Mitexi

Lol, we've talked about this as well! I love Australia and would have no problem moving there with him later. But we definitely want to get him citizenship here first. We didn't go through all this mess for nothing. =P And I think it's better for my family that we start off here, and give them time to get used to the idea of me leaving later on. My entire family including grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins, etc. all live within 20 minutes of each other. Me moving to another state, let alone another country, is like the end of the world to them, lol. Plus, I didn't want to have to ship my aging nerve-prone dog on all those flights and quarantine and stuff. So we're just gonna explore the US for a while. =) I'm going to bookmark this thread and information for the future though. ^^

Turns out emailing is the best thing to do. QLD Police replied saying the certificate has been sent, so now I can send off P3 today and hopefully get an interview before the end of August.

Awesome! =) They seem to be moving pretty quick with interviews right now, so I would say there's a good chance you'll get an early date. Just depends how long it takes them to actually schedule the interview.

I wish I'd realised I could do the police check ahead of time. I was waiting for P3. Mine was done through QLD Police. They send it direct to the consulate. I've tried asking the consulate how they will notify me but I just get the run around. The phone and email support is horrible. That's all that is holding up my sending P3. I just don't want to have it returned as incomplete.

This post might be helpful to you: Link

It seems you can send Packet 3 without the police check, since it's going to be sent to the Consulate when it's done anyway. =)

As for contacting about the police check, it would probably be easier to call the police department and see if they sent it to the Consulate yet. If they sent it or tell you it's done, then you know it will be there soon.

Mitexi, did your police check ahead of time? How long did it take for the consulate to notify you that it had been received? Because that's the last thing that my fiance is waiting for before sending off Packet 3. He's concerned because it's already been two weeks since he did the police check and he hasn't heard anything, and according to your timeline, it was only 12 days between when you received Packet 3 and when you sent it off to the consulate.

And yes, I included my own I-134 form as well as my dad's. I think everything should be in order, we're just waiting for the ding dang police check.

Yes, we did the police check ahead of time (the 12 days was for the medical). It took 13 days for them to send it to us. We used the online method mentioned at the top of this thread: NSW Police Check

I'm not really sure what's supposed to happen though if they send it directly to the Consulate. They let my fiance get it sent to his house and he just included it with Packet 3. But I think some states they won't let you do that (this was NSW). Did they say you were supposed to be notified when it was done? I would probably call the police department and see if they sent it off yet. If so, I would say you're good to send the rest of P3. Actually, you could probably send P3 now, since the police check is going straight to the consulate anyway.

I guess it depends if you want to wait longer to mail the new stuff. You can get through the process with your dad as co-sponsor; it won't be an issue if he makes the required amounts. The I-134 isn't even the main version of the affidavit of support. The I-864 that is sent after your fiance is here and you're married and filing for Adjustment of Status is the one that will be legally binding. So you could use your dad now and use yourself later on the I-864 if you want. I used my mom as co-sponsor because I only have a part time retail job, and there were no problems with that. However, even if you have a co-sponsor, you still have to send in your own I-134. I can't tell from what you wrote if you did that or not, but it sounds like you probably did. I know they usually want to look at the tax transcripts, but if you can't get yours and explained why you didn't need to legally file during that time, I guess it won't be a problem. Here is a thread I just found with some information about tax returns and living abroad: K1, no fed income tax returns, living abroad

My fiance received Packet 4 eight days after sending Packet 3. And the interview was scheduled for 7 days later. You can check out my timeline if you want. We just finished the process on the 9th, so everything is fairly recent. =)

As for the interview, if you filled everything out correctly, gave them everything they asked for, and you meet the financial requirements, Australia seems to be a really easy Consulate to get through. I wouldn't worry at all about degrees and things. That's not part of the K1 requirements. Neither of us has an actual degree (just a diploma), and we still got approved with no problems whatsoever. All they are concerned about is that you (the USC) or your co-sponsor makes enough money to support him while he's in the US. If you have the proof of that (I-134, most recent tax return, etc.), this should be a piece of cake.

VISA APPROVED!!!.... :dance:

WE ARE SOOOOOOOO HAPPY.

POE SOON~

Awesome! Congratulations! =D

I'm so happy do you guys, ibemailed the embassy and they said they are not scheduling me an interview because they are packed for the moment an that I have to wait for my turn. It's all so depressing, I mean it's been 8months already!

Uhg, that does sound depressing. Hope you can at least get a date scheduled soon. That must be really frustrating to not even have a set time...

Fiance had the interview, and visa is approved!

Fiance's visa was approved! =D I won't get to talk to him till tomorrow to hear how it all went, but he sent me a text to tell me the visa was issued. ^^

I was expecting this to drag into September, but that early interview date really pushed us ahead. I think it's just starting to hit me that he could be here in a few weeks. =D He's got a shipping company lined up for his stuff, found some free crates to use, and just has to pick them up and get his things packed. That should be done by the time the visa arrives. Then it's just a matter of getting the plane ticket, visiting a few relatives, and he'll be here!

US Consulate Mumbai India

My fiancee called me in the middle of the night here and SHE GOT THE VISA!!!! They concluded the interview with the typical questions and then looked at some photos and then they said that your visa has been approved and will be returned to you by courier or the VFS center...fingers crossed she will be here in the next 7-10 days!

Thanks for everyones support through all the happy and frustrating moments over the past 7-8 months!! Best wishes to everyone!

Congratulations!! That must be an amazing feeling to finally be so close to reuniting. ^^

U r almost there!!!

ME

I just got the Packet 4 email with my fiance's interview date today. Aug. 7th! WOW, only 7 days from now! That was an unexpected and good surprise. I feel like we took a running sprint and got caught back up to everyone. =)

Just got the interview date via email! Aug. 7th. Wow, only a 7 day wait! Wasn't expecting it to be so soon, but it's a good surprise. ^^

And I love those blogs, Vanessa! It's neat to see both sides of Australian immigration.

It's relatively common yeah. I would say "I'll just go grab a plate" and might end up with a bowl but I would ask someone else specifically for a bowl or plate because my husband for instance doesn't mind random food in a bowl whereas I typically only put liquids (like cereal) in bowls.

It's also common for someone to say "bring a plate of food" to a pot luck but it doesn't need to be a "plate" it can be whatever it just means to bring SOME food.

I've heard the "bring a plate of food" phrase here for parties and stuff. I just never heard during a regular meal someone ask for a plate and mean a bowl, lol. I thought maybe it was just him, since I didn't hear anyone else say that over there. Maybe I was just never in the right place at the right time. =P I guess it's just another thing to decipher, like chips (fries) and chips (potato chips). I can usually look at the food and tell if he needs a bowl or plate though. Of course, I could be ornery and just hand him a real plate every time. I can just imagine the payback he would come up with if I did that...

Edit: Also, what's the normal time frame from sending packet 3 to receiving packet 4?

As I write this my fiancee is inside the US consulate Mumbai for her K-1 interview!!! Ah...can't wait for some good news!

Hope it went well!

My fiance should be finding out his interview date this week, hopefully. I feel really behind compared to other December filers. )=

Still waiting for the interview date. But in the meantime, I have a strange question. =P Is calling a bowl a "plate" a normal Australian thing? If he wants cereal or something that would definitely go in a bowl, he still asks me for a plate and says that "plate" is a term that covers everything. I never know what to hand him, lol. I always tell him it's confusing, but he insists it's normal to call them that. I mean, I can see referring to all dishware as "plates" in general, but is it a normal thing to use that term when asking for something, even if you need something specific?

Every time I hear an Australian say they hate the heat, I'm just like "whhhhhhhhhy!!" I LOVE the Australian heat! I just love summer weather all around. You can't do as much in the middle of winter. )= Like swimming, bikeriding, hiking, geocaching, bonfires... Although, I do have to say that autumn is probably my favorite time of the year. Not too hot, not too cold, and I love the autumn atmosphere. We're hoping/planning to have a harvest wedding in October. ^^

Congrats! I hope you get your interview date ASAP. Sounds like the NVC has gotten moving again. We're also waiting on our interview date as of today, just got our case complete.

Are you attending the interview? I always love visiting Sydney; such a gorgeous city. Darling Harbour is my favorite placename ever, because it sounds so beautiful when said in an Australian accent. Can't wait to be back, though I hope the weather will be a bit warmer by the time of our interview. I'm hoping for September.

If I could afford a plane ticket out there, I would have been there long before this point, lol. I'm getting desperate. But we're trying to save all our money for AOS and moving, and other expenses we'll have to deal with. I'd love to take another trip to Australia, and I know I will at some point down the road to visit his family again. Some of them are coming for the wedding though. =) That should be interesting. His mom is staying at my grandpa's house just across the yard. I have a feeling she's going to be stuck watching a million home videos. =P We'll have to keep rescuing her and taking her places.

I know what you mean about Darling Harbor and the accent! Although, I just love that accent no matter what they say, lol.

You're hoping for September for the warm weather, and my fiance is hoping to be out of there BEFORE the heat starts. He likes the cold better.

Sent in Packet 3 on Monday. Confirmation says the packet is already at the Consulate. Waiting for the interview date now. =) I'm guessing it will be sometime around mid-August.

I spoke with a representative of NVC this afternoon, and he shared that our case was received yesterday and that it's in A/P. Is that standard for a K-1 at NVC? In other words, is that just their way of saying they're running the standard background check, or should I be concerned? After all, I did get the whole line about there not being a time frame for admin processing...

I was told the same exact thing, and was out of the NVC a week later. I was told by one of the operators that the "AP" is something that happens to every case at NVC. Someone else in a different thread at the time said they researched it and usually the AP at NVC only lasts a few days, and it just seems like "normal" processing.

Here's the post about it: Link

Hi...do you know if the NVC send you a message or a letter stating when they sent it to embassy or the case number?

I did get a letter in the mail from NVC that states those two things, but it's definitely faster to call and find out that way. I heard there's people who don't even end up getting a letter from NVC at all.

Well this is the 4th week of waiting....but if you're talking of a month of business days that would work too cause it would be just 2 more weeks...let's hope so...

Ours took 28 days (or 20 business days), so I'd say you're getting really close, hopefully. Around a month (of regular days) seems to be the norm right now, especially for CSC.

OH MY F@$&ING GOD!!!

GUYS!!! I figured out the grand secret of the DHL universe!!!

So I was putting waybill number randomly to find any packages from the NVC picked up after july 4th holiday. I found some standard normal US DIPLOMATIC PAPERS package and then I looked at the shipper's reference.

The NVC shipper's reference starting from EXP 03 JUL 2012A has NO SPACE between month and year!!!

For example, instead of EXP 03 JUL 2012A you put EXP 03 JUL2012A and then EXP 05 JUL2012A and EXP 06 JUL2012A etc

I just found my package from NVC picked up July 6th and arrived in Stockholm on july 9th

And all this time I thought the DHL went on strike, or there was a major gas leak in the NVC mailroom lol.

Happy tracking everyone!

=O You're right!! You figured it out! That's awesome news! Yaaaay for once a part of the process moved faster than I expected!

I checked the waybill you posted for me and that looks like it could definitely be ours. =) I'll probably call DOS today and double check, just for something to do. Checking up on this stuff seems to make the waits more tolerable.

For real? They're still at NVC? >_< Every time I get to a different part in this process, that part slows down from what it was, or something unusual happens. There was a holiday around my NOA2 date which caused the service centers to slow dramatically, then when I finally get NOA2, CSC starts taking forever to send documents to the NVC, and then when I finally get through the NVC, DHL has just stopped doing anything. Beautiful.

Oh well, this new snag doesn't surprise me. I'm sure they'll start doing something this week. I'm hoping to see a bunch of cases appear for tracking on there later today, because I assume they have to get back to business this week. Monday is a fresh start.

Ahhh okok. Makes sense Woot! All coming together

Yes, feels like it's been forever (we've been apart 9 months now) but it's finally getting to that point where I can start to get a little excited. =)

Why did you rebook the medical? If you had the case number that is sufficient for doing the medical.

He didn't have any vaccination records, so he went to his regular doctor who could do the bloodwork/antibody test for free. And then he found he wasn't getting the results back in time for the medical, so he just moved the date a week later to compensate.

Good!! Glad to hear things are back on track!! Not long to go now... if you've got all your other docs ready to go (police check, getting the medical soon etc).. Sydney is pretty quick to schedule interviews

Yes, after the medical, we'll have everything ready to go. I'm excited to finally get to the Sydney portion of this journey. USCIS and NVC has been incredibly slow right now. Now I'm hearing that the DHL tracking hasn't had any records since July 3rd, and that maybe they've been on holiday since then. I wouldn't be surprised if my case is still sitting somewhere even though they told me it got sent out on the 5th. Nothing surprises me much anymore with this process. =/