Ni & Pa

Hi All

I have a question specifically for recent Australian residents who have moved to US in 2012 and will be filing US Joint Tax Return for 2012.

Did you include your Australian Income(January to ......) in the 2012 US tax return and then claim exclusion (Form 2555) or did you completely avoid including the Australian Income due to Australia-US Tax Treaty.

Also if you have already filed the tax return what provider did you use, H&R Block or Turbo Tax and which specific product did you use? I tried using the basic one from H&R Block, but was unable to do it correctly, and the online help provided was not very helpful.

Cheers

I completely agree with you Athena, I live in East Bay area and have been here for 6 months but finding a job is I guess harder than getting the Visa.

I am an Auditor/Accountant and have Masters, CA and CPA from Australia but it seems all those degrees do not count. I have been trolling all the career sites day and night, have been applying left, right and centre with no luck.

And as you mentioned all those points, they are really frustrating. Comparatively, the Australian website for jobs (www.seek.com.au) was so user friendly and you could directly contact the person in-charge for follow-ups etc.

I guess its going to be another mission to get a relevant job.

Till then....All the Best....

I was really just wondering if it can be done and if so what the process is for scheduling an appointment without a case number.

I would suggest wait for the case number as it does not take a long time to get the appointment. I got mine done in Sydney and was able to get the appointment within a weeks time.

Once you have the case number simply call up the doctor and schedule an appointment, its pretty straightforward. They will inform you what to bring along etc.

However what you can do at present while waiting for the case number is to call up the doctor and ask which vaccinations are required and accordingly get them sorted if you don't already have them.

All the Best.

The immigration at Peru are not concerned with the sealed envelope, you just have to present the envelope at NY airport which will be the port of entry.

Your Written Test is valid for 1 year so you should be fine. But please note once your temporary DL expires you cannot legally drive.

Hi

If I were you, I would wait till I had the form in hand and then send everything together. Now that you have waited so long, couple of more days will easily pass by. You don't want to be in a situation where the interview date is delayed due to incomplete documents.

:thumbs:Thanks Guys!! This is so difficult because the longest layover is about 2 hours and a half that i've seen... I guess i'm going to have to bite the bullet and make sure to have him let custom's know that he's got a connecting flight and he's here on a K1.

Thanks so much for the replies!! I really do Appreciate it!

Hey

I recently used Honolulu as my POE, and it was very quick, roughly 30-45 minutes. There was no one else in the queue except me.

One more advantage of flying Hawaii Airlines and using Honolulu as POE is that they allow 2 bags of 32kgs free of charge as Check-in baggage.

Following is the link to the Hawaii airlines baggage policy: http://help.hawaiianairlines.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/80

Considering that you are moving for good, you would be carrying lots of stuff.

The other thing is that the tickets are comparatively cheaper then all other airlines.

Hope the above helps.

Thanks Guys, I did have a look at the instructions for I-693 and it clearly says K-1 visa holders do not require a medical test if the tests were done with 12 months of I-485 (not sure if its from filing date or interview date).

Well thanks a lot, hope everything works out well at the interview.

Cheers.

Hi

I am in the AOS procedure stage and recently received I-797C for interview call. One of the documents required to be submitted is Form I-693 (Completed Medical Examination Form).

I am confused, do we still have to submit this form if we have already taken the medical tests in Australia prior to the K-1 interview. I also forwarded the DS-3025 along with the submission of form I-485.

If we do have to submit I-693, do the Civil Surgeon re-performs all the test or does he complete the form based on the previous medical tests (medical tests undertaken prior to K-1 interview).

Lastly can you recommend any Civil Surgeons who are reasonably priced and are experienced in completing the form based on the prior medical tests in SF downtown area or near Fremont (East Bay)

Thanks in advance.

Hi

I too received the I - 797C and one of the requirement is submission of I-693, my question is do we need to submit the I-693 even if we have already done and submitted the medical tests/reports in the beneficiary's country (Australia) before entering US. Also while filing I-485, I submitted DS-3025 to USCIS.

If we do have to submit I-693 does that mean I have to redo all the tests etc., or does the Civil Surgeon complete the form based on the medical results of the previous tests.

Hey Kitkat

The way it normally works is as follows:

1. Get an appointment.

2. Prior to the appointment, get the details of immunization records. If you don't have the records go to your GP and he will do a blood test to determine the immunization you have taken (it normally takes 3-4 days for the results, but it could vary). In case you haven't take any immunization shots, you can tell the GP to give you or Dr Waks clinic can give you.

3. The day of the appointment, the doctor will go through all the questions and procedure etc including the x-ray and blood test. The doctor won't be able to give you a conclusive result as the x-ray and blood examination won't be available. Please don't forget to carry a prepaid express envelope.

4. Once all the reports and results are ready (normally it takes 3-4 days after the examination), the doctor will either send you a white sealed envelope (consulate copy) along with a copy of the reports (for your reference) in the prepaid envelope (scenario 1) or the doctor will send the consulate copy directly to the consulate and send you a copy of the reports (scenario 2). If the scenario 1 happens you just need to mail the white sealed envelope to the US consulate (Sydney office).

That's all you need to do. When you go for the appointment, the doctor or the assistant will explain in detail what you require to do. So I suggest don't stress out.

Hope the above answers all your questions.

Hi

I was faced with a similar situation (I was flying from SYD to SFO) last month, however I found an unbelievable deal with Hawaiian Airlines. They allow 2 bags (31kg) per ticket as normal baggage allowed and every extra bag (3rd bag onwards) was $100 (AUD) per bag. Also on comparison, Hawaiian Airlines was offering the cheapest ticket in comparison to all other airlines.

Also Honolulu as POE is a good option as there is hardly any queue and the custom officers are very friendly.

Hope this helps.

Hi All.

For those who have completed the application for the national police check - did you apply for a code 33 or code 35 check?

I believe it is code 35 but I figured I should check. There don't seem to be any guides covering this.

I have found a guide for Canada that covers it (code 35), but that doesn't exactly help

callsignapollo

Hi

I recently got my police check done in NSW, it required completion of an online form where I specified Name and Fingerprint check, took a printout and then went to the local police station. There is no need for addressed envelope etc. The addressed envelope is if you want the fingerprints to be sent to some other countries police department etc.

Please check the following link for police clearance as specified by the US Embassy in Australia http://canberra.usembassy.gov/obtain_police_cert.html

Dear All, Need some advice...

I am about the send Packet 3 to the consulate, however I have confusion regarding sending of the medical reports. Can I open the Medical reports received from the doctor or should I send the unopened (sealed) envelope along with other documents forming packet 3 to the consulate. The doctor said i can open the envelope and send reports, however in one of the topics it said to send unopened envelope.

Also do we need to send passport size photos along with packet 3 or do we have to carry it with us during the interview.

Please, can someone enlighten me.

Thanks in advance

Hi All

Today I found out the case number has been allocated by NVC and the file has been forwarded to Sydney embassy. This was pretty cool considering the backlog at NVC, it took exact 1 month from issue of NOA2 to NVC issuing case number and forwarding the file to Sydney embassy.

My question is, after receiving packet 3 what documents are we supposed to forward along with form DS230. Does the police clearance and other documents have to be attached and sent with DS230 or do we have to only send DS230 immediately and other forms (DS156 & DS156K)and documents sent at a later date?

Is there any link or guidance issued by the embassy as what is sent at what point of time?

Thanks

I put my address, i don't want them to send it to embassy directly.

I booked my medical BEFORE I knew my case number, but case number came before the medical date. i started the police check BEFORE I know the case number, i think.

Thanks for that. I went and got the police clearance done though it was bit messy, the constable wasn't aware of the procedure for the combined fingerprint check (name, date of birth and the fingerprint) as a result I ended up paying for 2 different checks (name/DOB and fingerprint), hopefully it all works out, however I will follow up with the Criminal Records Department from where it is issued.

Regards.

mine asked me if i wanna send it to the embassy or another address. it is said on the paper form i think, NOT sure if it is also on the online form.

also depends on the state I think. Im in NSW.

The online form gives a similar option. However when i spoke to this lady at the local police station she said it cant be sent to a personal address, it has to be sent directly to the embassy. My query is when you applied for the police clearance did you get it delivered to your address or to the embassy. If you did have it delivered to the embassy did you wait till you received your case number/packet 3 and then applied or did you forward it without the case number.

By the way I am from Sydney, NSW.

Which state are you in?

Hi

I am from Sydney, NSW.

Hi All

We have applied for K-1, its been a while, we have got the NOA2 approval the file still hasnt been forwarded to NVC. We understand there is a backlog and all, but we are hoping to receive packet 3 by early next month.

I inquired with the my local police station for the finger print check and i was told that the clearance can be sent only to an organisation and not to a personal address. Is this true? Does the Australian Police Clearance have to be directly forwarded to the embassy or does it get sent to us and we then forward or carry it with us during the interview.

I was in the impression that the you apply for the pollice clearance, receive it and then send it to the embassy.

Can anyone enlighten me what the actual process is?

Thanks in advance.