Hi Jezz,

You also get an official receipt/letter at the time you apply for your SSN and you can use it until the SSN Card arrives eg, when you get a job. I used it for my Army spouse stuff until the card arrived.

Hey Moonie, at least you will be getting married in Summer, so the beach would be lovely. Jake and I just got married by ourselves, money was tight but it was still special especially his Walmart wedding ring that we got cause we are still waiting for his stolen wedding ring to be returned (the case is still going on in court).

Oh god my hubby is being sooky tonight it's making me laugh...he's such a goofy goof!

Cheers
Lyndel

Hi All!Just wanted to drop a quick line...Eric is still here so we been a bit busay

CONGRATS Kath on the job!! Erics mum actually has worked for Kmart for over 35yrs!!
CONGRATS Kel on your visa!

Hope those who are waiting for their NOA2s get it soooon!

Lyndel & Paul - hope to hear good news with the Verizon & Home Depot gig!

Paul - your greencard should arrive soon...I have read instances where it has taken 3 months. But maybe make an InfoPass appnt? I will be entering on a similar visa - im on the IR1. How long did it take before you got your SSN?

Hope everyone is doing gooood!!

This vacation hasnt been the best (poor bugger been sick and one of my dogs got a middle ear infection so ) but I am still glad we got some us time b4 I make the move.

Eric's leaving on Tuesday then 2 weeks later I'll be joining him ... I cannot wait!!

PS
Still need to lose weight lol

Hiya Elle

Thanks for your well wishes on my Interview at Home Depot this Arvo
As well as Everyone else that has wished me luck for my Interview thanks a bunch .
Cheryl took me down to SS Office on the Thursday,
and I recieved it on the Following Wednesday.
Just make sure you take your passport with you and show them the
IRI VISA as when you do your POE THEY WILL STAMP IT ON THE ACTUAL VISA.
And make sure you have your Address in the USA Written down to give to them.

Btw Lyndel... we use Verizon for both Internet (FIOS) as well as Cell Phone.
And why is Jake being SOOKY LALA? LOL

Anyone that has come across the Big Puddle..
Notice how different the Toilet Paper is here
Just a observation on my part..

Enjoy the rest of the time that you have with Eric,
and hope your doggie gets better soon.

Cheers
Paul

Just recieved my(2 YEAR) Permanent Resident Card in the Post today!!!!!!

YIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPIIEEEEEEEEE SKIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPYYYYYYYYY

Getting ready for my Interview @ Home Depot at 5pm Massachusetts Time (TODAY)Friday

I Hope everyone is feeling as good as I am AT THIS PARTICULAR POINT IN TIME !!!

CHEERS

PAUL

Hello All

Well I went for the Interview @ Home Depot this Arvo @ 5pm..

And was Interviewed by the HR Manager for about 25 minutes...

And he said Well Paul first off You have to go to the Local Hospital
On Monday to get Drug Tested.. No Biggie .. I don't do Drugs..
He will Recieve the Results prolly by Next Wednesday..
Then he took all my details down and said..
We will be doing a Background Check..and should have that back by Next Wednesdsay.

And once we get Both the Drug Test and The Background Check Done..
We will Call you in for a 8 HOUR ORIENTATION NIGHT.. PROLLY 9PM - 6AM
And it's Paid Orientation.. with video on customer service,, and their S.O.P.
As he said if we Employ you Paul you will be doing 3rd Shift..
Doing Recieved Stock teardown and Replentishment of racks,
Through out the whole store Hours are 9pm -6am Monday - Friday
So I am hoping that all goes well with Orientation and be
EMPLOYED BY NEXT FRIDAY as temp for 90 days,
then after 90 days .. We as in the Department Manager and Myself,
And discuss how they think I went and if they like me,
then they will offer me Full -Time Work
So fingers Crossed please lol.
I hope all is well with all my VJ Friends and ya'all are feeling the Luuuurrrve

Cheers

Paul

just got in here to see if you had posted paul lol
whoooo hoooo hammy ... good for you mate...
im still waiting for kmart to ring me to go in to sign forms...

3rd shift huh...receiving wont be too bad some is back braking stuff but you will do fine...
thought you were going in for security...

good to hear you will be gainfully employed by next friday...

whats this about the toilet paper..i noticed no difference mate lol...

tis good news paul congrats mate..

just lyndel to see how she goes on monday...good luck mate...you will do fine im sure ...was good to talk to you too ...
kath

Hey all,

Well after nearly 7mths I have my visa, at least I am 99.99% sure!!

The Consular Officer never said Congratulations, you have a visa or you are approved. She just said, everything looks good and you should receive your passport by Mon or Tues. There wasn't much of an interview either. I had my hubby and son with me and all she asked were simple formalities and how old our son was. She also aslo clarified with me how long I had been in Japan. I was there about 355 days in total and was told a few weeks ago I would need a police certificate for Japan. Thankfully, I didn't!!! That was it.

The interview took about 3mins. We were in the actual consulate, after security for about 30mins. Not bad at all.

Thankyou all who have helped me and best of luck for those you are still on your journey!!

Also, best of luck for those of you with job interviews!!

Thanks Paul, Moonie, Elle and Poi_n_J for the congrats!!

Hollywood-Congrats on getting you visa!

Lyndel-Good luck with Verizon, my fingers are crossed for you!

Paul-My fingers are also crossed for you! Hope things work out!


Just a quickie.....with the whole 6 month thing on the visa, does that mean that I have to get married within those 6 mths, or just into the US????

Take care..


Kell!

whooo hoo congrats hollywood on the visa mate... glad it went well for you.. yeah i know what ya mean about it only taking a bit ours was about 5 mins too...shame they cant look at your paperwork then ring you up huh lol
safe journey home when you planning on leaving oz...

hi tristessa

the 6 months thing is relating to the visa...you have 6 months to leave oz and enter the states...on entering the states you have 90 days from your POE entry to get married...then you have to do your AOS before your I-94 expires...but some have got approved after the expiry date..

take care
kath

Congratulations Hollywood! Thats great news!!!

Wow...CONGRATS TO EVERYONE! There are too many to name and too many topics.

Congrats to all the Visa holders, Job holders, Tim-Tam eaters, etc!!!!

Vylex - Call this number and use your receipt number from your petition to see if NVC has received your case and assigned a number. If they have received it, you can obtain your case number and if they have not recived it, then you will be told by the automated message that they have no record of it and it is still at CSC

603 334-0700

The USCIS got slammed with more HIB applications this year than they ever have. They issued a press release on it. These employers pay the big bucks to get people pending workers visa's processed faster. This hit on USCIS has literally stopped processing for all other pending visa's. There are a lot of people at CSC who have been approved and petitions sent to NVC without an NOA2 having been received yet. They claim that they will catch up with the NOA2's. However you can call the NVC and check to see if your case is there.

Hey guys!

Hope everyone is doing well...


Just another quickie!

My medical expires on the 17th of November, and I am just wondering, should I get to the US before this expires, or will I have to go through it all again? Because I was looking at flying over in November.

Silly me thought all the hard stuff was over with!

hi ya tris

Well it is going to be a tight squeeze for you mate..If your not coming over till november you will have to get over here before it expires get married and get your AOS asap..

The medical has to be still valid when you apply for the AOS..otherwise you might have to have a complete medical over here in the states ...Im wondering if you should email the embassey about this..ask them if you go for another medical before you leave would that be ok.. because from what i have read the medicals can be awfully expensive over here...the only thing you really need for the AOS is the vaccination sheet the medical examiner filled out...

hope that all made sense to you ..

kath

Thanks so much Kath!

So how soon should I get there, because if it has to be valid for my AOS, I am wondering if I should get there with a few weeks up my sleeve as it may take time?

Kath or anyone else who has already AOS'd,

A question about the vaccination worksheet... The doctor only gave me a photocopy of the vaccination sheet is that okay for AOS or do I somehow need an original? I also heard that you need to get a doctor in the us to transcribe the vaccination stuff onto a different form to send in to the AOS, is that right, or is the original vaccination worksheet sufficient?

Thanks!

I have been a cleaning fool!

Yesterday and today was marathon washing and it is still going on! I had to do some heavy duty shredding I had bills filled away from 1995 I also went out and got some new sheets and a new shower curtain. I think I want to paint my bathroom but I might wait, he may be bored while I am at work and need some things to do

I can't believe this Friday my sweetie bear will be here.

hi tris and jess

I definetly would give it at least a couple of weeks or even more before the medical expires...that way you have time to get married..fill out all the paperwork and send it express post next day with signature confirmation and tracking delivery to get it into Chicago before it expires...its the vaccination shet they are interested in

There has been alot of posts about the vaccination sheet..when I did my AOS i sent in a copy of the vaccination sheet and on my coversheet for the packet i sent in i put original handed in at my POE...i didnt get an RFE about it..but others in here that have just sent the copy of the original have had RFE's stating they need to get it transferred by a U.S. medical examiner onto a I-693A ... so its such a catch 22.. on what to do..might be a good idea to get your fiance to fill in the AOS forms now to save time ..it took me about 4 days to get it orgainised after we couldnt find his orginal copy of his tax return for 2006 luckily we had copies to send off for our petition..


jess the brown envelope contains your original pettition your medical paperwork and that gets sent to USCIS so you dont need the original they will have it..

I know i probably didnt answer you directly cos this one is a sticky one...AussieAngel advised me about the POE thing and it worked for her and myself...and many others...

take care
kath

Ooh interesting Rings, thanks for that update. Maybe that's also why ours took a while to be assigned at NVC. I still have my fingers crossed for you guys and Vylex..hopefully that is the case that they have been approved.

Well, we finally have our case number - Yay..! Except I'm a little unsure cos it starts with CJD instead of the usual SYD for Sydney which is strange will have to check in the NVC string to see if that's the norm... so now we wait a couple more weeks for the forms to be generated but I have my job to do of putting together the barcode for the I-864 bill to send in when we can and putting together the email for the DS3230 when that has been generated.

Otherwise, it's the Queen's birthday this weekend coming up so cleaning the apartment is on the agenda and getting it ready for the big Garage Sale the following.

A big hello and best wishes to everyone else on their journey.........

Got an email from NVC...
they've sent off our petition to the consulate here in sydney!!
yay!! any day now i'll get packet 3!!

whooo hooooooo sharyna
not long now before you hear something fantastic news...
damm things have moved along well and i hope the ones still waiting will soon have something to report to us all..

lyndel good luck for tomorrow ...let us know how you went mate...

kath...

stage 3 yeah.. i'm hoping this week..... hoping fingers crossed.. then stage 4 interview time and thats it on this side of the ocean......

lets hope everything moves quickly for everyone!!

Actually Paulyou may know?

What was your NVC number/did it start with SYD or something else as ours does?

Thanks a lot Kath I'm going to scout around for the registered doctors in LA and place a few phone calls. If its a lot of money or hassle I'm going to do exactly what you did and hope for the best. If its easy and cheap to go see a doc and get it transcribed I'll try to do that.

Tony and I are already organising the paperwork so its all pretty much done when I get out there except for a trip to a photocopy place.

my number starts with SYD...
for sydney ....

hey guys.. question...
i've done my blood tests and my police check... when does the chest xray thingy come in?... does that need to be done by a consulate approved doctor?

The chest X-ray comes in when you go to the appointment with the consulate approved doctor sharyna to answer your question.

Yay!!!

Just got out of my interview and believe it or not they rang withing 15mins to say I got the job! How weird is that!

Anyway, I am now a Project Manager - Testing at Verizon.

So many great things are happening for everyone in here these days (me included) brings a smile to my face!

Start next Monday....lady of leisure this week!!!

WHOOOO HOOOO GUDONYA LYNDEL..CONGRATS TO YA MATE

your right things are looking up for many of the aussies in here..now get your AOS in so you dont have to quit work because of the expiry on the EAD from JFK mate...lol

now USCIS get your ##@## into gear and approve our aussie mates for goodness sakes...

i still havent heard anything from K-Mart the slackers...rang today but I had to leave a message ..
take care you lot
kath

Thanks for that info Rings! I'll give it a try.

Hope things are going well with you.

thanks jezz!!

congrats girlfrmoz!!

Congrats Lyndel..that is just wonderful..!!

Ok, I've worked it out and have our real NVC Case Number; they had a 3 instead of an 8 on the email which is what I was looking at but when I tried the one from the NOA1 it was right AND it was assigned a little earlier...phew... glad I'm not following someone else's journey lol..

What do you mean Kath; I thought you already have the job?

hi ya pris

well i had my interview wednesday.. and the manager said i would get a phone call to go in and sign papers ..i hadnt received the phone call.. i rang them today and talked to faith (damm receptionist couldnt understand me saying faith...i had to spell it.. she prounounced it faaaaaaaaaaith sheesh) anyways got hold of her and she said she had days off and organising orientations and i wasnt forgotten about..so im going in on wednesday to sign the paperwork..

glad you got that all sorted out ..would of worried me too..one step closer mate...

take care
kath

congrats Kath and Lyndel!!

Hey Kath, thanks for that!

LMAO.. I heard that if you don't speak exactly like them even if it is still english they say they don't understand you. I can tell I'm gonna have a lot of fun with that when I get there . Why just this morning I was asking J to get some light globes while he was out for the ones that are blown and he goes 'What's a globe?'..??? Aparantly, it's light 'bulb' over there... I said, 'bulbs are flowers!' lol..

So we have been moping and worrying and living in fear of being denied...and today Rings got a letter in the mail saying that the NVC received an approved I-129F petition on MAy 31st.

We are approved!

We haven't got our NOA2 yet but it seems there are a number of people in this position, with the backlog of paperwork CSC has experience due to the number of H-1B worker's visa applications received in early April. But at least now we know it is on its way, which is a bazillion times better than the uncertainty of not knowing if it is coming at all.

The letter says that the petition will be forwarded to the US Consulate in Sydney within a week. We are rapt, all smiling and laughing and this has made our day.

Thanks to everyone that offered support during our times of uncertainty, we have drawn a lot of strength from the positivity of you guys and we appreciate that having a place like this to share our worries and down moments is a genuine help in getting through when this whole process drains us.

Yay..! Well Done..! Congrats..!!!

Awe finally. It has been such a long road. I thought of every miserable thing that could have happened. I hope you get yours soon too Vylex! If you e-mail them, they will let you know if you are approved and you may get a notice of NVC receiving it without your NOA2 being issued yet so keep an eye on your mail. The website has not been updated to reflect our approval.

Congrats!

It is such a relief to get that hump over with! After that it moves so much faster! Now he gets to come for good!

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YOU TWO FANTASTIC NEWS TO HEAR

and here's me sending you a message to see how things are going for you two ...i must of had vibes or summit lol

smiling big time for you two congrats...good luck on the next steps wont be long now ...

hey pris
ohh im a stickler for aussie in our household lol i'm bad at correcting lol...robbie has done the same to me lol what you talkin about willis lol...

take care
smiling big time for loke and rings
kath
p.s.
is it just me or is everyone else on the new look of the posting..instead of posting the whole thing and scrolling back to read others you get to choose from the nicks below...and has anyone looked at the aussie portal next to my controls

Awe Kath your timing was incredible! You totally rock and you are one of the most helpful and genuine people I have had the pleasure of getting to know. You held me up so many times. I want to send you flowers for everything you have done for me and Loke's spirits.

WHOA! CONGRATS LOKE AND RINGS!!!!


THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT TOO RINGS! Wow! It's amazing how I remember all of us going through the first phase of filing. Now this! Time flies and things progress when we are surrounded by such a wonderful group of people. I rang the NVC but no sign of it yet. I will wait patiently.

Vylex- I called and checked to see if mine was at NVC just this morning and the machine said that they did not have it on file. So keep checking your mail because obviously they are behind in updating the systems or something. *hugs*

Congratulations Rings and Loke! That is Great News!

congrats Ring and Loke!!!

Aww thanks everyone, we appreciate everything you guys have done for us and please know that our hopes are with you all as you travel your own journey, whether it be waiting for approval, getting everything in order for interviews or finding work on the other side of the pond etc...

Does anyone know who the USCIS approved doctors are in Melbourne? I'd like to try to book my medical asap as that seems to be the one thing that could cause delays.

I think we found the doctor

I hope you're right and it's just a matter of waiting for the mail.

THANKS AGAIN and CONGRATS TO YOU TWO!!! I know hard it was to part ways just weeks ago but now you get this awesome news. How awesome!

hiddy ho loke
congrats to you...if you go to the top of this page click on embassey info..the names of the melbourne doctors and their respective phone numbers are in there..

one in melb is dr. poppenbeck in bourke street... then you go up to the top of collins street for your x-ray..there is also one in monash clinic...
i am so happy your once step closer to getting over here...see patience is a must in this journey huh...
take care
kath

We found this one
Okraglik Charles
Level 4, 250 Collins St MELBOURNE
Telephone 9903 1177

I just booked with Dr Charles Okraglik at Monash for 9 am on the 16th July.

Just an FYI for anyone else, he is away from June 28 until July 13. Mid-July looks reasonable for us as it allows time for the approved petition to be forwarded to Sydney and for the forms I will need for the appointment to get out to me. I'm not sure about Dr Poppenbeck, but I know someone else posted in April that he was booked until the end of May so it's probably fair to assume he's reasonably busy at this time too.