sorry bout the above i pressed enter an it stuck that post up then i couldnt edit it sent me an error...sheesh

now i have forgotten what i said damm it...

arrh well ..congrats to you kaffy its been along time coming but you got 26 days till ya interview now an heading to the home stretch at lightening speed...good luck to ya mate

nice to see you aussie where u been mate...

well i cant remember anything else i damm well said ohhh yeah i do..
i posted my readiness and extension letter off to sydney this morning requesting a june interview...

karo is off in the sky tomorrow take care mate safe journey to melbourne mate..

take care
kath

Oh I have been around darlin' .......I've just had the blues a lil is all......but all's cool....we all get a lil like that aye First anniversary coming up and almost a year since we have been together.


Fingers crossed for your July Interview request

GLad to see everyone is moving right along

kaffy that's awesome Will be thinking of ya!

Lorelle I'm so sorry ya'll STILL have to be apart. Hopfully not much longer!!

Thanks Kath!! Yep flying the friendly skies ! hahaha

wow thats excellent kaffy not long to go now


karo safe flying have a good trip

Lorelle keep your chin up hope your are feeling happier soon

angela

well it just might work for you lorelle, because my stuff actually left from sydney... it left sydney 14th march and is due to arrive in baltimore the 29th of april... so what's that? like five six weeks? not too bad, especially because i wasn't planning on getting it all before i got a job... now i think the big problem is where am i going to put all this stuff in our one bedroom apartment...? oh well, i'll have fun figuring it out!

lorelle,

the normal timeframe for shipping goods via sea is about six weeks. you may also have to factor in customs and quarrentine, also the fact that a ship may not be leaving sydney as soon as your stuff gets to the wharf.

all the stuff that i shipped actually sat in my movers warehouse for a few weeks cause the ship hadn't arrived in sydney at that time.

matt

Thanx Jodie and Matt I will keep all that info in mind.

Just for anyone thats interested.....a bit of trivia.

I was watching Brainiac (stupid show ) and they conducted an experiment using various packaging around a TV and then threw it out the back of a fast moving van to see which packaging was best. They used amongst other things, styrofoam, foam and bubblewrap........Bubblewrap came out way on top with the TV in tip top condition just about and in working order. But you all knew that already hu

Congrats!!! This is wonderfully exciting!

A question -- did you request 10 April, or did you ask for a first availble interview date? My sweetie and I are trying to guess a timeline (I know, very laughable) as to when he might get an interview . . . One month or less from filing the DS2001 sounds good to me!!

Again, Congratulations!!!!

Hiya Wolvendove. We didn't request any date, didn't really expect that letter for another week or so, so you can imagine my surprise when it was in the mail box that day. I sent back the packet 3 checklist etc the same day I got it, by express post ($4 envelope is big enough) so they got it on the Thursday, the packet four was sent out on the Monday, I got it on Wednesday. So roughly around a month or so once you have sent it back in.

That's amazing!! Thank you very much for letting me know. I'll pass this on to my husband. Hopefully he's ready in time!

hi ya
was thinking on my taxes because will hopefully be leaving before end of june..came across this website not worked out what im to do but thought ya'll might be interested in it

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content....fp=001&st=&cy=1
found this also:
http://www.ato.gov.au/large/content.asp?do...ntent/64131.htm

http://www.ato.gov.au/content/downloads/NAT3407-04.pdf

no news here just waitin on hearing from sydney...i sent an email about how their prices are out and victorian police checks get increased each july ..i suppose i will get an email back stating well we havent received notification from melbourne so nerrrrrrrrrr lol
take care
kath

thanks for the info kath. i'm getting my mum to lodge my tax return for me. although i think she will need a power of attorney. either that or she can send me the paperwork to sign and send back to her.

matt

You can just do your taxes online, that is what I intend to do this year, as I will be in the US by then. I am supposing there will be no difference so long as you put in the details you need. I have lodged online for the past couple of years, with no worries. All you need to do is download the e-tax software, from the ato website, to your pc and fill in the information, just like the tax form you get from the newsagents over here. No need to send in group certificates etc, you just fill in the numbers and details. It e-files the paperwork and if you have an aussie bank account still in use that you can access get your return, if any, credited directly to that, less than a week. easy peasy!!

thanks kaffy,

i will look into that when the time comes. my group cert will be going to mum's house, so i guess she could just send it to me.

although, when i did my tax last year i knew i was moving and the tax guy said that you don't want to say that it is your last tax return in australia because they tax you at a higher rate.

matt

Hiya Matt,

You don't even need to have your group certificate in your hand, physically, just the details on it, you can do your tax and just get her to send the certificate over, you don't have to wait for it. Hope that helps.

hey there matt

how's the golf swing going mate..your gunna be a pro before long lol
been unusually warm here for autumn here...cairns was hit by a cyclone...were doing well in the commonwealth games..have you had any telecasts of it there mate...
not much news here just hangin around waiting from news from sydney...they sent me an email that they received it an it is in the hands of the commissioner to decide if we get an nextension if we dont well i go to syd alone...fingers crossed they will extend for us..
take care
kath

thanks kaffy it does.

hi kath,

the cyclone has gotten coverage over here...funny how it was the same catagory as the one that hit new orleans but no one died.

the golf is improving. i'm aiming to be a pro on the champions tour...that's for the over 50's.

haven't seen any telecasts of the games at all. wouldn't even know where to look.

hope you guys get a positive answer from sydney soon.

matt

hi matt
good on ya dont forget when ya get there i want a signed golf ball lol..

got another curve ball thrown at me ... i have to decide whether or not to have an operation on my shoulder trouble is i doubt if i can get it done before june if i have it done i will be a one arm bandit for around six months...sighhhhhhhhhhhh but never mind these things were sent to try us
talk to u soon
kath

kath,

here's hoping that you can get it done before june...so it doesn't stuff up your plans. i guess (money wise) it's better getting it done over there rather than over here.

don't worry about the one armed bandit thing...i bet robbie will look after you.

matt

bumping...cause we've all got nothing to say.

matt

ohhhhhhhhhhhhh i got lots to say but not on my visa lol..

but i do have one question...who gets notified when u request an extention when it expires in april...
ohhhhhhhhhhhhh and by the way if anyone remembers Pris ..she got her visa approved in Sydney on the 22nd ...sent me a message in msn telling me all about it...

take care
kath

Kath, I had a go at answering your question in the K1 forum.

hi becky
thanks for your response but i posted all the information together .. the readiness and the extension letter from robbie...so now we are just waiting for some news from them...
hows things going for you in u.s.a have you got a job lined up becky...did it take you long for you to settle back into things...

well i better go shopping on our sunny saturday morning we have gone back to summer here be feel of it lol
take care
kath

nope

matt

Hi evryone

I'm still reading the site. I'm just amazed at all of the information here, right down to the people at the Embassy in Sydney.

Been reading through here, bookmarking cheap flight websites and travel movers etc. I'm just trying to keep sane for another day till Husband gets back so I can bug him for that dang USCIS number

Not looking forward to all of the costs though. Didn't think it'd be cheap, but wasn't really expecting a 'holiday' in Bisbane and Sydney...

welcome to the site nip

which state you in..yes this site has a wealth of info glad you could find us...
hope your journey so far has been uneventful and you have a speedy rest of your journey if ya got any questions just post them an someone will try an answer them for you..good luck

take care
kath
psssssssssst don't forget to fill your timeline in...

I'm up in Central/Coastal Queensland *Go the Cwboys!* and I would do my timeline if I had dates!

MY KINGDOM FOR DATES *glares at hubby* hehe, though I guess I could start with how we meet hmm....

Oh there is life here again. Just love that little mouse. Was tempted to post it again on this page just so we could keep seeing it.

Thanks Lorelle for that link of the service centres info. Feel so much better now really, understanding it a bit. I was starting to imagine all sorts of things. My Andrew has just said "oh he has no doubts we will be together again, just got to be patient". He would have to be one of the most not patient people I know so for him to say these things is such a rock of strength to me too.
Seems he has been approved finally for the loan on the house, the sale has not gone thru totally but he has packed and cleaned up most of the house he is renting now. Can't wait to see it and him and his son in it. Wish I had been there as planned but kinda glad I'm missing the packing up bit. Hee Hee. I love that boy almost as much as his Dad. I am so lucky to have found two such prescious boys (but cheeky terrors really)who had this empty place in there lives just waiting for me to fill up.

I do like mushrooms Niphredil but I think that man of yours is in for a good talking to if he wants his wife to still have hair when he gets you back.

Take Care all,
Stella.

Niphredil welcome to the site hope it all goes smoothly for you

Kath hows it all going. Hope your shoulder is not to bad. it would be good if you could get it done before you come over here, save on the expense... hve you heard about your extension yet?

angela

just wanted to congratulate caroline and stewart for their successful interview in sydney.

matt

Yah! good to hear some good news.

Well I'm just waiting for case complete at NVC now. They received the last of everything, the DS-230, on the 24th March. Im still hoping for a May interview so they better pull their finger out and give me case complete within a couple of weeks or Im not gonna make it

Niphredil,,,,,,,,Good to see you found us

Congrats again Caroline and Stewart

Hi *waves* Still trying to wade through the sea of information here and trying to not drown in it. I think I have things worked out... just a matter of trying to tell Dave to not bother with K-3 anymore.

I've been reading about people calling up the NVC about times and if things have been processed etc.

Does anyone from Australia actually call, or are you referring to your spouse in America calling it?

I call all the time

NVC Timesavers, Knowing your case number, James Shortcuts. You will find the number for NVC in the thread as well. Well worth your time for you and Dave to read.

Ive been reading them, and seeing what I could do besides the barcode thing. I'm a jittery nervous bug when it comes to these things *and I'd rather do it right first time with the right equipment, then have to redo it again*, so, going to get Dave to do a mockup Affidavit of support *since he'll probably have 3 months to do it, surely thats enough time ><*, so when he does get it, he just has to fill it in with what he's already worked out and send it in, get blood tests done and any vaccinations done before the medical, police reports as soon as NVC gets the case etc.

I was just a little unsure of how to call them. I'm used to 0011-1-(area code)-(phone number) that I use to call him, but do you use something else? or just the same? 0011-1-603-334-0700?

Yep just put the 0011-1 in front.

We didnt use James Shortcuts.....hubby is a stickler for correct procedures lol I wont fault him on it...we have had an easy run through with no RFE's. The Time Savers do cut the time down, just not as much as Jame's Shortcuts can.

I just had another look at the shortcuts, and actually generated one. For some odd reason, I thought you had to print it, cut it out, then paste it onto the form I'm getting senile in my not-quite-so-old-but-should-know-better-age (of a whopping 26, aiyee)

I might try one of them, and see how it goes, when the time comes that is. If it gets knocked back, then eh, the original is still on it's way.

Thanks again

I cant recall any posts of self generated forms getting knocked back. We can't have an aussie being the first hahahaha that just wouldnt do. It really is suppose to be easy and saves an enormous amount of time. One of the quickest I have seen is YamSam....they had case complete at NVC in 50 days. Without the shortcuts or timesavers it can takes 4-5 months at NVC

My AP is approved!
Surely my EAD can't be far behind!

Congrats Karo on your interview!

aww thanks guys.

Yeah the calling thing was weird. When I got to Oz, my mobile worked there - so I was happy. I tried to ring Stewart's mobile the way I usually do...011 etc etc realizing since my mobile was hooked into Optus, it was local now.

It took me 20 mins of fooling with it until finally, at the airport, I walked up to some guy and was like, if this is how I dial from America, how would I dial it here.

he laughed, but helped me no worries.

I love Australia

So happy for you two Caroline. How was the flight?? Hope you enjoy your short stay. Mmm, think you just might.
Yeah we all like it down here in the lucky country, although it seems some are doing their best to try and wreck the place.

Kath any news on the shoulder? Sorry if you said already, but what exactly is up with it? These types of things can get you down. I know after nearly three years of my body parts giving me problems. I'm mostly better now though.

Well today, the 29th, was the date Andrew had booked our wedding. Cancelled now of course. Optimistic weren't we!! Pretty OK about it though, after the morose kind of 2 weeks I have just had and been spatt back out of. Thanks to the gods and some info Aussiewench led me to. Been doing some casual work too. I was worried about that when interview time came, as I have not worked too much in the last 5 years with the last two being on the dissability pension.

Bye for now,
Stella.

I GOT MY EAD!!!!
it's been a good day, I'm so excited!

aye aye ayyee

Not sure what to do/think right now...

Finally got to chat with husband. He has a piece of paper that tells him 'Thanks for sending in the form", but no receipt number or any sort of dates. Blegh. He's going to call them up Thursday, since thats his next day off, and because, by the time we realised just wtf happened, they were already closed today ><

Then after I explained about the K-3 thing, how, since it's been 3 months, might as well wait out the I-130, he tells me that he'll have to send in the I-129F anyway, since thats what the guys helping him before said he had to do. Huh? No... thats for the K-3. Nooo I have to send it in... after... the... well crap.

Yes, he had been told about it, but forgot about it till now, but hey, since, as far as I know, we dont have a NOA1 yet, it's still probably a viable option ><

3 months. 3 whole FRIGGIN' months...

He still wants to do the K-3 route though. "If it gets you there a month earlier, then thats what I want to do"... even if it's going to cost more, and means I wont be bringing in any money, because once I pay for flights and tests and forms, I'll have negative money. Okay, I guess, sure. I want to get away from this god forsaken place. Local Councils, gotto hate them... Love my family, hate the town...



Congratulations!
*take 2 ^^; for some reason, it didn't want to post before*

Uh, are you sure?
That sounds like NOA1.



whoa.
I've never seen anyone else say that!


weirder.. stella used to be my online nick.
freeeeeky

(how do I get subscribed to these Australia threads and then I can't stay away??? I must have a thing for you people )

We're luvable



Niphredil,

Sure sounds like NOA1 to me. Ask him if there is a number starting with 3 letters. In the top right corner it should also say I-797 or I-797C Notice of Action.

Nope, just the USCIS/Texas logo. No numbers, nothing starting with LIN/WAC/EAC or SCR or dates of any kind apparently.

I really wish I had looked into this like 2 months ago...

congratulations jodie.

matt

hey Jodie thats excellent now the job hunting can begin

angela

Just wondering if anyone can shed some light on how much it cost you to move to the USA from aussie. We are in Sydney and will be moving to Roswell New Mexico (yes yes yes the land of UFO's). We will be moving three kids under 6yrs and 2 adults!.

We arn't planning on moving furniture or anything like that just some personal belongings ,we are going to sell up here and re buy there. So mainly what did you land in the USA with, how much did it cost you to re set yourselves up?

if thats ok to ask, hope it's not to personal but with 3 kids we need to be financially planned b4 we head over