dcf New Zealand

[larymiriam 0]

I am a US citizen..my fiance is a NZ citizen but has resided in Australia the past 7 years. We are both traveling to NZ in March to be married ..then we hope to file for her cr-1 and visa directly in Aukland at the US Consulate....

Does anyone know if she can request the packet from the Aukland consulate and receive an interview date before I submit the 130 petition in person? Do I need to submit the petition in person before she can receive the packet?

We are hoping we can have as much paperwork as possible prepared before our marriage. It would be nice if all we needed to do after we get married was to go to the interview to submit the petition and get the visa

also ..does anyone know if transcripts of tax returns are acceptable rather than the originals?

And does anyone know what kind of proof of Aus. residency she would need to submit as she has never been issued any form of a residency card in Aus. (for some reason, NZ citizens that move to Aus. only need to register to pay taxes there...they don't issue any documentation of residency to NZ citizens)

[YuAndDan 153]

Not too sure about the submitting in person.

But two things.

You will need to get a police certificate from Australia.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/reciprocity/C...A/Australia.htm

As for the Tax Transcripts, Yes you can use them, if you read the directions included with form I-864, or I-864EZ you will see they recommend 1-3 years tax transcripts. They are free from the IRS.

http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq1-6.html

[evets&netsrik 0]

Hi

We just completed DCF in Auckland. These were the order of the steps we followed - however we were already married and were returning to NZ only to complete the immigration paperwork so this could be slightly different than what you may find.

I rang the US Consulate in Auckland and they sent me the intial packet of materials.

I emailed with some questions and told them when we were hoping to travel to NZ. They responded with a tentative date for my husband to submit the I-130 petition and for the interview - these were scheduled for the same day, within the week we had requested.

We sent initial forms; DS230, NZ police check form, and the DS2001 which indicated we were prepared for our interview.

Once they received them Consulate sent the confirmed appointment letter and further instructions for medical exam, photos etc.

I went to NZ first to complete the medical exam - took about a week to get the results back.

Following week we went for our appointment - submitted I-130 and had the interview in the same day.

The visa was issued by the end of that week.

I would tell the consulate about your situation and see what they advise, I can't see why they wouldn't give you the forms and it seemed that it was even easier for them if as much as possible was prepared in advance. We had email correspondence with them as we prepared for the interview and they were always very helpful and prompt.

We had to submit originals and copies of all documents in support of our application. They returned the originals.

I had posted a question about DCF in Auckland - now on the following page of this forum - which you might want to look at as there were 1 or 2 other people who had also done DCF in Auckland. There are also a few reviews of the Auckland Consulate you might want to look at too.

Good Luck

[larymiriam 0]

Hi

We just completed DCF in Auckland. These were the order of the steps we followed - however we were already married and were returning to NZ only to complete the immigration paperwork so this could be slightly different than what you may find.

I rang the US Consulate in Auckland and they sent me the intial packet of materials.

I emailed with some questions and told them when we were hoping to travel to NZ. They responded with a tentative date for my husband to submit the I-130 petition and for the interview - these were scheduled for the same day, within the week we had requested.

We sent initial forms; DS230, NZ police check form, and the DS2001 which indicated we were prepared for our interview.

Once they received them Consulate sent the confirmed appointment letter and further instructions for medical exam, photos etc.

I went to NZ first to complete the medical exam - took about a week to get the results back.

Following week we went for our appointment - submitted I-130 and had the interview in the same day.

The visa was issued by the end of that week.

I would tell the consulate about your situation and see what they advise, I can't see why they wouldn't give you the forms and it seemed that it was even easier for them if as much as possible was prepared in advance. We had email correspondence with them as we prepared for the interview and they were always very helpful and prompt.

We had to submit originals and copies of all documents in support of our application. They returned the originals.

I had posted a question about DCF in Auckland - now on the following page of this forum - which you might want to look at as there were 1 or 2 other people who had also done DCF in Auckland. There are also a few reviews of the Auckland Consulate you might want to look at too.

Good Luck

Thank You.

We're in the preliminary stages right now, but any info we can get is quite helpful

[larymiriam 0]

Does the Aukland consulate have an email address? or can they only be contacted by phone?

[evets&netsrik 0]

Hi

email address for immigrant visa area is aucklandiv@state.gov

I think the visa ph no is 0900 87847 but can only be called within NZ.

I have all these other phone numbers written down too, don't even know now where I found them but when I rang I had to dial several of them before someone answered - also needed to explain to them I couldn't ring the 0900 number bc I wasn't in NZ as they will tell you that's the one and try to re-direct you to do that. Anyway give them a bash - 64 9 303 and these extensions 2724, 2800, 2842, 2848, 2856

Hope they work.

[larymiriam 0]

thanks...was able to contact via email

got a response within hours!

We're trying to figure out a way for my fiance to get her NZ passport changed to her married name after we're married in NZ...the response from the consulate in Auckland said that if we were to change the name on the passport from her maiden to her married name after the medical examination, that she would need to carry BOTH passports with her into the US once she received the visa. From what I gather, in NZ however, she will have to surrender her original passport when applying for the new one with the married name on it. Does anyone know how this works?

What we would like is to have her married name on all of her documentation (NZ passport, Cr-1 visa, green card, social security card, employment authorization etc...) anyone know how to go about this?

Also,is there any express NZ passport service that anyone has heard of?

And does anyone know how long we should expect to get the medical results in NZ?

[evets&netsrik 0]

Don't know much about the passport questions sorry. I didn't change my name, partly because I thought it would create too much hassle! Although when I did re-new my NZ passport in 2005 they sent the old one back to me as well. (Careful of the photos they sent mine back to me as incorrect the 1st time - too much background) And there is an express service - I think about 3 days? It's all on the NZ Dept of Internal Affairs website.

As for the medical the results of mine took about a week. I went to City Med on Albert St in Auckland. There are 3 doctors in Auckland you can choose from - I rang them all, prices varied a little, but City Med just seems to know more about it. The doctor I met with also told me they do most of the medicals and have a good working relationship with the Consulate.

City Med were excellent, whole appointment took about an hour - medical, blood tests and x-ray. I had all my shots already but I couldn't initially prove I had had the chickenpox - either written proof or a good scar! So they gave me an additional blood test the results for which take longer than the other tests to come back. However I went back to my doctor in NZ who had actually kept a record (for over 15 years) of me having the chickenpox and took a copy of that back to CityMed which was accepted - just letting you know all this so that you can bring along all the info at your time of visit. I had also already had the medical in the UK but the NZ version was much more thorough.

[larymiriam 0]

Ok , we're about to start the DCF process with the Auckland consulate, but we're not sure how much this is all going to cost us...can someone give us a complete rundown of all costs we should be expecting from start to finish?(filing fees, police reports in Aus.& NZ, medical etc...).

thanx

[meauxna 15]

larymiriam, I made a checklist for myself with everything detailed that I'd need to gather up.

I then wrote in the column next to each item its estimated cost, which I looked up from the various official sources and my best guesstimates.

I find that sort of exercise helpful to solidify the entire process in my mind. Perhaps it would work for you too?

(IOW there is more value than the simple answer)

[evets&netsrik 0]

We had the following costs for DCF in Auckland in Oct 2006:

medical exam in NZ at City Med NZ$317 (extra if you need vaccinations or addt'l tests)

filing fee I-130 US$190

visa/interview fee US$380

these can also be paid in NZ$ and the Consulate will tell you the exchange rate

no cost for NZ police check

pre paid courier envelope to return documents NZ$20

passport photos (for 2) US$8

hope that helps

[Ashleigh-Au 0]

Regarding the changing of the passport name....

I am not sure if things have changed but back in 1982 after my first marriage I went to the passport office in Auckland with my marriage certificate and they put a stamp in my original passport...

" passport holders name was changed by marriage on <date> from blah blah to blah blah "

[larymiriam 0]

I spoke with Auckland consulate and they told me this:

"the visa will be issued in the name on the passport shown at the medical exam"

and that if she was to get a new passport after the medical, then she would have to bring the new and old passports to the final interview, as well as bring them both to the US P.O.E.

They didnt say anything about a stamp on the passport, but I corresponded with them before I saw the post by Ashleigh-Au. I'll ask them about that next time.

So based on this, for my fiance to have her new married name on all of her documentation (green card, CR-1 visa, Passport, Social Security etc...), she wont be able to have the medical all done before I go to NZ, rather, we will have to be married first, then change her passport name, THEN do the medical, then the final interview. This means we'll have to stay in NZ an extra 6-10 days waiting for the medical results. But thats ok, my boss at work will let me tack on another 10 days to the NZ trip...he's sooooo into this. NOT!

If she decides to wait until she is in the US to change her name on everything, I got this response from Auckland (and only regarding one of the many different legal documents she'll have to change):

"If the applicant wishes to change the name on his/her green card (I-551), she would have to file a separate request form, but that takes 6-18 months to finalize, and it would probably be best then, to wait until you jointly file the I-751 form to remove the conditional status at the end of her initial two years conditional residence".

which, she failed to mention, also takes months and months to finalize. UGH!

So if anyone out there wants their married name on all documentation, I suggest they just change their passport name BEFORE the medical examination!!!