vylex

Welcome to the US HD! Hawaii of all places...niiiiice. I still have to visit there. Maybe as a second honeymoon with the wifey.

Sorry to hear about the X-ray mess! Wow, I've never heard of that requirement before but I did make sure Vy had it with us in our handcarry luggage (I said hell no to the guide's recommendations lol).

That must have been one of the best if not the best feelings ever to be greeted by your hubby and niece. Glad you had an overall safe journey though! Best wishes on your new journey as a couple together!

Finally our case is complete as of March 17. Hoping to be scheduled for an interview in April.

Congrats! Glad to hear you are now in the final stage!

Best of luck Patricia! That's really nice of your husband's family and friends. After all they are your family and friends too now.

Sounds like everything is coming along. Spring time weddings are great.

Congrats on the approval CD! Glad to hear your processing went that quickly! We had a 2 or 3 hour wait in between the paper processing and the "interview" although ours was a CR-1. Glad you had such a painless experience!

Katz, you should be able to eat your morning away at Pancakes and then some. That place is awesome. Variety of good is excellent.

Pancake on the Rocks

I am getting really hungry just browsing through their menu again LOL.

The direction for the Rocks location should be there as well. Good luck and happy visit to Sydney!

Katz,

If you'll be hanging around Sydney, I can at least recommend good eats (in my humble opinion hehe).

1) Go to Harry's Cafe. It's an outdoor stand with really good meat pies....yummm, they don't have meat pies like that over here on the East Coast.

2) I recommend Pancake on the Rocks. It should be pretty close walking distance from the Travelodge. You get a nice scenic walk through Circular Quay into the Rocks. That place is open 24 hours and it seems to be packed for most of it!

Hey Everyone!!

So it's tax season...aaargh... I received my green card when I was in Oz March 07 and moves to the US June 07...do I need to pay taxes from when I had received my green card?? Have you guys who have recently moved have your tax appnts yet??

Thank you for any info

Hey hey Elle!

NJ has a different State tax rule than Maryland but our Fed should be the same. NOTE: There are probably other ways of doing this but I considered this to be the easiest.

Basically, this is what we did (after I did tons of reading on the IRS site regarding Alien tax rules as well as a few googled answers)

1) Write a letter stating that you and your spouse wish to be treated as US Residents for the ENTIRE tax year. You must file JOINTLY. Check Page 9 of this doc under Dual Status Alien:

Pub 519

2) If you do the above, then you need to state your Global income....so you state your income from Jan 2007 through March 2007 (Aussie income) as well as your April through Dec 2007 US income. Estimate as best you can your income from the Aussie time period.

3) File a form 2555 or 2555EZ (we used EZ because all we wished to exclude was her Aussie income). This form is used to deduct your Aussie income on the 1040 form.

So for example:

Your hubby makes $USD50k and you made $USD50k (and $USD20k was from Oz and $USD30k from the US).

Your total is $USD100k. However you file a 2555/EZ and deduct the $USD20k. Your total US taxable income is $USD80k.

On your 1040 form there is a space for putting in additional income (negative) so that the adjusted income is summed up correctly.

Line 7: Your Global income...100k in this case.

Line 21: Other income...you type in 2555/EZ form and then put in ($20,000). The parentheses denotes a negative value).

Line 22: The total income and it should sum up to $80k in this example.

NOTE: The 2555EZ form will prorate the maximum allowable income you can deduct. It's about 85,700 for an entire year. If you worked half a year the max would be about 43,000. It forces you to do the math but it's straightforward.

It's not as bad as it sounds. I think we should be ok hehe. There are so many options it gets confusing during the tax season. Good Luck Elle and hit me up with any other questions should you have any. I am by no means a Tax accountant but I spent enough time reading these tax docs the last 2 years that I am absorbing it like a sponge (I hope hehe).

Happy Travels HD! I hope it will be one of the best plane rides EVER!

Hi D'sMan, I am pretty sure you won't have a problem with a co-sponsor. The folks at the Consulate seemed more concerned with having the paperwork in order than anything else. I am pretty sure that if you can satisfy all the requirements there is no reason to deny your visa. Good luck!

Congrats on reaching that stage Aussie Angel!

Hi Kath, did the snow stop yet? LOL.

Hope everyone else is doing well!

should the DS230 form also to be print or typed in capitals? in the form it only says print or type(capitals not mentioned)In the current address the space is not enough to print in capitals , so can i print in small letters, or can it be handwritten in capitals.

What I did was use the computer to fill in as much as I could and then printed it out. I then handwrote the address in and other items that the electronic document couldn't fit in or understand (like certain dates or phone numbers). I believe I used all capitals. You can mix and match handwriting and computer-typed. As long as it's legible and the signature is handsigned you should be fine.

Indianheart,

They do this all the time. Its standard procedure for security reasons.

In your US passport, you had to print your signature didnt you? And if you became a naturalized citize, you also have to "print" your full name on the certificate. Also most importantly, its says on forms I-864 and I-864EZ.... "Print Sponsor's Name" right smack in the middle.

I dont like they're process either but sometimes we cant always blame it on USCIS or NVC. We all knew they're picky and we always have to be careful.

JimandJosil, sorry to hear they gave you a hard time with that. Absolute baloney.

NoelandTintin, that is absolute ####### IMO. You can ABSOLUTELY blame the USCIS / NVC on that one. It does not state to HANDWRITE. It says to print sponsor's name. That reviewer clearly had a bad day, got divorced or just got dumped.

The instructions at the top clearly state:

Print clearly OR type your answers using CAPITAL letters. Of course there are exceptions such as the signature. Print sponsors name should not be one of them

Is it possible it was not in Capital letters vs. being typed?

On my US Passport and Naturalization, it said SIGNATURE. As for security reasons, the signature is the defining element and not a printed sponsor's name. "Printed" is for legibility reasons and not security in this form.

Thanks Kath! I am trying to make the most of my last 2 weeks here in Melbourne. Such mixed emotions. I CAN'T WAIT to be with my hubby again but I'm conscious of not wishing my last days at home away.. How do you find the balance? I'm sure every person here has gone through this or is bound to at some stage!

Take care all..

HD. x

HD, just remember that you will visit friends and family again. You haven't been exiled. You'll just be adding another country to your list of homes.

It will definitely be an emotional rollercoaster. Vy was up and down for a little bit by the 3rd month but that's because she was still alone at home. Once we got her driver's license (huge accomplishment from her perspective when she passed since she dreaded the parallel parking test) she started to feel more settled in. She then started going to a nice gym nearby and recently began exploring the area on her own. Once she hit those milestones she has been more excited with the possibilities here (plus she loves the prices here much more than Oz hehe). The more you can do by yourself like getting around and feeling free the less of a chance you'll take hard hits of homesickness methinks...plus you'll have your man with you on a permanent basis

Happy Travels!

Welcome to America Patricia!

Glad you had a good flight! Glad you're enjoying yourself! Ahh memories of wedding planning...I might be in the minority of former grooms but I enjoyed it (even with our trans-pacific obstacle). Vy has been amazed with the good pricing she has come across the different shops and markets she visits. I keep being reminded how good we have it here.

On a side note, I got screwed like that on the plane before too. I get annoyed when someone instantly takes the empty seat next to you to stretch out (4 seater with one person on each end. I learned my lesson. I park my items next to me once I realize there is no one next to me. Once that seatbelt light goes off, I stretch out there to mark my territory lol. In any case, I guess you won't have to worry about that much now that Zach is with you hehe.

Kath, I'm getting a little jealous with your constant snow. I just got Vy on the slopes for the first time ever last weekend and she loved it. I think I'll have a ski-partner soon enough woohoo.

Hope everyone else is doing well.

So sorry to hear Pris,

As the others have said, we do not know the circumstances but I truly wish you the best moving forward. I hope you find your happiness again, either with the same person or someone else.

Take care and I hope you do stick around these forums. You know where to find the crazy lot of us.

Best wishes.

-Alex

Congrats on the Walmart job offer Kelli!

Best of luck on your interview Pris! I am looking forward to hearing good news!

On a different note, the wifey got her driver's license! Luckily in NJ they don't make you wait 90 days from permit to road test (even with her expired NSW driver's license). Once she got her permit the guy asked if she wanted to take the road test right away lol. Instead, we scheduled the road test 3 weeks after. Most of that time was spent on parallel parking practice. In the end she nailed it one shot. She got so nervous during the exam that her right leg was shaking badly lol. Watch out folks, another Aussie driver is loose on the US roads.

Hi Kath, nice to hear from ya!

Take care everyone, keep the positive vibes flowing.

They sent your police clearance off to the consulate? That's... weird. I thought you are supposed to get it back in the mail? I'd definitely email the consulate to make sure anyway. Couldn't hurt... Peace of mind and all.

I might ring the Fedeal Police on Monday to see if mine's been sent off...

Hmm, I find that interesting as well. When we went to the Penrith Police station (NSW) to get the fingerprint / police check, we had them send it back to my wife's place. We then brought that in with us to the interview.

I'd definitely confirm if that's what they did. I believe it took a little over 3 weeks before we got it.

I believe I have everything I need for the interview. It seems so simple and straight forward I'm worried I've forgotten something. I've paid the $175 processing fee and it says there's also a $455 visa fee also??? which we take in cash???

Hi Pris, just like HD said no fee. Vy and I were ready to cough up some more dough when the consulate dude said we were all paid up. Woohoo more money to spend on celebrating.

The people that usually pay at the Consulate are the ones doing Direct Consular Filing since the USC is living abroad and he/she doesn't go through the NVC like we do.

I do have one other query: I'm supposed to bring the I-864 Affidavit of Support to the interview but J said that the NVC office sent it all to Sydney Consulate so does this mean they have it and I shouldn't worry??? I'm thinking of emailing them just in case.

Much appreciated in advance.

Cheers,

Pris.

They should have it already. However, I brought another copy with me and had some additional paystubs for proof of continuing income. They never asked for any further evidence though. If you can have your husband mail or fax you some additional pay stubs and his latest W-2 (he should've just got that from his employer). I had emailed them the same question before.

See my email thread...read from the bottom up.

From:"Sydney, IV" <SydneyIV@state.gov>

[Add to Address Book]

To:

Subject:RE: CR-1 application:

Date:Friday, September 21, 2007 12:36:16 AM

You could fax to your wife your most recent pay stub to accompany your employment letter.

If you have already submitted your 2006 Tax Returns to this office or to NVC, you don’t need to submit another copy.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Visa Assistant

U.S. Consulate General

Immigrant Visa Unit

Level 59 MLC Center

19-29 Martin Palce

Sydney NSW 2000

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From:

Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2007 5:28 PM

To: Sydney, IV

Subject: RE: CR-1 application:

Hello,

Thank you for the confirmation.

1) I had submitted the letter of employment which was dated in July of 2007. Do I need to submit another one dated in September now? Also, can I send recent paystubs from my employer to prove the July letter is still valid?

2) When I submitted the I-864EZ, I also included a copy of my 2006 Tax return (with photocopies of the W-2 forms) as well as 2005 and 2004 Tax return transcripts. However, I gave the original W-2s to my wife for the interview.

Please let me know if this is enough.

Kind Regards.

-Vylex

-------------- Original message --------------

From: "Sydney, IV" <SydneyIV@state.gov>

If you have already submitted an I-864 to NVC you will not need to do another, however, the supporting documents must be updated, that is:

Verification of current U.S. employment, position, date of hire and salary.

2006 U.S. Federal Income Tax Returns and

assets, if they were submitted as well.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Visa Assistant

U.S. Consulate General

Immigrant Visa Unit

Level 59 MLC Center

19-29 Martin Palce

Sydney NSW 2000

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From:

Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2007 1:01 PM

To: Sydney, IV

Subject: CR-1 application:

Hello,

We have reviewed the interview letter instructions and it states for my wife to bring the Affidavit of Support I-864 with her. Do I need to fill out another one and send it to her? I just sent it in to the National Visa Center last July in order to complete our case.

Please let me know if you require another I-864 from me to give to my wife during the interview.

Kind Regards,

-Vylex

So close now.

-Alex

Congrats Tracy! I loved getting those approval emails, letters, and phone messages. It gave me the best feeling.

Pris, Vy and I stayed at the Meriton Kent st apts (AUD157 for a Studio). We were closer to Town Hall though and just hopped in a cab. It was lless than $10 for the ride. I'll never forget that day we went. We spent the whole morning waiting (and excited) just for a quick 10 minute face to face conversation with the Consulate folks. It didn't sink in until we got back to the hotel. It happened so fast we couldn't comprehend the 8 months of filing and stress. Looking back on it, those 8 months felt like eternity AND a blink of an eye at the same time. As I wake up to her next to me every morning I can't believe how much we've gone through in such a short time.

Ahhh I love reminiscing about the good stuff.

Oh you can also go to www.wotif.com to check for some hotel deals. Just check for Sydney CBD hotels. Most are within bus, walking, or train distance. You can get off Wynyard Station on the bus and train and walk from there. Good luck!

Hi Pris!

Welcome back! Happy New Year! Glad you had a great time! The 22nd is just around the corner! I am looking forward to hearing more good news then!

It's cool seeing the wave of us finally getting to the visa point. I'm glad all you folks were around. Having the company during these different phases was priceless.

-Alex

Hey guys...I have a bit of a problem!

They spelt my middle name wrong on my greencard.....grrrrrrrrrr..Is it such a biggie? I already have my licence, SS number and EAD....do u think I should get a new one?

I would recommend getting it fixed. I don't think it's too much of a big deal but I am ####### with some of this stuff simply because some places like to match everything. My wife's SSN card does not have her middle initial. We plan on fixing that sometime soon.

HD,

Yes it's frustrating indeed but as long as they fix it up and you are not flying out too soon you should be fine. I would print a copy of that email and send it along with instructions spelling out what is wrong. That way they don't try to "fix" more than needs to be.

As for driving, that's a good question...from what I looked up as far as the New Jersey DMV is concerned, you can drive around with an international license (even after immigrating). Basically, you go to your RTA or NRMA and apply for an international driver's license. I think it's just paperwork. Anyway you should be able to get away with that while you are there and in the process of getting a US license. Of course things vary state to state but having that Int'l license couldn't hurt.

The NJ DMV folks were suprisingly nice. She had an expired Australia license (by about a month) but they told her after getting her permit, she could take the road test immediately if she wished. We opted for a few weeks of practice though so her road test won't be until Valentine's day.

Congrats Elle on your progression!

Vy missed the permit her first time by 1 question! She had to get 40 out of 50 correct though. She rushed too much though on some questions and she missed them because she didn't read through all the answers. She blamed it on the coffee that made her hyper hehehe. We came back a week later and she scored perfectly this time around.

Good luck on your road test! Vy has been doing great driving around but I need to test her parallel parking ability before the big day. Fortunately, they test her between cones that are 25 feet apart! That's tons of room. I hope she can pass right away. She already has all the shops she wants to drive to targeted LOL.

Congrats to everyone else! It's nice to see a wave of granted visas! We all seem to be in the same grouping. I remember the days when Rings and I were discussing options for K-3, CR-1, etc with other folks. Time is flying!

HOORAY!! My visa arrived in the mail today! Such an exciting day!

Only thing is, on the cover sheet that's stuck to the top of the packet I am to hand over to border protection at my first POA, they mispelled my maiden name!! Do you think this is an issue? No issues with the actual visa inside my passport..

Well anyway................. I am so happy and called hubby to give him the delightful news. It was kind of like an "it's official" call.. he's gone out for a celebration drink with the boys from his ship!

Take care and thanks again to all of you lovely people for your help and encouragement.. HD.

Congrats!

If the Maiden name is correct inside the visa stamp then I think you'll be fine but you can always email the IV unit to be sure. Just state that the envelope cover page has your maiden name spelled incorrectly but the visa stamp is ok. See what they want to do. Are you flying ot anytime soon? Are you still in Sydney?

I will confirm this though...the information inside that mysterious brown envelope is basically all your paperwork...so as long as that has been correct you'll be fine (and you have copies so you know what you gave them. That is what the POE will process ultimately. If the IV unit says it's ok, just point it out to the POE officer once you get into the US. Tell them what the IV unit said to you (and have a copy of the email just in case). Once they check the visa and the paperwork inside, it will clearly state the correct spelling (I mean it has your birth cert, police cert, etc).

In our case, the folks there made an annotation at the bottom of the visa and had my wife's mother's maiden name as her last name! This was listed in both the visa stamp and the cover page. However, the middle name was spelled correctly on both. (Annotation area at the bottom of the envelope cover page and the visa is some extra notes section).

We were already scheduled to leave the following day when they finally got back to us via email (phone wasn't an option as you probably know). We went there the Friday before our flight and they all huddled and told us that the paperwork inside was correct as well as my wife's middle name. They said the POE officers might even ignore the annotation section (which they did).

Good luck and congrats again! I'm pretty sure everything will be fine. The fact that it's right on the visa is what really matters.

Hey guys! Well, I got the email today that my Green card has been ordered!!!!! WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!

Finally!

Congrats Kelli!

Good luck on tomorrow's interview HD!

Things will be fine! Looking forward to good news at the end of the day!

HD,

I agree with Kath's tips below 100%

Also I recommend getting in early as possible...maybe 45 min before they open the door. The reason is you can get one of the first tickets (make sure to hit the ticket machine just off to the right once you get into the actual Consulate portion). You'll get called up right away then and the waiting will only be a an hour or two.

Form our experience...it was the easieist part indeed. It's really just a paper-review session with a few passing questions. You'll hit one of the booths where they collect the paperwork. Have it nice and organized in the order they ask. They'll ask you to sit and wait (1 to 2 hours maybe?) and then get called to window 5 or 6 and that's where they ask for fingerprints. If they person asks you to do some fingerprinting...you're practically home free. He/she might ask a couple of innocent sounding questions. That is the "interview". Once it's done, they'll say everything is in order and it will be mailed. You can also request for a pickup if you stick around Sydney for a few days.

Good luck and enjoy the view of Sydney and the Harbour Bridge. That's where my wife and I first kissed hehe...during the Bridge Climb tour.

hiya hd

good luck for the up coming interview...you will do just fine..to me and many it was the easiest part of the whole process..

advice hmmm....enjoy the view...take a magazine..something to munch on...and get in last into the elevator so your first to get through the security part and get a number...lol ohhh and relax by now you would know everything backwards that they might throw at you in the question department...im sure you will do just fine mate..

take care

kath

hi vylex nice to see ya good to hear all is going so well for the two of you...is your wife working yet...

talk ya soon

take care

kath

Hi Kath!

Vy is in the process of getting her driver's permit (her Aus license expired and we forgot to renew before leaving oops!) We then have to wait for 3 months before the road test. That kinda limits her mobility for work since where we are, she needs to drive.

Also, she is in the process of getting her Nursing credentials evaluated here before she can take the NCLEX Nursing board examination. This process alone can take the part of this year...especially if she needs to take a class to make up any deficiencies.

But first thing is she needs a car. She can get a job doing anything while waiting for the Nursing evaluation to make it through.

Things are great otherwise. I know she'll enjoy being able to go out and browse on her own once we get her license.

How goes it with you these days? Hope all is well (with you and everyone else).

My wife thinks all the wonderful things that people say to you in the U.S. are so courteous and polite and a step up from england, but i would rather be treated offhand and get the cards than be buttered up insincerely with all this 'you are a special wonderful person' stuff and get nothing..

alan

Hi Alan, I strongly believe that the welcome letter needs to come first. Has anyone received their GC without a welcome letter?

LOL again at your comments. Come up to NYC and the people here will give it to you straight.

SO LESSON OF THE DAY - USCIS HATES US CITIZENS TOO

Thanks for everything you guys. You have been the best support group for us *hugs*

Congrats you two!!!!

LOL, I think border officers hate us too. When I was with my wife during her POE, I felt like they were much nicer to my wife than me! They communicated to me with an emotionless tone but they were all chit-chatty and cheery with her lol.