dark faery

Statements are required but you know what? they didn't even look at mine.

Statements aren't necessarily required. It's really up to the consulate officer; statements are just one of the things you can bring to prove your finances. When we had our interview in Sydney, the only thing I submitted with my I-864 was a letter from my father's employer and his taxes (as I had no income at the time, so he was sponsoring). Of course, I had all of the other evidence (i.e. payslips, statements and whatnot) in a folder I took with me "just in case". Anyway, they didn't even want to look at any of it. The letter plus tax transcripts proved to be sufficient.

I think, like mellie said, bank statements would be more crucial if you were using a savings account to meet the required amount of funds.

however, it is always a good idea to bring more info than needed just to be safe.

Dark Faery - was all that money INCLUDING fingerprinting and medical - or just what you paid at the consulate the day of your interview?

karo, that was just the consulate fees- what we paid them on the day of our interview. Fingerprints were another $130 AUD (for QLD), while the medical ended up to total somewhere around $400 AUD.

I don't have our receipt anymore, so I'm not sure of our exact total but we had our interview on Dec. 9, and the fees for the visa ran over $700 AUD. I want to say somewhere around $765, but bring extra just in case they've raised fees.

And the documentary evidence applies to both the petitioner and the benificiary. There should be a list in your packet as to what you need to bring.

Good luck with your interview. :]

hey hey.. thanks everyone. we're pretty sure we got our moving company now thanks to this thread. we're probably going to go with OSS movers, as mwfaith suggested. they quoted us $890 AUD w/out insurance vs. the $1,400 AUD the other company wanted w/out insurance. that saves us $500 PLUS a month less of transit time.

we're probably also going to seamail two fairly large but somewhat lightweight items so they won't take up too much room with the rest of the stuff.

and one lot of excess baggage most likely-- thanks rochelle with the advice on that. I probably would've never really thought of that, but luckily we're flying a direct flight from Brisbane to LA and that's the end of it, as I live about 45 minutes outside of LA.

so all in all, I'd say I'm pretty happy with the results. thanks SO much to you all.

Thank you so much!! I was getting a bit desperate- I'm going to be looking into all the options everyone here has suggested on Monday when my husband is home from work and has time to check it out as well. We don't have a lot of things to move really, which is why I was so blown away by the proposed cost from the company I talked to yesterday. Again, thank you.. it's very much appreciated.

ok, I posted this in the "moving here and your new life in america" forum-- but I think it might get a more relevant audience here. So, maybe someone can help if I copy and paste? Pretty please?

Does anyone here have any advice on shipping belongings from Brisbane, AU to Los Angeles, USA?

My husband and I move back to America on April 14, so the time is approaching very rapidly. One company called us today, they're located near Brisbane international but want to charge about $1,400 to ship his belongings (which basically consists of books, DVDs, computer equipment, and misc. little items). Not to mention, they told me it'd take us about 14 weeks to recieve said belongings as its shipped via the UK. I'm shipping-stupid to be honest, but I think that is a bit steep. It'd be cheaper to pack it all up in luggage and have it charged as excess baggage on Qantas. MUCH cheaper.

So yeah, anyone know of any companies in the Brisbane area? If so, we'd be eternally grateful, as I have no clue where to start and he's at work nearly every day so I get to deal with most of it. I want to get this done ASAP,too. If possible,a month before our flight leaves so that stuff will have transit time before we even get to America.

Thanks.

Does anyone here have any advice on shipping belongings from Brisbane, AU to Los Angeles, USA?

My husband and I move back to America on April 14, so the time is approaching very rapidly. One company called us today, they're located near Brisbane international but want to charge about $1,400 to ship his belongings (which basically consists of books, DVDs, computer equipment, and misc. little items). Not to mention, they told me it'd take us about 14 weeks to recieve said belongings as its shipped via the UK. I'm shipping-stupid to be honest, but I think that is a bit steep. It'd be cheaper to pack it all up in luggage and have it charged as excess baggage on Qantas. MUCH cheaper.

So yeah, anyone know of any companies in the Brisbane area? If so, we'd be eternally grateful, as I have no clue where to start and he's at work nearly every day so I get to deal with most of it. I want to get this done ASAP,too. If possible,a month before our flight leaves so that stuff will have transit time before we even get to America.

Thanks.

I can totally relate to the OP.

I went from seeing my fiance every single day and nearly every minute of the day for an entire 3 months and then I had to fly back to America (from Australia) and being that far away from him absolutely KILLED me. That wasn't our first goodbye, as we had two previous sad airport goodbyes in the past- but it was most definitely the hardest. Once you spend that much time with someone and then end up so far away from them, it's rough and it wears you down. I got back to America and I lost it, completely.. we'd argue daily, I was sick of phone conversations at 3 a.m. due to the time difference, chatting online, emails. It was heartbreaking not to be able to hug him. I felt left out of his life, and as the months went by I really started to question it. I started to wonder why I got into this relationship and if I'd ever be happy again. I nearly broke up with him a fair few times.

After five months of that, I flew back to AU. I worried myself sick over it. Wondering if it was the right thing to do, still questioning. I cried on the flight there a few times, just from sheer tear. Afraid everything would go wrong, because we saw pretty much no happiness during the five months of seperation.

And when I got here things were ok. I mean, it took awhile for the hard feelings I harboured to go away. A couple months, at least. We still argued every now and then and I still felt resentful that we ever had to be apart (along with many other issues that aren't really important in hindsight). But, after awhile things were ok. I got here in October, and we got married in December.. now I'm finally resolving all the issues I had (we both are, really).

It took a bit of time, but I'm happy. I honestly thought I wouldn't ever be able to be happy again, but I am. I don't feel bitter, resentful, hurt, or numb anymore like I used to. I don't question that I love him and this was most definitely worth it. It kind of makes all the suffering worthwhile.

I guess my point is, what you're feeling is pretty normal in this type of relationship. It doesn't mean that you need to give up. I think it just means that the two of you need to work out the problems, and spend some time together before you do get married, though. Stay strong, it doesn't have to be like this forever.

Your credit shouldn't have any determining factors in whether or not you are elgible to sponsor your wife.