MattWatt

the density of the cases is lesser on the late months, caused by special countries that are maxing.

According to my calculations 85~87k followed up with forms, the 'second-holes' do not apply to all regions perfectly like asia the response rate is excellent from the two biggest countries (iran + nepal), there might be more holes from the rest of asia side but it won't affect the cutt-offs seriously to create super jumps or to hit current!

BTW I readjusted nepal limit to 10.5k

Giving average of 380 cns in every 1000 cn cut-off range.

On other hand I believe africa will benefit the most from the drop-out,

For all the reasons we discussed before... And looking at dv15 where they selected the same amount as dv14 minus nigeria! So I predict a super jumps for this region.

EU has seen high jump in the middle of the fiscal year ! With Uzbekistan running, now that it has maxed-out and of course there will be visa left for august and september, EU will see again bigger jumps...

OC still stuck and we didn't see the Fiji effect yet, but I believe it will still happen within the last two remaining months..

SA didn't do bad with its cut-off a long the year so I strongly believe (contrary to reavsky) that SA will reach 2k cn range.

AF 104~105k

AS. 14~ 15. k

EU. 44~ 45. k

OC. 2000

SA. 2000

Ps: I can be totally wrong so no hard feeling .

Vladek - what do you mean by "the Fiji effect" for OC? I'm really hoping OC will go current for August.

Duplicate post - moderators please remove

Hoping someone has gone through this before and can shed some light on pitfalls / problems, or a ray of sunlight on success for me.

In the hope that 2014OC goes current (I'm ranked 21XX), I'm looking at option paths for myself & family for moving to the US.

At this stage, due to family issues (unwell elderly relative), we're concerned that we may not be quite ready within the 6 months after being issued our IV visa. As such, we're looking at flying to the US for a short period (essentially to "activate" our visas), then come back to Australia for up-to the 12 month external stay limit.

A few concerns:

1. If we've "activated" our IV visas, but not yet received our GC, would this be an issue at all in regards to the 12 month external stay allowance?
2. Whilst we have friends in the US already (so have an address for GC to be sent to), we won't have a perm. address of our own. Any issues with this?
3. Tax - I understand that as LPR we have to file tax returns for all world-wide income. Will not having a perm. address of our own (per (2) above) cause issues with filing taxes? Will not actually having any US income be an issue?
4. Anything other issues that I may not have thought of, related to being an LPR without actually having yet relocated to the US?

Thanks in advance.

According to the current Dept of State website on Country Reciprocity (http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/fees/reciprocity-by-country/AS.html), there is no mention of needing a fingerprint check.

_{I was selected for DV-2014 and my number is 00088014 for Africa. Does this means that I have to wait until the number is above 88014 to apply?}

You can apply, but I believe your application won't be processed (or you won't be considered for an interview) until your ranking number falls below the bulletin cutoff number.

Anyone? Anyne? Bueller?

We're in the same boat, considering what to sell and what to take.

Just a heads up - an Australian TV will not work in the US, even if it will run on 110V. Like the old analogue PAL vs NTSC issue, digital broadcasts in the US use the ATSC standard, whilst AUstralia uses DVB-T.

Hi all. Hoping someone here can shed a ray of sunlight on my immigration hopes.

Having been selected for "further processing" for DV-2014, I've been quite hopeful to date. But with application processing and interview commencement fast approaching, I've started to doubt my hopeful outlook.

According to my selection confirmation letter, my DV ranking is in the (low) 2100's for Oceania (I'm in Australia).

In all reality, what's my likelyhood of getting a visa interview, given my ranking level?

I would have assumed that the visa bulletin numbers for a given region would have started the US financial year relatively high, then reduce as more visas are issued. However, looking at the Oct / Nov / Dec visa bulletins from previous years, this doesn't appear to be the case - with region numbers starting really low, and increasing throughout the year.

Any words of wisdom, or any rays of hope, would be greatlyu appreciated as our family is really looking forward to moving to the US.

We had to make a down payment of at least 25% to get our loan as a non U.S. citizen, but that was back in 2007. Financial crisis came shortly after, so this might look different now.

Anyways, with no credit history you will probably get a pretty high interest rate, but still get a loan if the down payment is high enough. The bank won't be taking a huge risk with such a big down payment, because the house will be worth way more than the loan amount right from the start.

If would try it and then refinance your mortgage aften you build a decent credit history.

Here's a good guide how to approach building a good credit history for people new to the U.S.:

http://liveworktravelusa.com/build-an-outstanding-credit-history-from-scratch/

And yes, I'm pretty sure you will qualify as a "First Home Owner" in the US, since this will be your first home here. Doesn't matter what you owned abroad.

AllYouCanEat - thanks for the response. Here's hoping you're right, and that whichever bank / credit union we go with will be accommodating due to our downpayment.

Thanks also for the website link - some very interesting and useful tips.

As Danell stated, you need to organise some of this stuff prior to arrival.

I also suggest one of you moving to the US first to set up and get established. Open a bank account, apply for a secured credit card to start building your credit history. Get a drivers license, get a car, rent a house, buy/rent furniture.

It'll be a lot easier dealing with the needs of one person to start off with before your family arrives. you may need to wait about 6-12 months before you can buy (my score was in the 700's after 6 months). This is actually a good thing. It'll give you an opportunity to look at the different areas you want to live in at different times of the year. Remember school is based on what area you live in (unless private) so make sure you rent/buy where you want your kids to go to school.

I also suggest getting a GPS with the letters LM in the number somewhere. I have LMT which stands for "lifetime maps and traffic". so everytime there's a map update, I get it for free, otherwise you need to pay.

Life in the US isn't golden. It is often hard. You have a job lined up and that's the first hurdle. Make sure you look at their benefits package (health insurance etc) and have enough saved for the "what if". My husband and I have health insurance and we have an 80/20 PPO plan. His surgery cost us $1K ($9K without insurance). Research docs as well. I have yet to find a doc I like (my husband likes his) but I love my dentist

Lots of stuff to learn! Also, tax time. Financial year in the US US is from Jan to Dec so keep your tax stuff from Aus to bring with you.

Good luck!

Thanks Vanessa,

Due to timings, etc, separate moves isn't convenient, but your point is well taken.

Planning on opening accounts as soon as we get there, to try to build credit rating asap, but we would prefer to buy than rent if at all possible (although we are realistic that we'll likely need to rent for about 6 months to start). Good news though that you were able to build your score to 700 so quickly (any tips not already on-line?).

Still trying to find out all the details for the US arm of my company, in regards to health care, 401K, etc. I know health insurance is a MUST in the US.

Taxes - doing my HEAD in (compare to Australia tax system). Looks like I'll have one small win though, in that Texas doesn't change state income tax. But Sale Tax / Use Tax / etc etc ... nightmare.

What do you mean "keep your tax stuff from Aus to bring with you"? Is that so we can remotely lodge an Aus tax return come July?

these guys specialize (in the DFW area) for 'hard to place' mortgages..

http://blessyourheart.com/

http://blessyourheart.com/

http://blessyourheart.com/

Give them a shout, explain all, see what they tell you. If they can't find you a mortgage, it's most likely not going to do doable anywhere else.

Not a customer, they're not my clients - but they 'seem' to help out in the DFW area, based on customer testimonials and independent reviews.

Thanks Darnell. I've bookmarked them for when we arrive.

Having been selected for further processing under DV-2014, we're in the process of planing (on the hopeful assumption of being granted our visas) for our move to the States.

On arrival in the US (Dallas, TX), we want to purchase a property relatively quickly, as we have a family and want a stable housing situation.

I will be transferring with my current employer, so will have work lined up before we get to the US. I have a good credit record in Australia (documented report, which I'll be taking with us). I understand that international credit reports don't always have any impact with US financial institutions, but sometimes they do.

How hard is it going to be to get a mortage, without having to wait 2+ years to establish a good US credit rating, or 'qualify' the 2/2/2 general requirement that I've heard many banks work off? We'll have 20% downpayment (from the sale of our home in Australia prior to moving). I've heard some US financial institutions (such as Advancial Credit Union) have special provisions for new immigrants.

Are there any other banks / credit unions that people can point us to that can help? How much penalty are we likely to incur on interest rates due to having no FICO score to start with?

On a related note, would we qualify as a "First Home Owners" in the US (in regards to FHA Loans), or would the fact that we've owned property in Australia disqualify us?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Exciting times. I'm an Aussie and awaiting interview notification. I posted mine off last week. Does anyone know when interviews are likely to be? And once succesfull at the interview, how long till you have to go over to activate? Does it matter if you don't know your address yet? I want to travel around first before settling down. Anyone know much about these re entry permits. Eg/If you wanted to come back to Australia for a year can you?

Sam99 - application processing starts in August (most likely mid August when the indicative October Visa Bullitin numbers are released). Interviews starts from 1st October. If you're granted a visa, you get your passport back after about 6 weeks, then you have 6 months to 'activate' it by arriving in the US.

In regards to the re-entry permits, you only need one if you're going to be out of the US for more than 12 months. See this link for more info (http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Resources/B5en.pdf).

Hope this helps.

Well now you've all got me worried - I'm ranked 2118 for OC. I assumed that that was reasonably low ranking in the grand scheme of things

I believe you'll be notified on your interview date either via email or phone call. I don't believe you receive notification that your application forms have been received.

Civil documents need to be taken to your interview.

For your information - application processing doesn't start until August 2013, with interviews commencing October (so I'd imagine interview notifications would start being sent out late August / Early September, to allow people time to prepare, get flights if required, etc).

Don't worry about the time taken to send in your application - there's plenty of time.