Help with filing in Australia

[kaffy 2]

Alabama eh? I'll have to look at a map (I am terrible with US geography ). Has your husband started applying for jobs yet? I want to start applying but think it might be a little early still since I won't be ready to work there until about mid-September.

[faith0922 0]

Hi again guys, we're still not sure where we'll be moving. Depends on which job my husband accepts. It could be Pennsylvania or Missouri.

Anyways, I have some tax questions. Loz, you're the USC right? When you filed your US taxes, did you file a joint return with your husband as a nonresident alien? What about you kaffy? Did you have to apply for an ITIN and file jointly with your husband as well?

Sorry, I'm just starting to get frazzled again with all this tax stuff.

[kaffy 2]

Hi Faith, nope I havent filed taxes with my husband. We'll begin doing that after we move over.

[kaffy 2]

Cool I received a response from the Consulate!

We prefer to receive all documents together. However, if you have everything else, please go ahead and complete the package and send it. It currently is taking 2-3 weeks to review all documents and schedule appointments. You are correct that a visa will not be issued until we have received all necessary documents.

I'm going to try and submit my DS-2001 (minus my Japanese police check) to them by Friday

[sweethomealabama 0]

We're moving to Seattle (Washington). How about you guys?

Loz- I actually sent the Consulate an email asking if I could submit my DS-2001 to them now, receive an interview date, then forward my Japanese police check to them once I receive it. I asked for an interview date around 18 August because I should have my police check before then and it'll be before my husband flys back to the US. Hope they are kind to both of us

Ohh I may have to e-mail them and ask them the same thing..Let me know what they tell you!

We are going to be in Alabama. Should be interesting. We'll only be there for 2-3 years when I'm in school. We'll probably move to Florida (where my family is) after that.

Hey Kaffy,

We used to live in Alabama - in Birmingham! And now we're living in Perth and will probably have to do what you guys are doing if we ever go back to the states (it would be for the 2nd time for us though!). Anyways, which part of Alabama are you moving to?

[loz9 0]

Cool I received a response from the Consulate!

We prefer to receive all documents together. However, if you have everything else, please go ahead and complete the package and send it. It currently is taking 2-3 weeks to review all documents and schedule appointments. You are correct that a visa will not be issued until we have received all necessary documents.

I'm going to try and submit my DS-2001 (minus my Japanese police check) to them by Friday

Oh good news for you! 2-3 weeks huh? Looks like I won't be able to go with MH to the interview. That's ok though. At least I know that we will only be apart for a couple weeks or so. My parents have FedEx'd the I-864, so we should get that in a couple of days. My dad is doing my taxes for me tonight, so hopefully we'll be able to complete our I-864 within the next couple of days. The police check is submitted. MH had his medical appointment today. It went well. He apparently needs to get one immunization, which we will try to get by Friday this week then he has to go back and pick up the results. They said Monday he could come back, but we are going to be in Bali so we won't be able to pick them up til Wednesday 23.

Kaffy, are you just going to submit the documents on the DS2001 checklist (Marriage license, birth certificates, I-864s, med test results, police checks, etc) or are you going to include stuff like proof of cohabitation, joint bills, bank account info, photos, etc. too? I'm torn on what I should do. I always think that too much info is better than too little, but the less for me to organize at this point, the better. I'm so busy with finishing up work, the holiday and moving!

Sweethomealabama, it's actually me (us) who's moving to Alabama! We are going to be very close to Birmingham! Anything you suggest we see/do while we're there? Any good local restaurants? I want to explore once we get there!

[Rissa 0]

We'll be moving to Virginia, where my family is, and staying in that area until we've paid off our debts, then hopefully we'll know where we'd like to go next; there are many places in the U.S. that the two of us want to live!

Anyway, the interview went spectacularly, much better than I expected. Very long wait, but well worth it! We arrived at the Sydney Consulate at about 9:25, half an hour early for our appointment. I saw someone get turned away for being there an hour early, and told to come back, so you should only come about half an hour early. The security guard took our bag and checked our IDs and appointment letter, then sent us to wait in a waiting area for about 3-5 minutes. Then they escorted us to the elevators all the way up to level 59 (very speedy, too, my ears were popping), and we came out and had to stand in a line of a few people to be checked by security for weapons, etc. They checked our IDs, sent us through the metal detector, and we were told to go through a door into the next room. The room was packed! Apparently they were backed up that day, and I definitely recommend allowing for the full three hours they tell you to, just in case. We had to take an immigrant visa ticket and sit down to wait for our number to be called. This was our first long wait, I can't remember how long for certain. They finally called us up to the window and asked for our appointment letter and documents we were still supposed to provide (in our case it was his passport, the envelope, the fee, and my I-864), and we were told to go on down a couple of windows to pay the fee, which was $460, get the receipt, and bring it back to her right away. After she had taken all of this, she told us to sit down again, so we waited again for another long period of time, and then we were called up for Rob to get digital fingerprints taken. That took about thirty seconds, and then we were told to sit and wait again. Finally, after another 20-30 minutes we were called up for our final interview, where we were asked where we were moving, how long we'd been married, etc. You hardly knew you were being interviewed because it seemed so much like just chitchat. That only went on for a minute before he told us that we were approved and that the visa would arrive in the mail by the end of next week! After all the worrying I did over domicile and my tax returns, they didn't even ask about any of that or for any evidence of the relationship at all - just approved us then and there! In total we spent just over three hours there.

Hope this helps all of you who still have the final interview coming up. I have one last question - how much have all of you paid in fees? Do we pay one ($355) for the petition and one ($460) for the interview? I just wanted to make sure we weren't paying the same fee twice!

[kaffy 2]

Kaffy, are you just going to submit the documents on the DS2001 checklist (Marriage license, birth certificates, I-864s, med test results, police checks, etc) or are you going to include stuff like proof of cohabitation, joint bills, bank account info, photos, etc. too? I'm torn on what I should do. I always think that too much info is better than too little, but the less for me to organize at this point, the better. I'm so busy with finishing up work, the holiday and moving!

I'm only going to submit what is requested on the DS2001 checklist. The other stuff I will bring to the interview.

Sounds like things are coming together for your husband's visa Hope you have an awesome time in Bali! I just realised yesterday that we will be moving in 6 weeks (he is, and I will be too assuming my visa comes through in time).. eeek I had better start packing!

Rissa- Congrats on your interview and your visa approval!!! What was the $460 fee for? We paid a US355 fee for the petition and I thought that was a one-time fee that covered everything? Please correct me if I am wrong!

[Rissa 0]

Rissa- Congrats on your interview and your visa approval!!! What was the $460 fee for? We paid a US355 fee for the petition and I thought that was a one-time fee that covered everything? Please correct me if I am wrong!

Thanks! See, that's what I thought about the fees as well, that the $355 USD we paid at the petition was it, and we were somewhat blindsided by this new $460 fee that they only let us know about when they sent out us our appointment letter/email. Then on the receipt we got yesterday I noticed that it said 1 31 IV Application was $355 US + 1 37 Surcharge was $45 USD, adding up to a total which converted to $460 AUD. So, $355 AGAIN? Coincidence (or deliberately chosen fee amount to charge again) or was there a mistake? Luckily we have kept both receipts in case something went wrong.

Edit: Ah, I've just looked at my initial petition receipt again and I've noted that it says 1 81 DHS I-130 Petition for the amount, presumably indicating that the fees are for two different things. Thus, not a mistake. However, that should let you all know to be sure and have that extra $460 around for the second set of fees on your final interview dates!

[kaffy 2]

Thank you for the heads up!

[loz9 0]

Congrats Rissa! That's great news! So they didn't even ask for proof of relationship? Only took the forms and documents they asked for on the DS2001? That's good to know. I won't stress so much about getting together tons of supporting docs then. So how long did it take you to get an appointment after filing the DS2001? Kaffy said it is currently taking 2-3 weeks, but I'm hoping we'll get lucky. Thanks for the heads up on the extra fees.

[Rissa 0]

Congrats Rissa! That's great news! So they didn't even ask for proof of relationship? Only took the forms and documents they asked for on the DS2001? That's good to know. I won't stress so much about getting together tons of supporting docs then. So how long did it take you to get an appointment after filing the DS2001? Kaffy said it is currently taking 2-3 weeks, but I'm hoping we'll get lucky. Thanks for the heads up on the extra fees.

Thanks! They didn't ask for any relationship evidence at all at any point during our process, but I'm not sure if that's because we've been married for two years now or they were just so backed up that day or what. We didn't have much anyhow, just a year or so's worth of bank statements, our lease, some old pics, and cards/notes from the duration of our relationship. As far as I remember, 2-3 weeks sounds just about right, since we sent off our final package and DS2001 in early-mid June and received our interview date by email on July 1st.

[faith0922 0]

Congrats on the visa Rissa! It's great to see good news on the forum.

Here's some heads-up on my Packet 3 progress:

I've scheduled an appointment for my medical exam on Monday, July 14, and glad that it's with a lady doctor.

Getting fingerprints in PERTH is close to impossible!!! It's been such a miserable day : As I posted earlier, my appointment to get fingerprints at the AFP office in Perth is not until August 11! When asked if there's a way to speed it up for me, we were advised to go to our local police station, explain our situation and maybe they will help us. So we went to our local police station today, but were told they don't provide fingerprints anymore. The officer said metropolitan stations don't do it anymore, but some of the country stations might be able to help us. So we went home and made our calls. Yes, we are willing to drive even up to 5 hours just to get fingerprints. Soooo...we made several calls, and none of them were able to help us. One officer even said that the only way they'll take my fingerprints is if I get apprehended for some crime or offense. Duh!?

We called AFP again today (hoping for some miracle), but we were told that if we were just now scheduling an appointment we would have to have waited till mid-September!!!

We really cannot afford to wait 4 weeks just to get a fingerprint and another 3 weeks to process the police check. Coz once my medical exam is done, the police check is the only one that's holding us up. My husband would've been long gone by the time I turn in my DS-2001 if we wait that long. SO, we have decided that if no one in WA can help us, then we'll try to get fingerprints from a different state (provided that they process it for non-local residents). I know that South Australia police will only provide it to SA residents. But I wonder if any of you is aware if, say, Melbourne or Sydney police will provide it to interstate residents? I am really hoping they will . It's worth spending on the airfare, just so we can get the police check going asap.

Anyway, that's all the news I can provide for now. Hopefully this helps future DCF filers from Perth. Maybe eventually the AFP will change their fingerprinting procedures.

Sorry for the not so good, and somewhat whiney, post. Hope to give some good news soon, though.

[kaffy 2]

ohhh noo! I can't believe how long they are going to make you wait! I hope you guys can find a solution soon..

[Rissa 0]

Yikes, that sounds terrible! The police check here in Melbourne for my husband was so easy - one morning on his day off we just showed up at the place we were told to in our instructions and they took us right away. Why would they need appointments anyway?! The whole process took less than ten minutes. I don't know myself whether they'll process out of state fingerprints here, but I hope for the best for you!