Hey Matt, that matesupover site is pretty cool, got some interesting stuff, I'll probably lurk about there like I lurk here mostly. I usually leave the posting to others unless I have something really pertinent to say. I always keep me flame proof undies on just in case.
I live in Orlando by the way folks. Cheers y'all, Lindy

i'm in baltimore, md and have a huge headache from the duvet thread in the 'moving here and your new life in america' board... can any aussies in the US relieve me of my headache?


while i'm at it i want to ask has anyone come across a service to transfer money from a US bank account to an australian bank account? I have a credit card bill that needs some urgent attention.

oh and yeah, did all you transplanted aussies here about eddie mcguire and channel nine? and then like me have a bit of a chuckle?

jodie.

toledo, ohio .. here (well will be in june ish)

hi purple

ohh you came across the ole duvet thread did ya....lol..for fast relief use that stick you rub on your forehead....(saw the commercial the other night for the life of me i cant remember what it is called) lol
or so lie down with a face washer across ya eyes...

i think we discussed the bank transfers in the other thread i think....will do a search for you...

and no i hadnt heard about eddie.. what is he wanting more money ...did they sack him.. i want a chuckle too cos i hate collingwood lol

hope you doing well in the states purple..im visiting at the moment i go home next week..was good to get rid of all the pent up frustrations and live like a couple for a month...

talk to you soon

take care
kath

hi purple

found it on page 53 on the original (that dont look right) thread...more said to about it too purple

here ya go

Oh yeah, not sure if it's been mentioned in this thread before, I just used HIFX (www.hifx.com.au) to transfer a bunch of aussie dollars into our US account, they were great! Fast and simple to use and no fees, plus a good exchange rate! Really recommend them!

and yes you can transfer from usa to australia too...

Yeah thank for helping her Kath- HIFX worked great as I originally mentioned.

Just sorted out my shipment- got stung on this end, I used an unaccompanied excess baggage company who said there would be a ~$20 fee on this end to get the goods. It turns out to be $35US, no probs, but they didnt bother to mention that if the items are valued over $200 I have to use a Customs Broker, the b@stards, so there's another $125, thanks for that! Grrrr....

Apart from that, just enjoying the lovely Bay Area weather, not bad for winter!!! 77 degrees in Oakland this week, sweeet!

spike

hi spike

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr we got 29f at the mo but ya know what it aint as bad as melbourne weather..lol

that is a pretty low value price they put on things ...i would of been fuming as well

enjoy ya warm weather mate
take care
kath

hi all,

i got my I-693 supplement yesterday. $25 for them to copy info from one sheet of paper to another...i could have done that myself!!

then they hit me up for a tetnus vaccination cause i couldn't prove that i had one about 3 years ago...$33 thanks for coming

does the uscis get a kickback from these doctors or what??

matt

Just thought that I would pop in quick in case you missed the other zillion posts that I made to tell you all that we had a VERY easy ride in Sydney today and our visa was approved!! Scott and I will be coming home on friday!!

And we had ROSE!! and she was NICE!!

hi mellie
yes i did miss all ya posts was wondering how your interview went ..
congrats to you both i bet the kids will be getting excited to have you both home...cant wait to see some wedding pics mellie...

i leave here on wednesday arrive in sydney on friday morning..so will send safe journey thoughts your way while im in the airport mate...

question: i have booked my medical for march but not leaving oz till june would that work out ok for the rest of the journey once i get here...i dont want to be having another medical over in the states?

we have set a wedding date of 14th July whether i change it or not i dont know yet lol...

hey matt
how come you had to get a copy of the I-693 (and what actually is it)
good luck for your interview on tuesday.
take care ya'll
kath

kath,

the I-693 looks almost identical to the vaccination record the doctor in australia fills out for your medical.

from everything i've read you need to get that before you have your aos interview...just in case.

i've seen many times on this board that people haven't had it when they went for their interview and couldn't get approved until they got it. by the same token, i've also seen that people got the form and then were never asked for it at their interview.

so to be on the safe side you are probably best off getting it done. and if you don't know when your last tetnus shot was, get one done back in australia if your doctor bulk bills it, then get a record of it so you don't get caught out like i did.

matt

ps: thanks for the well wishes for tomorrow. i'll let you all know how it went.

Good luck with the interview Matt. Wishing you the best with it


Kath, there is some pics of mellie and scott from yesterdays interview in the thread in OT if you havent seen yet.


Lorelle

Congrats Mellie and goodluck Matt, yeah Rose is not as bad as she may appear sometimes, she only snarls when folks ain't got their papers in order or give her any lip. Cheers Lindy

I'm getting nervous

hi all,

well, the aos interview was a success. they were running late so we go into our interview about a half hour after our appointment time.

we had a youngish women do our interview. it was all quite easy, she didn't ask for anything that we had brought with us (including that fcukin vaccination supplement, what a waste of $58). she mentioned that my birthday is in a few days. (don't know why)

she asked how we met, did i have a job (we said no, and not by choice), when did we meet in person, asked if chanin had been married before (she hasn't, i have), if she had any kids (she doesn't, i do) and then said that she will approve the aos and i should have my greencard in about 2 - 4 weeks. we were in there for about 15 minutes all up.

so now i'm done for 2 years...feels great.

matt

Wow, Matt! That's great!@ Congrats! I'm sure it's a relief to be done with it all.

Please don't leave us at VJ now that you're done. At least hang out in the AUssie thread so you can keep up with my aussie wanna be self

Matt
thats excellent news you must be pleased its all over for a while congratulations to you both we are sending off our aos next week hope i have got it all in order lol

angela

hey matt

fantastic news mate ...glad it went well for you..smiling here big time that you got through it without a hitch...

i leave the states tomorrow last two days have been depressing but i will bounce back positive thinking is all that is needed..not looking forward to packing yet again...

robbie came home from work this morning about 1am and i heard a knocking sound on the door...(not too keen on opening the door that time of morning) and it kept being rattled...then i heard the keys jingle an thought its robbie so i opened the door an there he was holding this huge heart face thing with arms and legs...and this red soft hush puppy...im not use to celebrating valentines day so early in the morning....i found something practical for him a seat massager...he loved it as i love my pressies...damm im one lucky woman to have a fella like robbie...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
take care
kath

Kath&rob

hey Kath im so happy you were able to spend valentines with Rob it must have been fantastic for you both. Make sure you have a safe flight back to aussie and it wont be long and you will be on your way back over here again.
take care angela

thanks guys.

kath, did you look at air canada for your flight in june?

matt

Air Canada to go where? Australia? is that a good deal?

I'm flying Air New Zealand in March...but it's FF miles so it was cheap

We have to go back next xmas for his sister's wedding and i'm petrified of how much it is going to cost!!!

hi
just a quick note to let ya know im leaving toledo in half an hour...
will talk to you all from australia

yes i did check out the deals with canada air.. i think that will be the way to go.. or with british airways...

see ya when i get to oz
take care
kath

Congrats Matt, relax now, it's clear sailing for a couple of years, enjoy life. Cheers Lindy

Oi oi oi. I haven't posted in this one since the changeover. In case you don't know, I'm from St. Louis. And so is my Aussie wife now! But that's old news.

OzGal - I was just in Orlando last week. I was staying in a HORRIBLE motel though. My best friend lives in a great neighborhood, even though it's RIGHT in Disney's back yard but I actually like it in Orlando!
i'm in Jacksonville! Do ya'll ever make it up this way?

Ameristralian - Glad you are now posting back on this board - EVEN though you were just doing it to go platinum

Matt.......Congratulations on the interview Great news.


Kath, dont forget to let me know when you guys will be in Sydney so we can meet up.

Lorelle

[quote name='karo112' date='Feb 16 2006, 07:32 AM' post='31172']
OzGal - I was just in Orlando last week. I was staying in a HORRIBLE motel though. My best friend lives in a great neighborhood, even though it's RIGHT in Disney's back yard but I actually like it in Orlando!
i'm in Jacksonville! Do ya'll ever make it up this way?



Hey Karo, Haven't been there yet, I pretty much live in a small world of my own here in downtown Orlando,but we'll get there one day I'm sure. Glad you liked it, sorry about the sucky motel.Cheers Lindy

hey evereyone

went and got ssn yesterday in my married name had a few problems but i pointed out a few facts i got from on here and after a bit of discusion the lady did it how i ask her to and wow it worked so now just waiting for it to come in the mail
angela

score one for the good guys angela

matt

hi ya all

just a quick note to let ya know i arrived home safely...its damm hot..even though its only around 25c..lol..my body hibernated for winter an coming home to summer is a shock to the system lol..

flight went better than going to the states..slept quite a bit ..so im home now i gotta figure out what the hell am i suppose to do with all my stuff lol
mellie and scott will be in the air now...wench knowing my luck you will be outta oz by the time i get my interview date...but if it does happen when your still here i will sure give ya a holla...
talk to all soon going for a lie down...
take care
kath

Hi everyone, Just letting you all know, we finally got our NOA2 today!!! Just about ready to pull my hair out and there it was online A-Freakin-Proved!! YAHOO!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!!!!

Hope it's a good one

KaffyKat

wow congratulations wont be long and you will be off to sydney for your interview

Kath&Rob
im pleased you arrived home safely you might have to have a big garage sale have a good rest

angela

Yayyyyyyyyyy Kaffykat....Congrats

Well done angela

Oh and Kath.....I could be here for few months yet. Its looking more like end of May early June instead of end of April as I had hoped If you aint got your interview by then they need a boot up the behind Glad you arrived home safe.....yeah tis hot hu

Lorelle

hi ya

well had a good sleep stayin up till my usual bed time been ok today...

congrats kaffykat was wondering about how you were getting along...good news for you thats for sure...

angela i know i will have to have one ..its finding the time to do it lol

aussie awwwwwwwww mate im sorry to hear that ...but will let ya know when mine is and im not bothered if its june for my interview cos were not leavin till late june anyhow lol but will keep you informed mate
take care you lot
kath

Hi Kath, thanks for the invite to this Aussy stream. Now do I post questions here? I'm really not the best at this yet. Anyways I am starting to worry that what I thought was our NOA1 for the petition for K1 visa may not have been. It was titled 1-797C Notice of Action. I'm guessing we are not exactly a straight forward case as well so I will probably be adding more sticky questions after this. Must be something about these yanks we are all going through all this stressing & waiting for them. Thanks again Stella.

hi stella

welcome to the aussie thread mate....yes you can post questions here someone will always try and answer them...

that I-797 is your NOA1 (receipt notice)...the NOA2 is your approval notice..in notice type this time it will give you dates your visa application is valid for...

enjoy your waiting game along with many others around the world..and by the way if ya frustrated vent vent vent lol we dont mind one bit cos we know what you are going through...
take care
kath

Thanks again Kath,
Yes I'm sure everyone around me is tired of my "venting" already, so I'll try to leave it here.
Stella

Okay now for the questions...

Would I be jumping the gun if I went and starting organising my police certificate now, or would I be best to wait til the petition has left the NVC?? I am pretty sure I read somewhere that they have a 12 month validity.

I need to get a tetanus shot done, gawd knows when I had my last one so I may as do that now as they last 10 years. All the other stuff, well heck I can't even remember when I had them done, let alone by which doctor...

Is there anything else I need to be worrying about right at this point in time, or do I just sit back and enjoy the fact that my NOA2 finally came through??

oh oh forgot one more, very important thing.

I am also going to be doing K2 for my daughter. I know she doesn't need to do the blood tests or xrays. She is 13, what vaccinations are they likely to focus on for her?? She had all the shots when she was a baby/toddler and the ones they did at school. She is due for an MMR & tetanus when she is 15, but this is about it I think.

Does Mike need to do a separate I864 for myself and my daughter?

Okay Okay I am an organisation freak, so shoot me..... Now you know why I found the wait so aggrivating, I couldn't do anything but needed to.

hi ya
your most welcome stella ...and dont worry about the venting people around you are just as excited as you are about this journey and probably sharing your feelings about it all....

hey there kaffy
if you go to the first page of this thread you will find the archives of the last one.. in there ..there are copies of the vaccinations you need..if you cant find them i will scan my copies out of my packet 4 for you an email them to you...what you might like to do is get a blood test to check up on your ammunity for the vaccinations we have to have..then when the results come through get your doctor to give you a copy of the results..i got my tetnus on medicare...i am also going to see if i can get my HIV blood tests done also on medicare...

as for the police check yes you are right it is valid for 12 months..the same with you medical ....

dont worry on the organising friek i am the same way ... you should see all the different folders i have with stuff in them robbie cant believe it...

im not sure on the I-184 as yet..maybe do a search on the website search engine above to find out...

take care
kath

no way, infact i'd say jump on it as soon as you can, some unlucky buggers have mistakes or absenses on them, so best to get it as soon as you can... you'll have plenty of time.



i think if you go to your gp they can do a blood test and tell you what you've had and what you haven't... and then give you what you need... i got a letter from my doc stating what i had and took this to the medical so the physican could tick it off on his sheet.



well i'd sit back and take a breath anyway.. and definitely no worrying! but it depends on how much of a hurry you are to get over there... when my noa2 came i had my ds-2301 ready to go so the day my letter from the sydney consulate came all i had to do is date and sign it and i put it in the mail that day...

i also had my medical done w aaaaay before my noa2 came... so you could get that over and done with if you wanted to...

if youre bringing your daughter with you, you require child custody documentation too... so a court record or a signed affidavit from the other parent including a copy of photo idea or a death certificate...




are you sure you don't have to do a I-134? i know sometimes people do a I-864 but im unsure myself under what circumstances you are asked to complete one instead of the other... so all i can tell you is that sydney asked me for a I-134... as for having to do two... again i'm unsure but i know that someone here could help you out with that....




Congratulations on getting it Kaffykat!

Thanks for that guys.

I was going to go do the Police Certificate thing today, but held off as I was unsure. Tomorrow it is, by the looks. Going to the doctors as well tomorrow, my daughter is way impressed, she will prolly need to have the hep b shot. Ah well pain loves company, may as well got the whole hog and get that bloodtest done as well. I don't think you can book the medical in Brissie before you have some kind of documentation from the consulate, well that is my understanding from their website (doctors). These guys seem to charge a lot more than in the other cities($242 each + $90 for xrays and $88 for blood tests for me), guess that is what happens when you have a monopoly.

I am doing a spot of house cleaning at the moment, as a temp job, before I move over to the states and luckily one of my customer's husband is a lawyer (QC in fact) hehehe what a find. He has done up a proforma affidavit for my ex to sign with regards to my daughter's custody and living in The States, didn't cost a penny, all I have to do is fill in the blanks and I am set, making quite a few copies of that one.

Oh yeah and I remember, we weren't sure if it was supposed to be the I864 or the I134 that we needed, on the consulate site it says I864, but I have seen the I134 referred to on here, so that is still a grey area. Mike is going to fill out both and send them over to me with all the documentation needed for either so that I can use whichever they require. Such a smart fella he is.

hey kaffykat you could always ring the clinic that does the medicals and try for an appointment.. they may ask, like they did for me in sydney and i replied that i didnt have my noa2 yet and it was no big deal... i had the medical forms already though, from 2 years before when i started the process and sydney wasn't afraid to issue the entire package when you made an enquiry...

pretty sure its the I134 you need for the interview and the I864 for AOS... again not sure but i'd imagine you'd get the same instructions from sydney that i did...

good luck with it all...

Well I went and put the application in for the Police Certificate today. Also found out I needed to get a full birth certificate for my other daughter who lives with her father, even though she isn't coming with us or following in the 12 months after. So mailed off for that as well today. I should get them both back around the same time.

It felt soooo good to be actually 'doing' something. I then came home and cleaned my entire house, haven't stopped since. Gone into overdrive, which is really what I needed, the last few weeks I lost all motivation to do anything.

Mike is busy dotting his i's and crossing his t's, with his end of the paperwork. That'll prolly arrive around the same time as the other stuff as well.

As for the medical, I haven't had a chance yet to ring them as yet, heard the receptionist there isn't a real nice person and not very helpful, refers ppl to the website mostly, which states you need some letter of authority from the consulate for them to rip you off on the medicals. But if I can make the appointment for in a few weeks, once I get a chance to ring, I 'should' have the packet 3 here by then.

14 weeks today, hopefully, til we touch again, for the rest of our lives.

All 3 of the women in the medical office in Brisbane are nasty creatures. Shockingingly rude to both my husband and I. You would think for how much they charge you, they'd be a bit nicer. Anyway, in order to have my husband's medical done, we had to bring in the actual packet of medical forms from the consulate.

Ugh, good luck dealing with those beasts. On the bright side, at least the staff at the actual consulate is more cheerful.

That's terrible. I mean you're already anxious about the whole process - and nasty people just exacerbate the problem

Stewart said that the people in Melbourne were very nice. They almost messed up and DIDN't give him his chest x-ray -but thanks to VJ we are both super prepared so he knew to go get it!

21 days

Funny story about the Xray thing. We are sitting in the consulate, waiting to go up and I turn to Scott and say .... "We forgot the Xray". It was under his bed in Adelaide. Good thing you dont need it for anything, we would have been screwed!!! lol Its on its way to us in the mail at the moment!!

oooh you didn't need it? good to know!!! i bet you PANICKED

hi there

did you get the police check clarified karo...im getting mine done when my drivers licence arrives back here..i left it in roberts glove box with my international licence...also do we need a copy of the fingerprints to take to the interview or is it they just have to state it has been done?
going for my medical in march..then sending in my form to say im ready for interview and requesting a june interview so robbie can come to the interview...

hey there mellie
i was wondering how married life was treating you good to see you arrived back in the states...is scott homesick yet..and how did the kids react to seeing him..i wanna know details woman lol....just joking..

im back at work now everyone reckons i look well and refreshed so the holiday must of done me good lol...makes me wonder what i looked like before i left lol

well im off to work yet again
talk to you lot again soon
take care
kath

Well here I am venting. The USCIS has updated on the 22nd but the Nebrasca date is still the same; 7th Dec. but then I did check out the old Aussy thread & yes some great info there but especially a link for Aussy goodies but very exciting for me was the tomato sauce. I have coeliac disease and couldn't find a tomato sauce in the shops where I was I could eat & the healthfood shop ones were ghastly. A life without good old Aussy tomato sauce was starting to look a bit grim. OK I'm coming now!!! I think we should add tomato sauce & vegemite to our Aussy Emblam.

I so appreciate this site, makes the wait so less lonely.
Stella

hi stella

ya know what i missed is trying to get the correct pastry like we have it over here you know the short pastry sheets so i can make my aussie pies...i also miss finding some nice cream ...i cant seem to get the same consistency as i do here for the pavs they seem to not thicken as well..
cant think of anything else at the moment that i have mentioned to robbie that i would have to get imported or build an import business of my own lol
but im still going lol...ohhhh there in toledo an aussie mob has gone into business making the aussie pies ...they are called crickey's pie bought at the supermarket in the frozen section.. they are not bad but their pastry sucks...they also do the shepards pie ones too...

smiles at all the times i have complained to robbie about the difference in products are compared to aussie stuff lol
take care
kath