Grant

Congratulations on getting package 3!!!
When i got the photos done for the 1-129f (G325A) i just went to my local chemist (think it was unichem) that did passport photos and asked. It took the woman a while but eventually she got them the right size for US standards. I think it cost something like $12 for 4 photos. So yes you do have to have the USA size.

Thanks for your help Grant

Hello my kiwi friends. Welcome Kim & Chris, good to have you with us.

We're still flying high and really feel as though we were never apart. Our big day (part 1 anyway) is just over a week away now so we're busy trying to get the house ready for a small(ish) party with our family and friends. Can't wait!

Nice to see some of you still moving along. Wont be long now, eh Grant?

Hello again.

Was just wondering if there's anything we can do between the time of the NOA1 and NOA2? I was reading some of you got fingerprinted and up to date on shots. Can/should we do that while we wait?

I went ahead and got everything done that I could. Police certificate, shots, and we have the things we need together for the interview pretty much.

I just felt better having something to do. That way when the time comes I haven't got to do it in a mad dash and it has kept me off the streets and out of trouble

If your fiance has lived overseas at any time (usually between 6 months to a year or more there) since the age of 16 then he will need a police check from that country. If he hasn't then I think the US embassy here in Auckland does it for him for the New Zealand police check (is that correct? anyone?)

I lived in Australia for over a year many years ago, so have to get a police check done in Australia, which means that i have to get fingerprints done here to send over there. I have an appointment for the fingerprinting in 3 weeks time. so can't wait to get the forms off and get it all over with.

I just want to have peace of mind to know that i won't have to rush around trying to get it all done when the NOA2 arrives.

The waiting game at times can be so frustrating. I have tried to busy myself inbetween the NOA1 and NOA2 by looking at the forms that need to be filled in at the next stage. Familiarizing myself with them. Slowly getting stuff together for interview (incase they want to see more evidence, like photos, hotel receipts etc)

Downloaded the drivers handbook from DMV so i can read up on the rules etc in preparation for whenever i am able to go for a car drivers test over there. Looking into other car related stuff.

Finding out about health insurance (which is still pretty confusing to me, still don't know which place to go to yet)

Trying to find US job sites. Compiling a CV.

On the home front here, i am slowly sorting through my stuff. Thinning out the clothes in my wardrobe. Culling my cd collection. Just in general, slowly sorting through everything so at the last minute I am not swamped with excess stuff to get rid of.

But probably when the NOA2 does finally arrive, i will still no doubt panic about getting everything done

If you are a Kiwi, and need the NZ equivalent of a police check, or even in my case I only live in NZ, the embassy in Auckland does the NZ police check for you . I have read they won't accept ones you get for yourself. I downloaded the correct paperwork, but as it won't be accepted I never submitted it.

double post *ack*

thanks for that Kate, i was wondering, i haven't lived anywhere else other than Auckland and i thought i read somewhere that the consulate does it for us. Another thing i wanted to ask about was the titre? test, do we go to our doctor for that?

Do you think once the elections are over processing will speed up again? and I really don't understand why we're going backwards on Igor's List, going backwards seems to indicate that people are getting in ahead of us and i don't understand that

you should try for the triple, i hear you get more points for that hehehe

Yes...I went to my Doctor for that test, and then straight to medlab with the bit of paper. Cost me nearly $300..but I did find out all I needed was the tetanus. Canada keeps school records..but when you are as old as I am..well...

We're going backwards too, and I can't get my head around that. It seems every time the list shows an approval we go the wrong way. ...and I was really quite discouraged tonight to read that someone got a noa2...who MET their partner for the FIRST time nearly three weeks after we filed. How they heck does that happen, if it is meant to be first in first out?

It's so discouraging, tho i've decided to keep busy and take on Kiwiana's suggestions about the drivers test and my cv etc, that should keep me out of trouble

Done that heh...I am ready to roll. Kind of like being all dressed up with no place to go

Oh..except for tomorrow morning, when the clock will go off at 0500 for my second day shift. Now that's something to look forward to

I'm really wondering what kind of system they work on at the service centres. In my 'mind', I imagine that as the forms come in they are all placed neatly in order of dates received, but that theory has long gone out the window now for me, as some people who filed in June are getting approved, while others who filed in April are still waiting???? (go figure!?!)
Maybe the employees all take turns to DIVE blindly into a HUGE pile of 1-129f files lying on the floor and the one they pick up first is the one to be processed that day???

That's as good an explanation as I've heard

I've posted this before but I think it answers a lot of questions people have about the process and also may explain the disparity we see in approvals.

Every now and then it seems they take a newly sent petition for training the adjuticaters. Why they dont take someone they know has been waiting for quite some time is beyond me but this is how the adjuticator explained it.

You see the dates on Igor's list move you down further because of people joining VJ and adding to the timelines. Happens all the time and yes, it's frustrating!

I can tell you that as we were waiting I also tracked other K1 filers on uscis site who sent their petitions in the days surrounding our sent day and could pretty much tell what box we were in and when our approval was getting closer.

As far as the driving goes.... Russell caught on very quickly when he first moved here in 2006. Even though he's been gone a year, he's not had a problem driving at all once he was back home.

We're doing very well. It's been two weeks now since Russell has been home. We paid for our rings yesterday and applied for our marriage license today. We will be married in just 10 days! Life is good again. We're hoping to send in our AOS paperwork asap. It will be wonderful to be done with this whole immigration thing for a couple of years!

I’ve read that Kim…it was referred to just after I joined here. I’ve just read it all again, but if I’m being honest I’m not finding a whole lot of comfort in it tonight.

We filed in early July, it was signed for on the third, and it took 25 days to get a NOA1. Not so much as a touch since. Igor’s list shows us going the wrong direction, and the date on my timeline has now been pushed back more than a month. There are NOA2’s from May, June, August and even four from September, but not a solitary one from July.

Quick question before bedtime.......

I've got to send off my packet 3 returns to the consulate tomorrow....I'm sure i read somewhere that DS-230 part II is not signed and i take it in with me to the interview......can someone just confirm that for me please......it doesn't mention it in the list of things I have to take in and my brains too tired tonight to rake through here to try and find the info

Thanks
Kim

Hey all!

Looks like things have been busy around here!

Life has been a bit hectic for us, but that's a good thing, right? Chris just took a contract job with a company in California that will last for the rest of our time here in NZ and may turn into a full time job offer when we're ready to move to the US in January/February, so that was unexpected and exciting! It's in the Silicon Valley area, but I'm hoping maybe they can arrange some sort of telecommuting thing so we can be flexible about where to live, rent is brutal in that area.

I should be sorting through things in the house so it doesn't get left 'til the last minute (since things always come up around the holidays anyway), but instead my brain and time have been stuck in other things, mainly politics. LOL

Grant- Hope you and your family have a safe trip to the US! Best of luck with settling in and adjusting to US life, I hear the weather in the Bay area is a lot like Auckland, so at least that won't be a total surprise. Any news on the job hunt? I think once you're over there you'll find something rather quickly.

Kim and Russ- I'm so glad you guys are together and getting ready for your wedding! I wish you all the best for your special day. Oh, and you'll post a picture so we can get all teary eyed over it, right?