Dave and Shannon

hey all

been awhile since ive been here! hope all is good with everyone.. life has been crazy here in the south... we have bought a house, been doing things like crazy around it, been working, going to college at night so havent had too much time to myself! but i thought id just pop in and say gday and try make some time to get on here.. and having no credit sucks ####### here! so when you do get over here and can start getting credit then i would be doing it otherwise getting things can be difficult...

Haven't really been on here that much lately so just thought I'd check in and say hi

my husband and I moved from Arizona to Portland, Oregon earlier this week and I have to say, Oregon is the most beautiful I have ever seen! It is stunning, trees everywhere, snow capped mountains, and rain, and cold. I love rain and cold. Much better than all those 100+ days in Arizona! Got approved for my first American credit card yesterday too which was exciting, I didn't even have to put money down on it

Anyway hope everyone else on here has been keeping well and every one is having a smooth journey

hey i havent been on here in ages either... sounds like you moved to a nice place... im still living here, country sort of area... alot different to the gold coast i can tell you that haha.. but oh well.. ive pretty much been house hunting of late which is fun and exciting, been to college, working, holidays... all the fun stuff... hope everyone is doing well

Hey everyone

(Sorry if this is in the wrong forum but I thought the best thing was to ask Aussies who have been through the same thing)

We aren't applying for the visa until a little bit later this year but I am wanting to do as much research as I can. How did everyone go about transferring money when they moved from Australia to the USA? Do you get taxed on how much you bring over? All my savings would already have been taxed in Australia (due to it being work wages) but was curious if the US taxes them again. I would have quite a lot saved so I dont want to carry it on me (for obvious reasons) and also dont want to send it through Western Union due to their charges - is there any other way?

Thanks in advance for anyone that is able to provide me with some insight

Well i use to use travelex till vanessa showed me how to use paypal.. which gave me more for my dollar and less in fees.. not sure on large amounts, but if you dont need it all at once quickly, i would set up an account over here in the US, then transfer some money each week.. otherwise do as vanessa said i transfer every week through paypal

im a qlder too (gold coast)... gold coast has a few things to do like theme parks and beachs and so forth... i really liked Cairns... theres heaps of things to do there, like the great barrier reef, see the nice beachs (really white sand and really light blue water) croc parks, really nice rainforests, white water rafting, etc, very tropical.. but dont go in summer as it rains alot... just depends what you would like to do

It's pretty normal, I don't know the stats exactly but a good proportion of K-1ers get an interview. Consider yourself lucky - the ones transferred to CSC currently get stuck in a 6-month limbo before they hear anything.

The letter is the same for everyone. You should bring whatever you can, even if you sent copies in your petition, but you probably won't need them. You will need some proof of a legit marriage but they don't expect a whole lot since you haven't been married for long.

Congrats on the EAD! Usually it only takes a week to 10 days to arrive since the approval date.

I didn't get an interview but maybe its cos of my state im in i dont know.... i got transfered to CSC and the whole process took only a couple of months from filing date of my ead/aos stuff.. maybe i was lucky... about time!! haha only took me over a month to get my ssn haha

No EAD. nothing yet. Still awaiting it all.

my ead card came a week before my green card haha... not sure how long... we filed the 23rd of sept and i got all approved november... so whole process took 3 months or so.. and ours got sent to CSC too.. so you should hear something soon you would think..

Does everyone have a Greencard interview? if so, what kind of stuff do they ask you?

hey mate...

you shouldnt have an interview... i didnt have one and i came over on a K1 so i doubt you would either... hope everyone is doing good

Hi,

How long does Sydney Consulate take to reply to emails?

Been waiting two days for a reply

Thanks in advance

Darren

they are slow mate... on the odd occassion they can reply quick, give em another day or two as said before...

Is the number needed for the medical (before Consulate interview)the Alien number? Some clarification would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

i needed my case number for the one in brisbane city... but some other cities dont need them

Well my AOS package is sent off, and while I'm waiting around for it to be processed I want to know if there's any other paperwork or anything I should be getting ready ect..? I am going crazy sitting around all day when I'm used to working a minimum 12hrs a day - 6days a week... I'm just not good at sitting around...... Hurry up EAD card..!!! What do others in this situation do?

hey

it drove me crazy sitting around too.. felt like i was in prison... so yeh as stated before i did go to the local animal shelter pretty much every day they were open and walked dogs and played with puppys and kittens and cats... they really appreciate your help and the animals love it! and ur getting out and about in the fresh air... other then that played xbox and watched movies!

I did my SSN/C application today was very easy and straight forward. The card should be sent out to me in about 2 weeks.

lucky you! i just got my ssn approved 2 days ago, only took me just over a month to get it! and i had a green card and all! just my luck

Make things easy on yourself - just go into a SS office.

I ticked 'yes' for them to assign a number to me automatically - but a month after POE I still hadn't received anything. I went in to a SS office and was told that no number had been assigned so they had me complete the application there and then - I had the card within a week.

your lucky!! its been 2 and a half weeks since i applied for a social security number and i still havent even got a number

you need to fill out a form that you can download off there site... and just go in with ur passport, green card, birth cert, marriage cert and i think thats all you need... good luck!! hopefully your social security office can do the job properly and get yours quick! i have a feeling my social security office has stuffed up

Thank you so much for all your help so far!

Did everyone see Chippy's Girl and fiance got their NOA2 for Christmas. Wonderful present

if i was you i would apply for the police report now, mine took over a month (in QLD) and its valid for a year.. so apply and get it sent to you, not the consulate...

Just wanted to drop by and wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and all the very best and loads of happiness for 2012. If you are waiting NOA2 i hope it comes soon and if you are here in USA have a wonderful time with your new or not so new spouses lol.

Take care and stay safe always wherever you are

Barbara :thumbs:(F):content::joy::joy:

Merry Christmas to you too mate... hope everyone has a great christmas!! this is my first christmas here with my wife, happy to be with her but missing family back home too! have a safe one everyone

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to this forum/portal.

Our K1/I-129 application was received at the CSC 9th Nov 2011. We're hoping for a July 11th 2012 wedding as it works best for finalising my committments here in AUS, his study and our families. But we of course understand how changable that is and nothing is set in stone.

If anyone could shine some light on the following, I would be eternally grateful:

1. For those going through the K1 process or have recently gotten their interview dates booked/had their interviews, how long has it taken you to get your Visa? The overall time line indicates 7 months? Is this correct/realistic?

2. What is required for proof of financial support/stability? My fiance is a student. I am selling my property here in AUS and will have money from this. His parents are likely going to co-sponsor if necessary, though we'd like to avoid it. How much would I need to have in the bank to be classed as not needing this?

Thanks everyone!

K

hey mate,

good idea not to set anything in stone until you have your passport in your hand.. well it took us about 6 and abit months to get the NOA2... then about 10 days or so for the national visa centre to process that... then you gotta wait for the sydney consulate to send you the P3... which can take a week.. then once you send all your p3 stuff back it can take up to a week or so to get an interview date.. interviews are usually scheduled 2-3 weeks from sending your p3 in.. and then about 5 days or so to get visa in hand once approved.. but i went through the vermont service centre which was taking alot longer then the California one that your going through.. i think you should be fine with a July wedding.. if everything runs smoothly

i would get his parents to co sponsor.. they will ask you at the interview how much money your going over with... well they did with me... but i do believe you will need a co sponsor... someone else might be able to tell you more about financial things....

What was wrong?

well when i first called up she said the person who first did my request for a number did something wrong, so i had to come in and give a copy of my passport and green card... so when i got in there she was having a little problem getting it to work still.. after some more copies of my marriage cert and passport and green card and fiddling around on her computer.. she came back and said in 3 days ill have a number and in 10 days ill have a card so happy days! she said because i came in right as i got my green card it probably needed a few days to come into their systems...

well an update, they had to redo it cos something was wrong, they told me my information should of been in there a little while ago... so ill have my number in 3 days yay!!

Dave,

sure you can work.

Your Green Card is a LIST A document for work and I-9 purposes, meaning it's the only document you need to proof who you are and that you are authorized to work. No SS card needed as long as you live. You'll just tell your employer that you'll give them the SSN as soon as you know it. Thousands of people do this every day, my own daughter included.

oh ok... well i did get a letter when i applied for the ssn stating i can work but it didnt make sense to me seeing as though i thought you had to have a ssn number.. i will ring up to double check this today..... thanks for that

'might try that' ? really ?

oh - i hope it is more than 'might', really.

i meant i will try it... going to go in on wednesday cheers

i just did a currency converter thing on the travelex website to compare with paypal's rate... with $800 Aussie i would get 795.13 US... with paypal...... and with travelex i would only get $699 out of that.. man ive been getting ripped off for awhile!!! #######!!!

Well this conversation blew my mind because Josh and I were just having a conversation yesterday about how easy (or not) it would be to transfer money using paypal and now I get on here and BAM there it is!! I love this place lol

haha thats cool... ive just set mine up.. now gotta wait 3-5 working days for the money to come through so hopefully ill be better off then transfering with travelex

Does Paypal convert the currency at the actual exchange rate or do they take a few points as commission?

as far as im aware theres no charges, so i guess the exchange rate that it is at the time... vanessa might know more

I like that method V&T. I'll be trying it myself soon

I've been using a travel card that I got from the Commonwealth Bank which I preloaded with USD before coming over. They don't give a very good rate and take their cut that way and the ATM withdrawal fees are high. I have been going to the local TD Bank and doing a cash advance on the travel card which a MasterCard. Normally, you get charged interest on the advance but because the funds are already prepaid it's a free withdrawal . Still doesn't beat the paypal method

do you use travelex? thats what i have been using but thats stoping soon so i can use paypal

OMG Dave you have been having some issues hey. Shoot you would and should have been in the system 3 weeks after arrival. I just do not understand these SS offices at all. I went in to apply for my SS card 3 weeks after our wedding and never had a problem. Some are just One question Dave I saw you came through Atlanta? How so from Australia did you get a direct flight to Atlanta?

thanks darnell.. might try that!

barbara... yeh nothing seems to be easy for me! kinda getting over it.. cant wait to get my ssn number so i can get everything else sorted and live a normal life, well as normal as can be haha.. they said to me on the phone that you have a 90 day period where u can get a ssn number when you first came over.. but i didnt know that.. yeh you would assume id be in the system but seeing as though i just had my green card approved i might not show up for awhile and they have to verify my status and so forth with the DHS... man i wish i knew i could of got one when i first came here, i would of done it!... yeh i came through atlanta.. i went from brisbane to souel to atlanta to charlotte... it was about $4-500 cheaper then going direct!

Let me know how you go and feel free to ask me questions It's been really good for me I was sending money back and forth for quite some time. I did it ONCE using ANZ to transfer to my US bank account (without Paypal) and it cost me around $100 ($50 charged by ANZ, $50 charged by Wells Fargo). Since that time i've sent money at least 20 times and I only had fees at the start (before I found and understood the "free" way).

Oh ok, ive always used Travelex.. never done the bank way.. but im trying this paypal way.. just set up my bank account.. now gotta wait 2-3 days for some money to go into my bank account so i can finish setting it up! yay!! thanks for the help guys