Kay&Jeff

Today I received my passport and Visa in the mail !!!!!!!!!!! Its finally all over!!!!!

We fly out on Monday so Im thanking god for it getting here in time!!!!

thank you so much to everyone on here that has helped I would have been lost in this process without VJ and the wonderful people on here.

and good luck to everyone still going I hope it will be over for you soon!!

do you guys have family members in America that you could use there account and you can transfer them the money. Maybe parents or good friends??

Congrats

What do you mean by this- that police certificate had to be both in married and maiden name?

After i got married I changed my last name to my husbands last name. So now I have been known by 2 names - my maiden name and married name. The CO officer said my police check had to have both my names on it but it only had my Married name on it.

In Australia, you can either get a "name check" or a "fingerprint check". The NVC says they require a fingerprint check. The Sydney Consulate says they require a name check. Go figure.

Anyway, if you have only used one name in Australia, you only need one name check. But if you have changed your name, you need to make sure you get a name check in EVERY name you have used.

Or...solve the problem easily by just getting a fingerprint check in the first place.

This information is specific to AUSTRALIA. Your country may be different

Sukie in NY

haha thanks for answering Sukie your answer is much better then mine lol much better with your words then i am lol

Congratulations! Hooray! SOOOOO glad you got that fingerprint check!!!

Sukie in NY

Thank you Sukie yes Im so happy i paid the extra and got the fingerprints done!! the police kept saying 'oh you normally dont need them it alot more money' and I told then no I want fingerprints just incase thats what they want!! thank god I made that choice back in Sept!!

Thank you again for all your words of wisdom leading up to my interview, you were very helpful in times of doubt!

NVC?

Are we supposed to send it to the NVC?

I haven't got packet 3 yet, does that come from NVC or the embassy?

Why would I be sending anything to the NVC?

I thought everything from this stage on goes to the sydney consulate.

Sorry i didn't realize you were doing K1 visa i was doing CR1 visa.

I sent my police certificate with the IV (immigration visa) Package which i believe you don't do with the K1 visa so sorry to confuse you with that I was just trying to say that i didnt send mine to the consulate and it was ok as long as u take it to the interview with you.

I had my interview today and almost got denied because the CO officer didnt read our police certificate properly and he thought it was just the name check (no fingerprints) and when he started telling us we hd to re-do it i told him that I DID get fingerprints done and he re-read it and realized his mistake.

So defs get the fingerprints done!!!!

It saved our butt today getting the fingerprints done. As for where to get it I just went to my local police station and I DIDN'T have it sent to the consulate as the police told me I shouldnt they said it would better to be sent to me. I actually sent mine with my originals to NVC but i would suggest just keeping it with you and taking it to the consulate for your interview as I was stressing NVC would loss it lol

we used my husbands US bank account, he had some checks for it here in Australia so got the routing number off them. Good luck

Had my interview today in Sydney and........ APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!! omg it feels like its not real yet! its been 15mths since we applied and its finally over!

We had a huge scare cos the CO officer almost rejected us because he didnt read the police check correctly!

He thought it was just a name check in my married name and he said it has to be in both married and maiden names or have the fingerprint check as well. but i HAD gotten fingerprint check as well so i pointed that out to him and he said 'Sorry your right" and said we were approved then and that we should have our visa in hand by the end of the week. YAY

Hey, Aussies! You don't need anything else - no "applicant readiness" form. The only "special" paper you would need is the email with permission for your spouse or children to attend the interview with you, if that is applicable to your case.

We are in south Queensland, so missed the wind of the cyclone, though we got the rain. Hope your area recovers soon.

Enjoy Sydney! Do the Bridge Climb while you are there!

Sukie in NY

Thank you Sukie, I didnt know we needed something for my partner to come with me, He is coming down to Sydney with me. Ill e-mail the consulate to see if he is allowed up with me if not he can wait down stairs

Awesome, it takes 30 days?

That's crazy i need to get on it asap

Where do i go to get it?

I just went to my local police station and you fill out the paperwork there/ do finger prints. Mine actually took 6 weeks but that was back in Sept so they may have been backlogged. I hope its faster for you

Hi Kay & Jeffrey and SharksBelow

Just to let you know I had my interview on Tuesday in December and the Visa was in my little hands by Friday. The worst part was that the Express Post guy left it on my doorstep and didn't ring the bell. Can you imagine!!!!!!!

Good luck both of you.

Xx

Thank you msc13 good to hear it arrived fast but not good to hear the posty just left it there!! eekk ill be standing out the front of the house for 3 days straight lol

Thank you! I hope this happens this fast for me too - it should do, so long as our cyclone stuff clears up by then!

Hey! Don't stress - you've got this! That's the right bag, you know the answers to the questions, take deep breaths and do not panic.

Thank you SharksBelow i know its all going to be ok but just being silly lol less then a week!!! omg cant wait for it to be over with finally!

Hi guys. My visa status says "ready" which is great but isn't there some kind of form I have to fill in? Applicant readiness or something? Ih ave everything ready. My region was absolutely flattened by a devastating cyclone in the last few days, we have no power and were without running water for 4 days. It's unbelievably hot and so hard to sleep because we can't power our fans or air conditioners. Anyway that aside I have the visa package all ready to go, the only thing I need to add to it is our book of wedding photos.

i thought the same thing but havent done anything other then get ready for the interview ( have medical and gather paperwork) so im hoping there isnt lol, i always thought I was meant to pay something else before the interview too but cant find anything on it.

its got to be a federal police check and I did it with finger prints but i was told you didnt have to, but i wanted to just in case! you dont have to give the case number but they are only valid for one year.

As long as it's the 3 kg size, that's IT!!!!

Sukie in NY

Thank you Sukie! My interview is in a week and i think im starting to second guess everything lol it is a 3 kilo bag so must be right but again im starting to second guess everything

To To the Aussies in the group is this the right envelope to take to the consulate for them to send my visa back to me?

Hey guys another 2 question here, 1. With the 2 passport size pics you have to take to the interview do you have to write your name, DOB ect on the back of them???

and 2. my husband who is the US citizen has lived here with me in Australia for the past 6yrs he has kept his bank accounts, credit cards active and still has his drivers licence and such. We sent copies of all this stuff to NVC and I want to take the evidence with me. do you think i need more up to date statements ect or are the ones i have ok?? they are from mid last year ( because NVC take so damn fast lol)

Those first two things are from an old process. I sure wish they'd fix those old letters! The "Immigrant Visa Application - Parts 1 and 2" are now the DS-260, which we all fill out online now. Best of luck!

Sukie i nNY

Thank you Sukie, I thought it must be that as its the only thing i did online but they arent very clear so wanted to double check.

Oooh - Kay and Jeff...that's cutting it sooooo close! We, like Sharksbelow, allowed a two-week time frame after the interview. Because Australia Post does not deliver on Saturday, that really only gives you about 3 delivery days!!!

Best of luck to you!!!

Sukie in NY

I know hopefully it will be ok my husband booked our flights and he is getting impatient he wanted to book them on the Friday after the interview and i said no way, this was our compromise so i hope it works out, he just wants to get home to his dad.

Hey guys im getting ready for the interview and ive got all my paperwork together but im just not 100% sure what these two are??

1 - IMMIGRANT VISA APPLICATION PART 1 R
1 - IMMIGRANT VISA APPLICATION PART 2 R

it says R so says i submitted online but im just not sure exactly what they want. just want to make sure i have everything perfect. thank you

The following table lists the documents requested by the NVC and whether or not you submitted them to the
NVC. Please note that even though you may have provided the NVC with a copy of a document, you are
still required to bring the original document to the visa interview.

Refer to the Document Status Code Definitions (see key below) to determine the meaning of the document status codes.

Document Name Document Status.

CORRESPONDENCE INSTRUCTIONS C
1 - IMMIGRANT VISA APPLICATION PART 1 R
1 - IMMIGRANT VISA APPLICATION PART 2 R
2 - PASSPORT Y
3 - BIRTH CERTIFICATE O
4 - ADOPTION F
5 - MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE O
6 - MARRIAGE TERMINATION F
7 - COURT RECORDS F
F - FINANCIAL EVIDENCE Y
9 - MILITARY RECORDS F
10 - COLOMBIA POLICE CERTIFICATE O
FEE PAYMENT $
PHOTOGRAPH Y
F - PETITIONER MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE F
F - PETITIONER BIRTH CERTIFICATE F
11 - PETITIONER MARRIAGE TERMINATION F

1st of April So leaves me just over 2 weeks. Should be plenty of time to get that visa in my hot little hands When is yours?

oh yes that should be lots of time. We are being slightly more daring lol our interview is March 3rd less then 2 weeks and we booked flights for the 10th hopefully will have it in time but as I said above my husbands fathers health is bad and we want to get back as soon as possible after almost 15mths we are ready for this to finally be over!

I had a fabulous time! Less than a month to go now, woohooo!

I know it's extremely naughty but I booked my flight. Every time I looked they were getting more and more expensive so I took the plunge. I figure if there's an issue at interview I have bigger problems than having a flight booked and I made sure I could change it if needs be.

OOhh SharksBelow how exciting!! it is a little naughty but we did the same thing hoping all goes well but as you said the flight we want was getting more expensiveand my husbands (US citizen) fathers health isnt very good and we want to get back as soon as possible so took the chance. when did you book it for ?

This does seem odd, as you're correct that the only police check is a national one, however you do apply for it through your state police force, rather than through the AFP.

What I suspect this is about is that for applicants from NSW and Qld, the police certificate is supposed to get sent direct to the consulate - and this being the case, NVC would never see it, and so would need special instructions about it so that they don't checklist applicants for a missing police certificate. So my guess is that the "AUSTRALIA POLICE CERT NSW/QUEENSLAND" is a special record in their system that generates a sort-of-checklist reminding you to apply for the police certificate and get it sent to the consulate or take it with you to the interview.

I live in NSW, and even though I got my police certificate sent to me and then submitted it to NVC with the rest of my documents, they still sent me a pseudo-checklist after my case was completed, telling me to obtain the police certificate and take it with me to the interview.

I hope this makes some kind of sense!

Hey dwarrell, are you getting another police certificate for your interview even though you sent it to NVC?? i did the same thing Im based in Queensland thou. When i got my police check the cops said i should have it sent to me not the consulate so in know it actually arrived and I sent it to NVC with the IV package. I also got asked to bring one in my list of paperwork to bring but its less then a year old and my interbiew is in 2 weeks so theres no time to get another.

Hey just after some words of wisdom for other Aussies that have interviewed recently.

When we submitted our IV package to the NVC i got a police check with fingerprints and sent them the police certificate in the package. Its still vaild as I only had this done in August last year will the NVC send it to the Sydney consulate ?? i made a copy if the original and had it singed by a JP but im worried now they will wont an original at the interview and not sure if NVC sent it or not??? feeling a little worried but hopefully just over thinking things as the interview is in 3 weeks.