Statement from friends / family

[lueds 6]

No - I live in Sydney and he lives in Los Angeles.

When I get out there next month, we are going to open up a joint bank account depending on whether or not an Australian citizen can do that in the USA?

You can open a bank account in USA as an Australian, I did so in August when I visited.

The bank will ask for your ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number) which you can get from your local IRS office. Chase would not allow me to open without ITIN, but Wells Fargo did and I notified them when my number had arrived, 7 weeks later.

[Lowlie 191]

..............We sent letters for removal of conditions, and at the that point in the process they are asked for, we did not have ours notarized and had no problems whatsoever

When it's time for removal of conditions they ask for statements from family members? But there are people who have no family, or are estranged from their family.

[NikLR 13,235]

When it's time for removal of conditions they ask for statements from family members? But there are people who have no family, or are estranged from their family.

They're not required obviously. You can submits affidavits from friends or family if you choose.

[scotinmass 588]

When it's time for removal of conditions they ask for statements from family members? But there are people who have no family, or are estranged from their family.

We never sent statements from anyone for removal of conditions. We had more than enough "real" evidence and didn't feel we needed them.

[bec_goe 4]

Hi, I got approved two weeks ago.

I was more or less in the same situation as you are right now - living in different countries, no financial comingling yet, etc.

My mother-in-law wrote a really sweet letter about me and my daughter. She said she has met us more than once, that all my husband's extended family has met us and really appreciates us, that my daughter gets along well with the other kids even though her English isn't fluent yet, that they can't wait until we're all there, blah blah, etc.

I know it sounds like a lot of fluff, but the CO actually read the letter and asked me about it in the interview. So in my case, I think it was quite positive.

I got it notarized because I thought it wouldn't hurt. Please send me a private message in case you want more details.

Good luck!

PS - I tried getting a joint bank account but my husband's bank wouldn't let me because I had no SSN. I tried getting an ITIN and it turned out to be quite difficult, so we went without it and it was fine.

Congrats on your approval!

How long did it take all up to get to this point?

I'm not sure how we are supposed to live together when I can only get into the country with a tourist visa - I would then have to overstay in order for us to "live together"?!! So confusing!

[FabtheFab 67]

Congrats on your approval!

How long did it take all up to get to this point?

I'm not sure how we are supposed to live together when I can only get into the country with a tourist visa - I would then have to overstay in order for us to "live together"?!! So confusing!

It took me around eight months, which is not too bad.

Don't worry too much about getting approved or living together. I was feeling pretty desperate this year, almost got severely depressed, gained a lot of weight. And in the end, my interview was ridiculously simple. My husband flew to Rio to participate in the interview but the CO barely looked at him, it lasted three minutes. I know that part of it was because we did a very good job preparing our petition, but at the same time I regret stressing so much about it.

One thing we don't know when we start researching about immigration is that there are a lot of horror stories, but in low-fraud countries (like Australia) almost all legitimate couples get approved if they fulfil all financial requirements and the applicant never had any immigration problems before. I wish I knew that 8 months ago.

Do your research, try to be prepared as best as you can, but think positive and don't let your nerves get the best of you.

One tip though, since you are from Australia. When you approach the NVC phase, do not send your documents through "Electronic Processing". For a few countries like Australia and Brazil, you can send your documents through e-mail instead of regular post. I did it thinking it would save me time but it was the other way around. My case was stuck in the NVC for almost 10 weeks because of it, while people who sent it through regular mail got approved in 3-4 weeks. The NVC clearly focuses on processing paper documents rather than electronic ones.

If you need more tips let me know. Good luck!

Edited November 27, 2015 by FabtheFab